Ernest Flagg (1857-1947), a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, was first commissioned in 1897 by Frederick Bourne to design Indian Neck Hall, the Bourne family's 110-room mansion near Oakdale, LI. In 1900, Flagg and Bourne turned their efforts to the design of The Towers, a five-story hunting lodge on Dark Island. During Bourne's presidency of the Singer Manufacturing Company from 1889 to 1905, Flagg designed the Singer Tower in New York City; completed in 1908, it ranked as the world's tallest building for six months. He was also a distinguished designer of affordable housing in New York City.