Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin Named Legacy Trustee of Vanderbilt Museum

Great-Great Granddaughter of William K. Vanderbilt II

William K. Vanderbilt II’s (1878-1944) great-great granddaughter, Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, has been named a legacy trustee by the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum Board of Trustees.

Costin is a seventh-generation descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping and railroad entrepreneur who amassed one of the greatest fortunes of the nineteenth century.

(Above: Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin in Grand Central Terminal in New York City, during a CD-cover photo shoot. Photo by Vital Agibalow for Hensel.)

Above: Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin (center) at the Vanderbilt’s fifth annual benefit Clam Bake in July. From left: executive director Lance Reinheimer, trustee Michelle Gegwich, board president Ronald Beattie, and trustees Kevin Peterman, Steve Gittelman, Jack DeMasi, Anthony Guarneschelli and Elizabeth Cambria. Photo by Doreen Lumbra.
“I am so honored to be appointed to the board of the Vanderbilt Museum,” Costin said. “The property is magnificent and I am so happy we are able to share this legacy with future generations.”

“The Museum is honored that Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin, who is named after Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl (1903-2011), daughter of William K. Vanderbilt II, will serve on the Board of Trustees,” said Ronald A. Beattie, president of the Board.

“Mr. Vanderbilt’s legacy lives through his estate and museum, and now through Consuelo, his living heir.”

A singer and songwriter, Costin is an international pop star. She has performed around the world and shared the stage with such notable artists as Mya, Tweet, Vanessa Carlton and the late Joe Cocker.

In July 2016, she was a special guest at the Museum’s annual Clam Bake, a benefit for Vanderbilt education programs. As a surprise, she entertained nearly 200 diners by singing the classic George Gershwin song “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess.

Over the past few years, Costin’s music was featured on the Billboard Dance Charts for an accumulated 49 weeks. Costin has been featured on some of the most popular television shows in Germany. In 2014, a film crew from the prominent German news channel NTV (part of the CNN network) chronicled her life in New York City for several weeks, and featured her in a six-part series for its show “Premium Lounge.”

In April 2015, she filmed a music video at the Vanderbilt Mansion. The story explored an arranged marriage, Costin said, and looked at the societal pressures and family positioning that had plagued Vanderbilt women of the past, dating back to Consuelo Vanderbilt’s marriage to the Duke of Marlborough at the end of the nineteenth century.

In the video, Costin wore the engagement ring of her great-grandmother, Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, who died in 2011 at the age of 107. Mrs. Earl gave Costin the ring as a gift, and it served as inspiration for her jewelry line, Homage, which launched in 2015.

---

MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM INFORMATION

Hours – Museum and Mansion
Through September 4: Tuesday-Sunday, 11:00 – 5:00. (The Museum and Mansion are closed Monday.)

Hours – Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium
Through September 4: Daytime shows Tuesday-Sunday at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00. Evening shows on Friday and Saturday at 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00. (The Planetarium is closed Monday.)

Observatory
Year-round viewing of the night sky (weather permitting), Friday only, 9:00-10:00 (free with show ticket; $3.00 without show ticket)

Planetarium Schedule – Summer 2016
June 27 – September 4

Friday Nights
8;00 – Long Island Skies
9:00 – Black Holes
10:00 – Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon – NEW LASER SHOW!

Saturday Nights
8:00 – Night Sky, Live!
9:00 – Stars: Powerhouses of the Universe
10:00 – Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon – NEW LASER SHOW!

Tuesday – Sunday Afternoons
12:00 – One World, One Sky
1:00 – Solar System Odyssey
2:00 – Stars: Powerhouses of the Universe
3:00 – Night Sky Live!
4:00 – Laser Beatles – NEW LASER SHOW!

---

Museum Admission
General museum admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students with ID and seniors (62 and older), and $3 for children 12 and under. General admission includes estate-grounds access to the Marine Museum, Memorial Wing natural-history and ethnographic-artifact galleries, Nursery Wing, Habitat Room, Egyptian mummy and Stoll Wing animal-habitat dioramas. For a mansion tour, add $5 per ticket. (A video tour of the mansion is available on request.)

---

Mansion Tours
Guided tours of the Vanderbilt Mansion — listed on the National Register of Historic Places — are available Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.

---

Planetarium Admission
During the day, visitors to the Planetarium pay general museum admission ($7 for adults, $6 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $3 for children 12 and under), plus $5 each for a Planetarium show. Since the museum is closed in the evening, no general museum admission is charged — visitors pay only for Planetarium show tickets: $9 for adults, $8 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $7 for children 12 and under.

Vanderbilt Observatory
Night-sky viewing on Friday (weather permitting), 9:00-10:00 p.m. Observation is free to visitors with a planetarium show ticket, $3.00 for those without a show ticket.

Location and Website
The Vanderbilt Museum is located at 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY. Directions and updated details on programs and events are available at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org. For information, call 631-854-5579.

---

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum — a unique combination of mansion, marine and natural history museum, planetarium and park — is dedicated to the education and enjoyment of the people of Long Island and beyond. This mission is achieved through the thoughtful preservation, interpretation and enhancement of the Eagle’s Nest estate as an informal educational facility. Many exhibition and program themes focus upon Long Island’s Gold Coast Era. Programs also concentrate on William K. Vanderbilt II’s desire that his marine, natural history and ethnographic collections promote appreciation and understanding of the marvelous diversity of life, other cultures, and scientific knowledge. Planetarium programming, more specifically, focuses on scientific knowledge and seeks to capture Mr. Vanderbilt’s sense of adventure and exploration through state-of-the-art entertainment.

---