We were inspired by Architectural Digest recent article titled Inside Montauk’s Design Moment, a wonderful piece written to shine a spotlight on the change in architecture and design dating back from Montauk’s first development plans.
Montauks Fishing Village in 1938, Courtesy of Montauk Library
It all began with two real estate visionaries, Arthur Benson and Carl Fisher. Benson purchased Montauk in the late 1800s at an auction with the goal of transforming it into an upper-class resort. He brought out his influential friends and built a few houses at the point, and called themselves the Montauk Association. These houses now enjoy historic landmark designation.
Fisher had a similar vision for the area and purchased the entire Montauk peninsula in 1920 for about $3 million. He built the Montauk Manor, the golf course and the yacht Club. Unfortunately, Fisher’s vision tanked less than 10 years with the Wall Street crash of 1929. Once Montauk became publicly owned, brand-new buildings and local shops bloomed. Despite the developmental drought, the eclectic style and architecture design prevailed.