OHEKA Castle Auction 2026: History of 135 West Gate Drive

The famous Long Island estate at 135 West Gate Drive, known for its Gilded Age history, celebrity weddings, Hollywood appearances and an unsolved shooting, is scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder on October 27.

October 1, 2026
By Roy Condrey, Founder of DiedInHouse.com

SUMMARY: OHEKA Castle, the historic estate at 135 West Gate Drive in Huntington, New York, is scheduled to be sold at auction on October 27, 2026. Built for financier Otto Hermann Kahn, the massive Long Island property later fell into disrepair before undergoing a decades-long restoration. It has since become a luxury hotel and wedding venue, appeared in movies and television, served as a filming location for Taylor Swift's “Blank Space” music video, and was the scene of the still-unsolved 2014 shooting of longtime owner Gary Melius.

HUNTINGTON, N.Y. — One of America's most famous private estates is heading to the auction block.

OHEKA Castle, located at 135 West Gate Drive in Huntington, New York, is scheduled to be sold to the highest bidder on October 27, potentially ending more than four decades of ownership connected to developer Gary Melius.

The auction comes after Kahn Property Owner LLC, the entity that owns the property, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2025 amid a long-running dispute with creditors.

But OHEKA is much more than an expensive piece of Long Island real estate.

During its century-long history, the enormous estate has been a private home, retirement facility, military school, abandoned property, restoration project, luxury hotel, celebrity wedding venue and Hollywood filming location.

It was also the scene of a brazen shooting that remains unsolved.

Where is OHEKA Castle?

OHEKA Castle's address is:

135 West Gate Drive
Huntington, NY 11743

The estate sits on Long Island's historic Gold Coast in the Cold Spring Harbor area.

According to the National Park Service, financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn built his estate on a 443-acre property at one of Long Island's highest points.

The name OHEKA came from the first letters of Kahn's full name: Otto Hermann Kahn.

Kahn hired the architectural firm Delano & Aldrich to design the French-inspired mansion, while the Olmsted Brothers — the landscape architecture firm established by the sons of Central Park designer Frederick Law Olmsted — worked on the grounds.

The estate ultimately became one of the largest private residences ever constructed in the United States.

Otto Kahn's extraordinary Long Island estate

Construction began during the 1910s, with OHEKA's own historical timeline placing completion in 1919.

Kahn reportedly spent approximately $11 million building the estate — an extraordinary amount of money at the time.

The mansion contained 127 rooms and was surrounded by elaborate formal gardens, reflecting pools and extensive grounds.

During the height of Long Island's Gold Coast era, Kahn used OHEKA as a country residence and entertainment destination.

His daughter Maud became the estate's first bride when she married there in 1920.

Kahn died in 1934.

That could easily have been the beginning of the end for OHEKA.

Instead, it was only the beginning of the property's complicated second life.

What happened to OHEKA Castle after Otto Kahn died?

After Kahn's death, the property changed hands and went through several dramatically different uses.

At one point it became a retirement home for New York City sanitation workers.

It was also used as a government training facility for Merchant Marine radio operators.

In 1948, Eastern Military Academy acquired the property.

The mansion's enormous rooms were divided, parts of the grounds were altered, and many of the decorative features associated with Kahn's estate disappeared.

After the military academy closed, OHEKA deteriorated badly.

The once-grand estate suffered vandalism, fires and years of neglect.

By the early 1980s, one of America's grandest houses was approaching ruin.

Gary Melius bought the deteriorating castle

Developer Gary Melius purchased OHEKA in 1984.

What followed became an enormous restoration project.

Melius and the restoration teams worked to return the deteriorated mansion and grounds to something resembling their original appearance.

Approximately $40 million has reportedly been invested in restoring the estate.

OHEKA eventually emerged as a luxury hotel, restaurant, wedding venue and special-event destination.

Its comeback also introduced the property to an entirely new generation.

Taylor Swift filmed “Blank Space” at OHEKA Castle

Millions of people who have never visited Long Island have probably seen OHEKA Castle without realizing it.

The estate served as a filming location for Taylor Swift's 2014 music video “Blank Space.”

The video's grand staircases, elaborate interiors and mansion setting helped introduce OHEKA to an enormous worldwide audience.

