16 biggest Oheka Castle pop culture moments: Celebrity weddings to music videos

Oheka Castle, the iconic Gold Coast estate in Huntington, goes onto the auction block today, potentially ending its four-decade ownership under real-estate developer Gary Melius.

The auction is set for 10 a.m. at the The Dominick Hotel in lower Manhattan.

Oheka had been in foreclosure for more than 10 years, Melius said last year. Its sale will help settle millions of dollars in debt, Newsday has reported. The castle is owned by Kahn Property Owner LLC, in which Melius is a stakeholder and which filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. More than 700 potential buyers expressed interest in the property, but as of Monday, that pool had been narrowed down to seven bidders, Chad Roffers, CEO and co-founder of Concierge Auctions, told Newsday. The auction is not open to the public and the winner's name will not be announced Tuesday.

A century-old Chateau-style mansion that sits on 23 acres, Oheka has served as the backdrop for many films, television shows, music videos and celebrity weddings. Here are just a few of them:

 

1. Pop superstar Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" music video was filmed at the castle.

2. In Orson Welles' 1941 classic "Citizen Kane," still photographs of Oheka and its grounds are used to represent Xanadu, the estate of the fictional newspaper mogul Charles Foster Kane.

3. Oheka Castle was featured in an episode of "Gossip Girl." 

4. "What Happens in Vegas," the 2008 romcom starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, casts the mansion as a wedding destination.

5. In the 2002 prep-school drama "The Emperor's Club," starring Kevin Kline as a beloved classics professor, Oheka played a starring role as the backdrop to a climactic student competition.

6. In their 2018 video for the song "For You," late pop singer Liam Payne can be seen pacing through the mansion's rooms while his collaborator Rita Ora ran through the gardens.

7. Rockers Lou Reed and Joan Jett showed up at Oheka for a 2010 ceremony presented by what was then called the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Also in attendance: rapper Rakim, composer John Zorn and Reed's wife, Laurie Anderson.

8. A 2019 episode of HBO's "Succession" with Brian Cox, left, and Matthew Macfayden, was shot at the castle.

9. A 2013 episode of "Royal Pains" starring Brooke D'Orsay, Paulo Costanzo, Campbell Scott and Mark Feuerstein was filmed at the iconic location.

10. In a 2012 episode of the fashion-contest television series "Project Runway," contestants were asked to design clothes inspired by the opulent castle.

11. Danielle and Kevin Jonas got married at Oheka in December 2009.

12. Historian and writer Douglas Brunt and journalist Megyn Kelly tied the knot at the destination in March 2008.

13. Former congressman Anthony Weiner married Huma Abedin at Oheka Castle in July 2010.

14. R&B singer Brian McKnight and Leilani Malia Mendoza became husband and wife at the castle in 2017.

15. Singer Joey Fatone, formerly of *NSYNC, and Kelly Baldwin were married at Oheka Castle in September 2004.

16. Oheka Castle plays a role in Brandy's "Brokenhearted" music video.

Newsday's Rafer Guzman contributed to this story.