The historic Sag Harbor home long owned by pioneering documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker sold earlier this month for $1.7 million, finding a buyer within one week of it going on the market.
A central figure in the cinema verité movement, Pennebaker passed away in 2019 at the age of 94. He was known as a trailblazer for capturing what was considered unvarnished slices of American culture and politics on film. Some of his best-known projects, Don’t Look Back, documented Bob Dylan’s 1965 tour of England and The War Room, which chronicled Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. He earned the Governor’s Honorary Academy Award in 2013.
“When we sell old, beautiful homes in Sag Harbor, we know they all have a story to tell and 67 Garden Street was full of them,” Hagen tells Behind The Hedges. “It was always alive and well lived in, full of excitement for the five decades the owners lived there,” she says.
Pennebaker bought the home, which dates to the 1860s, since the 1970s. His widow, the filmmaker Chris Hegedus, whom he married in 1982, was the seller in the deal that closed on Sept. 9. The last ask was $1.89 million.
Located in the heart of Sag Harbor’s historic district, the one-and-a-half-story home is packed with period character, starting with two-over-two sash windows and a cross-gabled roof.
Sitting on the corner of Spring Street, the charming front porch faces Garden Street. Its location is just steps from the village’s Main Street, with shops, entertainment and restaurants.
The interior offers just 888 square feet with a gas fireplace and stained-glass details. There are two bedrooms and one bathroom. The airy second floor features vaulted ceilings.
The 0.16-acre property also boasts the rare convenience of off-street parking.
“It’s bittersweet to part with such a loved home, but at some point, it had to find a new steward/owner to care for and repair the future of this old house,” Hagen continues. “We know the new owners will be proud of its heritage and beauty to be with their new ideas and love for the old house in our Village of Sag Harbor. [We’re] looking forward to these new changes that they will give it.”
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