The estate has also been associated with numerous film and television productions over the years.

OHEKA's combination of enormous scale, formal architecture and dramatic grounds has made the property a natural stand-in for the kind of extravagant estate normally associated with fictional billionaires and old-money families.

Celebrity weddings at OHEKA

Hollywood isn't OHEKA's only celebrity connection.

The property developed into one of the best-known luxury wedding venues in the New York area.

Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers married Danielle Deleasa there in 2009.

Other high-profile weddings held at OHEKA have included those of Joey Fatone and Kelly Baldwin, former NFL star Curtis Martin and Carolina Williams, and Megyn Kelly and Douglas Brunt.

Those events became part of the modern history of a property where Otto Kahn's daughter had celebrated OHEKA's first wedding roughly a century earlier.

Gary Melius was shot at OHEKA Castle in 2014

OHEKA's history also includes a much darker event.

On February 24, 2014, Gary Melius was shot while sitting in his vehicle outside the estate.

According to contemporary reporting by CBS New York, a masked attacker approached Melius' Mercedes and fired through the driver's-side window.

Melius was struck in the head but survived.

Police investigated the shooting as an apparent assassination attempt.

Years later, the case remained unsolved.

The shooting added another remarkable chapter to the history of a property already associated with more than a century of wealth, decline, restoration, celebrity and intrigue.

Why is OHEKA Castle being auctioned?

The current auction follows financial problems surrounding the property.

Kahn Property Owner LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2025 as the property faced foreclosure.

The bankruptcy proceedings eventually cleared the way for a court-supervised sale.

Concierge Auctions is now marketing OHEKA Castle in cooperation with Adam Modlin of The Modlin Group.

The official auction listing says the property will sell to the highest bidder on October 27, 2026.

The offering includes OHEKA Castle and additional development potential associated with the property.

According to current reporting, the successful buyer will also be required to honor existing weddings and events booked through March 31, 2028.

That means OHEKA's next owner won't simply be buying a famous mansion.

The buyer will be taking control of an operating historic property with weddings, hotel guests, visitors and events already attached to it.

What is OHEKA Castle worth?

The bankruptcy filing valued the property and associated assets at more than $92 million, although a bankruptcy valuation should not be confused with what a buyer will ultimately pay.

The October 27 auction currently has no published starting bid.

The actual sale price therefore could become another major chapter in OHEKA's history.

The auction requires qualified bidders and is being marketed internationally.

Is OHEKA Castle still open?

Yes.

Despite the bankruptcy and upcoming auction, OHEKA continues operating as a hotel, restaurant, wedding and event venue.

The castle also offers tours, giving visitors an opportunity to see portions of one of America's most extraordinary surviving private estates.

Existing events are expected to continue through the ownership transition under the auction terms.

Is OHEKA Castle connected to The Great Gatsby?

OHEKA is frequently associated with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the extravagant Gold Coast world that inspired the novel.

Otto Kahn's enormous estate and lavish entertaining certainly belonged to the same Long Island social world Fitzgerald observed.

Claims that OHEKA itself directly inspired Gatsby's fictional mansion, however, should be treated carefully. The stronger historical connection is that OHEKA survives as one of the grand estates from the real Gold Coast era that forms the backdrop to Fitzgerald's story.

That distinction doesn't make the property any less remarkable.

More than a century later, visitors can still walk through an estate built during the world Fitzgerald was writing about.

What happens to OHEKA Castle next?

That question may be answered on October 27.

OHEKA has already survived the death of its original owner, multiple institutional uses, subdivision of its original acreage, military-school alterations, abandonment, vandalism, fires, an enormous restoration, an unsolved shooting and bankruptcy.

Now another owner may take control of 135 West Gate Drive.

Whatever happens at the auction, the property's history demonstrates why researching a house or property can reveal far more than its current appearance, amenities or market value.

A real estate listing tells you what a property is today.

Its history tells you how it got there.

135 West Gate Drive, Huntington, NY 11743

OHEKA Castle is scheduled to be auctioned October 27, 2026.

Research the house history first. Then the inspection. Then the appraisal.

Sources: OHEKA Castle historical archives; National Park Service; Concierge Auctions; Newsday; CBS New York; People; Inc.; Business Insider.