Our Hamptons

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the preservation of Barcelona Neck and The Grace Estate in East Hampton's Northwest Woods. The land was bought for $6.3 million from collector Ben Heller in 1985 after a referendum, the largest and most expensive public land purchase ever undertaken here at the time. The Nature Conservancy contributed $500,000 to the cost. Randall Parsons, who, in his former post as an East Hampton Town councilman, was instrumental in negotiating the purchase described at the time a Town at the crossroads. "There were subdivision applications in on Barcelona Neck [across Northwest Harbor], the Grace Estate, and Hither Hills in Montauk. It was the first time that people really rose up and said this is not what we want" The purchase was made after a prolonged public debate. Opponents argued against borrowing so much money, saying that if the Grace Estate were developed, town zoning laws would sufficiently limit development at far less expense. But fast forward 40 years, and imagine this much acreage with houses, condominiums and...

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Hannah Lasurdo. Hannah is a Miller, one of the oldest East End families, going back generations. Hannah shares her formative years honestly, including her personal struggles. But what Hannah truly explores is the intangible that we never seem to adequately explain. What is it about this place, that continues to draw us, despite the drastic changes evident to all.

Esperanza and Irwin reflect on the Lost Montauk, from a terrific article written by Henry Osmers for the Montauk Historical Society. Curiously, Montauk often doesn't get the historical respect, for lack of a better term, than other East End villages or hamlets do. We'll visit First House, the Montauk Island Club, Sandpiper Hill and the Wyandanee Inn and more in this homage to Montauk's rich history.

Esperanza and Irwin talk about the Shinnecock Summer School of Art, the first outdoors Art School in the US, founded in 1891. Students had the opportunity to learn from the renowned artist William Merritt Chase. Now, Chase was and is a well known Artist. But it was the Art Village cottages, grouped near the studio in the Shinnecock Hills, that is the off-radar part of the story. These properties, in different styles on curving streets created its own sense of wonder. What presented itself was almost whimsical, a storybook like setting. Best of all, it exists to this day. Listening is believing!

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the beginnings of the Southampton Summer Colony, inspired by Dr. David Goddard's "Colonizing Southampton". In September of 1863, a young Manhattan physician of means by the name of Theodore Gaillard Thomas went by horse and wagon out to visit the farms and rural villages of Long Island with his wife. The trip lasted many days. The couple spent their first two nights in Babylon staying at a rooming house, then pressed on to Quogue, Southampton, East Hampton and Montauk, finally spending a night out at the lighthouse with the keeper and his family there. During this sojourn, Thomas fell in love with the simple though bucolic communities of eastern Long Island and, after returning to Manhattan, vowed that sometime in the future he would return with some friends with the intention of establishing a summer colony there. He had become charmed by the farmland that went down to the ocean, the single Main Streets with the Presbyterian Church, the blacksmith shops, feed stores and dry goods stores that marked what were essentially old New England Communities. Dr. Thomas is considered to have been the founder of the Southampton Summer Colony as we know it today. Within four years, he had persuaded many others to build there. By 1882, there were 30 summer owners (a dozen “cottages”) where five years earlier there had been none. Two years later, Dr. Thomas and others in that group met in a Fifth Avenue apartment in Manhattan to found what was then called the Southampton Village Improvement Association to “beautify the principal streets” and “see to the removal of nuisances” so as to make Southampton even more attractive to possible future summer residents. As you might have imagined, they soon came into conflict with the local residents of the community—there were about 500 of them, who were enjoying the town as their ancestors had for 200 years before—farming the land, fishing the waters and otherwise engaging successfully in rural activities. Sound familiar?

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Ellin and Eliabeth Saltzman. In the early 1960's, Ellin and Renny Saltzman hired a 33 year old architect named Richard Meier to design a modernist family home in East Hampton. Small by today's standards at 4000 square feet, Ellin and her daughter Elizabeth reflect on 5 decades of summers spent in an ever changing East Hampton, as well as the future of their iconic home. A not to be missed Our Hamptons podcast.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the proliferation of dairy farms on the east end in the not too distant past. If you define a dairy as any farm with more than eight cows, there were once 42 operational dairy farms in East Hampton alone, according to the East Hampton Farm Museum. At that time, “most of the milk was for local consumption,” said Robert Hefner, historic preservation consultant for East Hampton Village. By the 1960s, most dairies on the East End had been shuttered, with the last two operating into the early 1980s—Carwytham Farm in Bridgehampton and Cow Neck Farm in North Sea. We'll focus primarily in East Hampton with the Sherril, Hardscrabble, and Dune Alpin Farms. The dialogue about the Gould and Tillinghast farms, and their subsequent merger to form G&T took us to a side story: the beloved G&T Chicken House on Race Lane.

