Greenhaven was developed as a garden suburb community during the 1920s by a real estate developer from New York names Vivian Green. Mr. Green purchased most of the land which became Greenhaven from descendants of Henry Brevoort, who originally acquired the land in 1851. The 1920s were a time of explosive suburban growth, both because of economic prosperity and because automobiles first became reliable transportation and made living further away from town convenient.
Originally, there were two sections of Greenhaven, West and East, with a large area between the two, retained by Brevoort descendants. The first land Vivian Green acquired included what is now Shore Road, lake Road and parts of Brevoort Land and Greenhaven Road. This area was West Greenhaven and is referred to as "Old Greenhaven". As short time later, Mr. Green acquired the the land which became East Greenhaven, including the rest of Greenhaven Road and Brevoort Lane, Rye Road, Captain's Lane, Norman Drive, Anchor Drive and Sound Road.
The original Greenhaven sales office once stood at the site of the current TD Bank on Post Road. Once it ceased to serve as a sales office, it became the Greenhaven Casino, a club for Greenhaven Residents. Although the club did not survive the Depression, local legend has it that the clubhouse served as a speakeasy during the Prohibition. it later became a restaurant and a night club, until it was last used as the Crab Shanty restaurant.
Recreational facilities and the waterfront location were critical to Vivian Green's concept for Greenhaven. In addition to the tennis courts, there are two neighborhood beaches in Greenhaven, one for West and one for East. The beaches have both swimming and boating facilities. Each beach is maintained by its own association, ours being "East".
During the middle of the 20th Century, Greenhaven was home to some of the most powerful men in the motion picture industry. One might almost think of Greenhaven as an East Coast Beverly Hills during this period. The corporate names associate with Greenhaven Residents include the Chairman of 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers and United Artists. Scenes from the 1954 movie Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart were filmed at 315 Brevoort Lane.