Walk off all that turkey and stuffing during the East Hampton Historical Society’s 2021 House & Garden Tour on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year’s tour of five unique houses showcases some of the finest examples of historic and modern architecture on the South Fork.
The tour, which benefits the historical society, is scheduled for Saturday, November 27, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Opening night cocktails will be held at the Maidstone Club on Friday, November 26 from 6 to 8 p.m.
“The House & Garden Tour is one of our most important fundraisers,” the event chairman Joseph Aversano said in a statement. “This year’s tour is a visual feast of stylish houses. So, while you’re breathing in the sea air and enjoying the varied terrains and architectural styles, your dollars will support the East Hampton Historical Society’s museums and programs,” he said.
“The society’s annual house tour offers a one-time-only glimpse inside some of our town’s most storied residences,” a statement from the society says. “Whether you tend towards the charm of a classic shingled cottage, yearn to take a peek at well-appointed homes south-of-the-highway, or prefer the clean lines of contemporary architecture — this year’s tour offers a combination of houses that is sure to delight.”
An Egypt Lane landmark house is perhaps the most storied on the tour. Built in 1917, the Tudor-style house bordering the Maidstone Club on two sides was designed by architects Henry M. Polhemus and Lewis Augustus Coffin Jr. of the New York City firm Polhemus and Coffin. The house was recently renovated, while also retaining its historic charm.
A newly constructed village house, which shares the Duck Pond and Nature Trail, once part of the Lorenzo E. Woodhouse estate, is also part of the tour.
“In its dazzling array of shapes, verandas, rooflines, and turret, this very sculptural home is a comfortable amalgam of styles that we would often see in many houses built between 1880 and early 1900s – but yet a very powerful example of the Shingle Style revival that started in the 1960s as a reaction to modernism – a glorious interpretation on this historic Village Lane,” the society says.
Another village home on the tour, this one in the Arts & Crafts style, celebrates the horizontal beauty of single-level living, according to the society. “Home to a dynamic design duo, an interior designer and a landscape architect, this village retreat has multiple outdoor ‘rooms,’ situated within smartly organized landscaping,” the society said.
In the heart of East Hampton Village, just steps away from Main Street, is a newly built residence combining casual elegance and traditional design. “Its clean, graceful lines and superb craftsmanship are immediately evident as you approach the home down a gently curving, crushed white marble drive,” the society says.
The society will also take the tour-goers outside of the village — and for a good reason. The Tolan House in Amagansett, designed by the famed architect Charles Gwathmey, is a highly-publicized modern work of art. Built around 1970, just a quarter-mile from the Atlantic Ocean, the cubist shapes of cone and triangle harmonize with huge rectangular windows.
Tickets to the opening night cocktail party are $200 each, which includes entry to the House & Garden Tour the following day. Tickets to the tour are $75 in advance and $85 on the day of the tour. Exact addresses will be given out for the self-guided tour upon ticket purchase. Tour-goers can go in any order, but the brochure with a map will suggest the best route.
Tickets can be purchased on the society’s website or by calling the society at 631-324-6850. Tickets can also be purchased by calling Clinton Academy at 151 Main Street in East Hampton Village on Friday, November 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, November 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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