Esperanza and Irwin first met in 2000, when Esperanza was operating her art gallery, Art Solar on North Main Street, East Hampton. Irwin became a client of the gallery (though it took him a year to buy his first painting!). More importantly, it opened up a dialogue between Esperanza and Irwin, conversations that transcended Art, including the type of subjects you hear today on the podcast. I guess the groundwork for Our Hamptons started well before its May 2022 inception. Listen, and go back in time to where it all started, and how it got here!

Esperanza and Irwin talk of a few versions of Bonac Tonic. The first was a nickname used by bonackers when referring to Hampton Dairy brand iced tea beverage that comes in a green and yellow carton, and is real, fresh brewed tea. The second, and our topic for today, is defined by one of its founders, Grant Haffner, as the following: “Bonac Tonic is a collective of painters, sculptors, photographers, and other artists based in the Hamptons who curate local group shows with an emphasis on new and emerging artists,” explained Haffner. “Bonac Tonic formed in 2005 to reinvigorate the artscene". We'll talk about Grant, and the other founding members of Bonac Tonic, and some of the artists who passed through. There was an energy to Bonac Tonic, and what they brought to the east end art scene at the time was something special. We miss them!

Esperanza and Irwin have a story to tell. As scandalous ancestors go, Col. Henry Huddleston Rogers II would have been enough for most families. But then he had a daughter. The colonel's namesake father, a partner in Standard Oil and noted “robber baron” of the Gilded Age, was one of the wealthiest men of his day. Amassing an estimated $100 million fortune, Rogers senior also acquired the nickname“Hell Hound” for his rapacious ways. It was meant as a compliment. Alas, young Harry was spoiled by his father's money. As he aged into adulthood, after receiving his inheritance in 1910, various sources describe him as ruthless, or a bully, or a ruthless bully.In 1914 he used some of the money to build Black Point, the family's summer estate inSouthampton, also known as the “Beach House,” adding a hunting lodge in nearby North Sea in the 1920s. The colonel commissioned John Russell Pope*, the architect responsible for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to design his shooting box overlooking Scallop Pond. The Sag Harbor Express reported that, at the time, it “encompassed 2,000 acres on both sides of the pond and was the largest privately-owned estate on Long Island.” By all accounts, the Port of Missing Men (as it was dubbed) offered the proverbial good time that was had by all. One rumor is that he had duck blinds installed on the water that were wired directly to Wall Street. The colonel's guests were able to remain unreachable to their wives but connected to the trading floor. Meanwhile, during Prohibition, there was a major liquor drop-off point conveniently close by, at the end of North Sea Road. Later, the drop-off point would become a notorious cathouse. The colonel and his wife, the former Mary Benjamin, had a daughter in 1902: Mary Millicent Abigail Rogers. The artistically inclined Millicent would go on to run through three husbands,plus Clark Gable. In 2011, her rich life became the subject of a biography, Searching for Beauty: The Life of Millicent Rogers, the American Heiress Who Taught the World About Style, by Cherie Burns. Listening is believing!

Esperanza and Irwin talk about the storied (and sordid) history of Ocean Castle, on Meadow Lane, Southampton. In 1929, the stock market crash doomed many, but apparently, not William F. Ladd. Apparently, his alleged bootlegging operation supported an unimaginable lifestyle. He commissioned the prestigious architectural firm of Peabody, Wilson and Brown to design what was described as a multi room fairy tale on over 300 feet of oceanfront. The next owner, Robert Harris rents the house in 1963 to fellow summer resident Donald Leas Jr, who hosts an after party there that trashes the place, including breaking 1600 windowpanes. By 1978, the eccentric theater producer Roy Radin acquires the property, hosts a nightmarish party that leads to sexual assault. And this pre-dates Barry Trupin, who in the midst of constructing Dragons Head down the road, rents the property and literally installs Coney Island within it! Too much to describe here, but listening will be believing!

