Lavish parties, beautiful mansions, and faint echoes of Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful,” “The Great Gatsby” is a story of romance, wealth, race, and social class during the Jazz Age era of flapper culture and American history. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, loosely based the book on events during his lifetime.

Based in New York City, the story of the Great Gatsby follows Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and WWI veteran. He rents a house next to Jay Gatsby, a millionaire who hosts extravagant parties to get the attention of Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin. Daisy and her husband, Tom, have recently relocated to Long Island from Chicago, and unbeknownst to Daisy, Gatsby is still in love with her after all these years. “The Great Gatsby” follows the story of extravagant wealth, socialites and Gatsby and Daisy, essentially told through the eyes of Nick.

Where Did The Great Gatsby Take Place?

While The Great Gatsby is a work of fiction, its setting is heavily inspired by Long Island, New York, where Fitzgerald himself once lived. The novel is set in two fictional areas, West Egg and East Egg, which represent Great Neck and Sands Point in real life.

West Egg (Great Neck, NY): This is where Jay Gatsby’s mansion is located, and it symbolizes new money—those who have recently acquired wealth but lack the social standing of old-money families. Fitzgerald based this area on Great Neck, where he and his wife Zelda briefly lived in the 1920s.

East Egg (Sands Point, NY): Representing old money, this is where Daisy and Tom Buchanan reside. This area is inspired by Sands Point, known for its historic mansions and exclusive communities.
Long Island in the 1920s was a playground for the wealthy, filled with opulent estates, grand parties, and lavish excess, making it the perfect setting for Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle. The novel, and later the 2013 film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan, drew heavily from the real mansions of Long Island. The film was polarizing among film critics, winning multiple Academy Awards and multiple Grammy nominations.

We know the characters lived a life of extravagant wealth in all of their riches, meaning they spent all of their money on jewels, activities, parties, and mansions. The film primarily takes place in the mansions of some of the characters, particularly Gatsby’s mansion. So, what does this house look like, and how did they film the movie there? Let’s take a look at some of the real-life homes that “The Great Gatsby” took inspiration from.

Where Is ‘The Great Gatsby’ House?

Multiple homes were inspired and take inspiration from “The Great Gatsby,” some of which are located right on Long Island. One home is a $45,000,000 mansion in New York. Real estate agent Ryan Serhant showed off this property on his YouTube channel. The large waterfront estate features multiple amenities, including a bowling alley, multiple pools, a tennis court, spas, wine cellars, arcades, and more. In true Great Gatsby fashion, this mansion also includes buildings for staff and entertainment, ballrooms, and a 200-foot dock.

In 2017, the estate that inspired “The Great Gatsby” film was on the market for $85 million. The 18-bedroom, 25-bathroom home features a lazy river and a pool, a two-level garage, a tennis court, a private dock, a hair salon, a wine and tasting room and multiple koi ponds. Set designers took inspiration from the large and gorgeous home built in 1928. With marble and stained glass throughout and a view of the Manhattan skyline, you can truly step into Gatsby’s mansion in this home.

The Oheka Castle

The Oheka Castle, which is now a hotel and estate, is also one of the homes inspired by the Great Gatsby book. The Great Gatsby documentary was filmed at the estate in 2000, along with a long list of other films and television shows. Built in 1919, the estate now features a large number of guestrooms, including the Gatsby Suites. Many weddings and events also take place at the estate now, and celebrities like Jay-Z, Russell Simmons, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift have stayed there

The legacy of The Great Gatsby lives on through the extravagant mansions of Long Island, where real-life Gatsby-style wealth and luxury still exist. While most of us won’t be moving into an $85 million estate anytime soon, these historic homes offer a glimpse into the opulence, ambition, and excess that defined both Fitzgerald’s novel and the roaring 1920s.

Whether you’re a fan of the book, the film, or simply love old Hollywood glamour, a visit to Long Island’s legendary estates is the closest you’ll get to stepping inside Gatsby’s world.