Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin both have a connection to Longhouse; Esperanza is Head of Education and Community Engagement while Irwin has been a Docent. Sure, Longhouse is a stunning physical property; 12 acres of gardens, pond, sculpture. But the true story of Longhouse is Jack Lenor Larsen, a 20th century visionary. Jack purchased the property, a former potato field of flat land completely overgrown with bramble, invasive plants and poison ivy. Jack's ability to conceptualize this transformation from a potato field is nothing short of extraordinary. A dunescape, created by re-using the soil dug for the foundation. A series of pathways of mystery, where you see the start, but not the finish. A series of structures, often built with things recycled from the property. Jack transformed the property much as he transformed the textile industry, with the ability to see things in three dimensions. We tried to provide insight into all things Longhouse, and Jack. But seeing is believing. Longhouse is worth a trip from anywhere.

Esperanza and Irwin have a special visit with Charlie Tupper. The Tupper's presence at Towd Point started in the early 1920's. Charlie's grandfather (Frank Edwin Tupper) bought the property on Davis Creek in about 1917 or 1918. The land reminded him of his native Nova Scotia. When he bought it, the property cost $7500. The house, initially called "Ramblers Cottage" for the rambling roses growing along side, was built in about 1907, along with several other large "cottages" along the bluff on Davis Creek overlooking Little Peconic Bay. The house had a large master bedroom on the first floor off the living room and seven bedrooms on the second floor. It was a summer home so it wasn't heated or insulated. There was a huge fireplace in the living room. Electrics were from a battery-system (no idea how they charged the batteries, probably with a gas-driven generator), there was a small "battery house" behind the barn that was about 200 feet behind the main house, there was also a small 2 bedroom quarters for "servant staff".  Some very early photos have the small servant house just behind the main house, but at some point it was moved back and attached to the barn and a 2 car garage with a small storage room was put behind the main house. The barn itself had 2 stables and an area to store a carriage or two and a large workbench, an upstairs with one finished off room and a big open area. Somewhere along the way (1930s or early 1940s), he built 3 cottages for rentals to the west of the main house on Davis Creek. Each cottage had a name. "Love in a Mist", then "Marshitern" and last "Flower House".  Love in a Mist and Flower house were prefabs with Flower House being a present he bought for my grandmother from the NY Flower Show.  Marshitern was a typical summer cottage assembled on cedar pilings right on Davis Creek.  The houses were typically rented, like all summer houses, Memorial Day to Labor Day ... I seem to recall they went for about $1500 a season. A lot of the renters were repeat renters. Love in a Mist was rented in the late 50s by Southampton Insurance man Maurice Cunningham, his office was on Main Street.  These 3 houses still exist and are extensively renovated and modernized. The main house was eventually called just "The Ramblers" but as kids, we called it "The Big House". Charlie regaled us with stories of growing up here, too numerous for this space. A not to be missed podcast. Special thanks to Artist and Friend Casey Chalem Anderson, whose series of paintings of Towd Point were a source of inspiration for this episode.

Esperanza and Irwin were surprised to learn Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis' formative years were spent on eastern Long Island. Born in 1929 at Southampton Hospital, the center of the Bouvier family life was at "Lasata", (meaning place of peace) the Further Lane estate adjacent to the Maidstone Club, where the family also had a cabana. When the Bouvier's first arrived in East Hampton in 1912, the place was far simpler than neighboring Southampton, a landscape primarily dominated by farm fields and simple salt boxes. Fast forwarding to 1953, Jackie married Jack Kennedy, and you know the story line over the next 10 plus years. Returning the story to East Hampton, we tie in the story of Grey Gardens, of Big Edie and Little Edie. Jackie and her sister Lee Radziwill literally rescued their Aunt and Cousin from the squalor they were living in, the subject of the cult classic "Grey Gardens" by the Maysles brothers.

Esperanza and Irwin look back on the way Real Estate was bought and sold on eastern Long Island, in the not too distant past. Before the internet, before Zillow, before Redfin, before Real Estate firms with national and world wide presence. As recently as the early 1970's, there were not many more realtors then in the early 1950's, and many were part timers. Sure, there was money to be made in the summer colonies, but those markets were dominated by Lyda Barclay in Southampton, and Condie "Boots" Lamb in East Hampton. But a couple of newcomers arrived, with very different styles and backgrounds. Allan M. Schneider and Tina Fredericks each found lane to make inroads in the eastern Long Island real estate industry, ultimately transforming it entirely.

Esperanza and Irwin look back on the history of Beach Hampton. In the 1920's, Richard B. Allen began accumulating land in Amagansett along the oceanfront, from Beach Lane to Napeague Lane. By 1936, the RB Allen corporation owned 200 acres, and began developing a community for the middle class, called Beach Hampton. Ultimately, Alfred Scheffer became Beach Hampton's resident architect, designing houses from 560 to 920 feet, with an eye on simplicity, and cost. Amenities were non existent. We talk about the Barbour Beach Hampton Club, completed in Spring 1938, only to be taken away in the Hurricane of September of that year. Lastly, insights, stories and folklore from past and current Beach Hampton residents Pam Keen, Jaine Mehring, and Margie Ruddick.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Brenda Sinclair, third generation Hampton Bays resident, and executive director of the HB Historical Society.   We admitted to being a bit mystified by this hamlet, and Brenda's hometown stories and memories brings it all together.   Brenda tells us about the storied history and many lives of the Canoe Place Inn, now in the process of being reinvented again.  

Esperanza and Irwin tell the story of East Hampton's grandest estate in the early 20th century. Frank Wiborg was a self made millionaire by age 40, establishing offices worldwide for the distribution of ink and lithograph products. Originally summer renters in Amagansett and East Hampton, Wiborg ultimately became a land baron, with holdings encompassing and astonishing 600 acres. In 1909, Wiborg hired the renowned architect Grosvernor Atterbury to design The Dunes, a 30 room stucco mansion that became the largest house in East Hampton. On the ocean, with stables, a dairy barn, sunken Italian gardens and servants quarters. But the grandeur of The Dunes was befallen by personal tragedy and illness, and didn't survive to see its 30th birthday.

Esperanza and Irwin explore Riverhead's changes when the Tanger Mall arrived in the 1990s.   Riverhead still lays claim as the Suffolk County Seat, despite most government departments moving to office space up island in Hauppague.   Did Tanger, and the subsequent onset of big box retailers and chain stores help to offset that loss at the expense of ushering in a more suburban rather than rural feel for the community?   For those on the North and South Fork's, the convenience of having these options within an hours drive was probably a benefit.   It also helped keep large scale retail development away from the South Fork in particular, a fear we touched on in our episode about Bridgehampton Commons.    But there were ramifications for Riverhead's historic downtown as well.