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Glenn and Stacey, the proprietors of Cedar Cottage Springs. Like many places, Eastern Long Island rentals have dramatically changed. Seasonal rentals, have shifted from the previous Memorial Day to Labor Day season to shorter term rentals; often very short. Airbnb's dominate, and are the source of much displeasure. But for Glenn and Stacey, they are not renting their house, they are sharing their HOME. Two creative types, they've brought a warmth and quirkiness to a business that often lacks exactly that. They are immersed in our community, and our conversation takes in that, and much more.

Esperanza and Irwin reference a 2006 NY Times article by Dorothy Spears. It provides a unique perspective to present day, as it is a 20 year look back, written almost 20 years ago. The themes Ms. Spears writes about will be familiar. The youthful artists and writers who discovered the east end of Long Island in the 1950's and 60's encountered potato fields, endless green marshes, empty beaches and inviolable dunes. They made an artistic haven there, and what they saw and felt informed their plays and novels, their paintings and sculptures, for decades after. Quite a bit of that idyllic landscape is now gone, and many of the famous are gone as well. But there remained a circle of friends, then in their 70's or older, who continue to paint and write in the ever more crowded, less peaceful Hamptons. Their tales of that earlier era, when the Montauk Lighthouse was just a quick jaunt away, and most restaurants closed for the winter,serve as a reminder not only for what has been lost but also for what continues to endure. As timely then, as it is now.

In 1908, four prominent families from Cincinnati, Ohio purchased 1000 acres in northern Amagansett and founded the Devon Colony. William Cooper Procter (Procter and Gamble) Richmond Levering (Lever Bros) Joseph Rawn and William Rowe discovered the area during a hunting trip. (As an interesting aside, the subject of our episode 35, Frank Wiborg and The Dunes, was also from Cincinnati). 90 feet above sea level, with Gardiners Bay to the north and the ocean to the south, grand stucco houses, along with some smaller residences, were built in and around Oceanview Lane, between Abrahams Landing and Cranberry Hole Roads. The colony also founded the Devon Yacht Club, still going strong 116 years later. Surrounded by large swaths of preserved land, this area has not been as impacted by extensive development, and retained much of its original appeal.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Bess Rattray, who needs no introduction. The Rattray family has owned and published The East Hampton Star for generations, and Bess' own column, the beloved Shipwrecked Rose, shows a quirkier side of the East End, often autobiographical. Bess tells us what growing up in the family business was like, particularly a newspaper, where the story lines often involved your friends and neighbors in a small town. Bess tells us of the Anchor Society, and their mission to bring a General Store to East Hampton, to meet the every day needs of the community.

Esperanza and Irwin leave their usual comfort zone and head into more uncharted territory. Calverton has the last, large swath of Long Island grassland, and has been protected to a degree. If you visit the area, there doesn't seem to be much development or planning, although proposals exist. It's home to an enormous FedEx distribution center, a large recycling business, along with tiny farmhouses and farms. We''ll tie in the Calverton Executive Airport, the Grumman Corporation's impact on LI, and its Memorial Park on 10 adjacent acres.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Geoff Gehman, the author of The Kingdom Of The Kid: Growing Up In The Long Lost Hamptons. Geoff spent 1967 through 1972 in Wainscott as a young boy coming of age. The memories we all have in those formative years tends to be indelible, so much so that it inspired the book. Geoff regales us here with many of those stories that serves right into the mission of Our Hamptons; the rich sense of place that never seems to cease pulling at our heartstrings.

Esperanza and Irwin were pleasantly surprised by the number of one room Schoolhouses that still exist. Some have been repurposed into community centers, others as private residences, even museums. Join us for this historical and geographical tour. We explore schoolhouses in Quogue, Hampton Bays, Noyac, North Haven, Sag Harbor, East Hampton, Amagansett. We delve a bit deeper within Sagaponack, which still is a schoolhouse, and especially Wainscott, where Esperanza shares her own experience as a parent of children in the school.

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Dr. Susan Van Scoy, Professor at St Joseph's University and author of The Big Duck and eastern Long Island's Duck Farming Industry. Susan describes the rich history and sheer dominance during duck farming's heyday in the 1950's. 75% of all ducks served in restaurants across the country came from Long Island. But as suburbanization pushed eastward, rising land values, along with stricter government regulations made farming ducks untenable. A fascinating look at on often overlooked part of the East End's history.

Esperanza and Irwin look back at a true game changer on the East End. Before 1974, to get to eastern Long Island, you took the Long Island Rail Road, or drove. But the Jitney's original intent far more humble than shuttling people from NYC. In 1974 during the height of the Gas Crisis, founder Jim Davidson thought a series of small vans shuttling people between Southampton and Montauk was a niche to fill. Organically, as Jim's customers requested being taken back and forth to NY, the original business model changed, dramatically. So hop on, and enjoy a ride with us spanning 50 Years, and that metaphorically symbolizes the changes on the East End.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Susan Horowitz, of Hamptons 20th Century Modern. Susan formulates advocacy efforts to both raise awareness and influence actual preservation efforts by viewing modernism as a continuum of the architectural history of eastern Long Island. While Long Island modern architectural history is documented by writers such as Paul Goldberger, Alastair Gordon + Caroline Rob Zaleski, Long Island continues to face crucial need to focus on the legacy of the modern architects and their architecture, before they are forgotten and their work is demolished. While much has already been lost, part of Hamptons 20th Century Modern's mission is to encourage owners of these homes to protect their futures, and new buyers to consider them as valuable historic homes. We also discuss how eastern Long Island relates to other US areas of successful modernism preservation across the country; New Canaan, Palm Springs and Cape Cod. Watch for Hamptons 20th Century Modern's upcoming House Tour, scheduled for August 11 and 12.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss Freetown, East Hampton

Esperanza and Irwin start Season Five with Mayor Gary Vegliante of Westhampton Dunes. In the late 1980's, a severe coastal storm battered this then unincorporated section of Westhampton practically into oblivion. Homeowners lost access to their houses to the point of police barricades denying entry. Current Mayor Gary Vegliante was a teacher and restaurant owner, and along with other politically unconnected residents, fought not just "city hall", but the County, Town, State and Federal government, ultimately incorporating a Village, right down to paving the road themselves. An unbelievable, feel good story that you have to hear to believe.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the storied history of Montauk's Seven Sisters. In the late 1880's, Arthur Benson, the developer of the Brooklyn neighborhood Bensonhurst, purchased 10,000 Montauk acres, and within it, created a fishing retreat for six friends and himself. The houses were designed by McKim, Mead and White, and sited by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead. Kitchens were small, as meals were taken at a clubhouse. The 300 degree views of the ocean seemed to defy geography. 140 plus years later, they stood the test of time. Architectural critic Paul Golberger calls it "one of the most important architectural assemblages on the East coast".

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Columbia University Professor Alexander Stille, the author of The Sullivanians. The Sullivan Institute was a maverick psychoanalytic practice and cult that flourished on the Upper West Side from 1957 until 1991. Paramount to the Sullivanian doctrine was the rejection of the traditional nuclear family and monogamous relationships. “The Sullivanians told myparents that the worst thing a person can do is raise their own children,” said Lauren Olitski, the daughter of painter and patient Jules Olitski. The patients were high functioning, intelligent and creative people, including the singer Judy Collins and writer Richard Price. But its influence over Jackson Pollock, and its presence in the Barnes Landing section of Springs for a fascinating, and different, Our Hamptons Podcast.

In 2008, Larry Rivers 16 foot tall "Legs" was installed outside a private residence in Sag Harbor. The usual questions abounded; was it art, was it a structure, did it have a place as a public art display. An East End version of a centuries old battle over what can be deemed art, what can't, and who can judge the difference? In fact, in 1989 East Hampton Village banned outside displays of art within its historic district where Guild Hall, an arts center and museum, sits on Main Street within the district. Esperanza and Irwin engage in a free wheeling discussion of all of the above, with an impromptu musical interlude to boot.

Esperanza has lamented the current lack of nightlife and dancing on the East End on numerous Our Hamptons podcasts. So we decided to transport ourselves and our audience back to the era of Saturday Night Fever, and disco itself. Even the high school had something called Bonac Bandstand, and in fact partied (dry of course) at the Mellow Mouth Disco at 44 Three Mile Harbor Road. As often happens on Our Hamptons, the history and tenants of the building over the past 100+ years became an integral part of the story.

The biggest single scene on the East End in the late 1970's had to be Asparagus Beach in Amagansett, or what we refer to today as simply Atlantic Ave. Singles would stand around like upright stalks of Asparagus, to see and be seen. String bikinis ruled the day, as did groupers; not the fish, but the participants themselves who squeezed into rental share houses, predominately in Amagansett's Beach Hampton neighborhood. A fun look back at an absolute moment in time where to be “Young in the Hamptons” was all that. Well, sort of anyway!

Esperanza and Irwin hearken back to the days before 300 plus cable tv channels and numerous streaming options. If you're of a certain age, you remember channels 2 to 13, and possibly UHF. Rooftop antennas, tin foil on the rabbit ears. But eastern Long Island weren't getting TV out of NYC. Apparently, those signals did not travel effectively west to east. Rather, channels out of Hartford, New Haven and Providence were the only game in town, and not all to clear either. A fun look back at an era where technology certainly did not rule.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome the filmmaker Joanne Roberts to discuss The Bonackers Project. The loss of the commercial fishing industry on the east end has been well documented. Overreaching government intrusion, onerous regulations and a powerful sports fishing lobby, combined with ever increasing house prices damaged an industry whose legacy dates back hundreds of years. Joanne shares the stories, and the challenges the remaining fisherman and baymen face, and the timetable for the film's release.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss a time when unspoiled Lazy Point was an industrial zone unto itself, with multiple fish factories operating. They even had their own LIRR Train Station for the employees to arrive there from points west. It was seemingly the perfect place for an industry that generated some awful smells from the factories. But with its isolated location it really wasn't bothering anyone. Until it was.

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the storied history and many lives of the most prominent commercial address in East Hampton, if not the entire East End: One Main Street. Perched on the most prominent location in the Village, the northwestern corner of Newtown Lane and Main Street, the tenants, and the stories speak metaphorically to all the changes in East Hampton over the past hundred years.

Esperanza and Irwin welcome artist Mike Solomon. Mike had an extraordinary childhood, growing up as the son of Syd and Annie Solomon. Syd was part of the Ab-Ex movement, and while he was a painter of great renown, the salons Annie hosted in her home were legendary. Mike, who is an important painter in his own right, shares the stories of what went on in the East Hampton in 1960's and 70's East Hampton.

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the ongoing metamorphosis of our downtowns with veteran Commercial Realtor Hal Zwick. Is the homogenization of our downtown districts mimicking a worldwide pattern of sameness? Is Main Street Southampton/ East Hampton really that different from Beverly Hills, London, or Singapore? Hal describes how the vibrancy of Sag Harbor's downtown as compared to both East Hampton and Southampton was the foresight of installing a sewage system allowing for more wet uses. While the cost per square foot is high by local standards, compared to NYC rents it can be profitable, especially considering the complimentary high seasons. But there is a bigger picture: has Main Street become driven more by transaction rather than community?

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.

Esperanza and Irwin look back at the three lives of Bayberry Land in Southampton. In 1916, the banker Charles Sabin and his wife, Pauline Morton Smith Sabin purchased these 314 acres for a country home, naming it after the low growing shrub prevalent on the east end. The estate comprised 8 buildings, including a manor house, garage with chauffer's apartment, gatehouse, caretakers cottage, hunting stable...you get the idea. The Sabin's lifestyle was as grand as the setting, entertaining New York's Blue Book society, Southampton's summer colony, as well as senators, judges and members of congress. Come 1949, the property was sold for $131,250 to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3. The union president is a name familiar to anyone driving the Van Wyck Expressway, Harry Van Arsdale, Jr. A convalescent rest home, an education center for its workers, as well as a children's camp were just some of the changes made during the Union's 50+ years of ownership. In 2001, the IBEW sold the property for $46 million dollars to Michael Pascucci, who created a golf course on the property designed by Jack Nicklaus. Purchasing it at auction for the same price, but unable to consummate the deal was a second buyer, Donald Trump. Mr. Pascucci in his own words wanted people who were non glitzy, saying it wasn't a valet parking type of place. Those people however, did have a $650,000 membership fee.

Esperanza and Irwin

Esperanza and Irwin pride themselves on digging deep, and some of the episodes of Our Hamptons has been a bit off radar.