Just about 100 years ago, Mrs. Russell Sage spent a tidy sum of money building a library for the Village of Sag Harbor and environs. She even stocked the new library with books and other materials that formed its early lending and reference collections. She was a believer in using the best materials and artisans [...]
Posts under ‘Historic Preservation’
The Five Top Problems Facing Sag Hampton
Over Development / Inappropriate Development Simply put, over development is the poison that will kill the golden goose. As we all know, people love this area because of its natural beauty, open vistas, fresh air, and rural feel. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that suburban sprawl, McMansion ghettos, charmless villages filled with [...]
Save Sag Harbor (Cinema)
Yikes! This is serious. The Sag Harbor Cinema is for sale. There’s nothing more iconic in Sag Harbor than the Sag Harbor Cinema, the art-house theater that’s been a part of the local scene for decades. Just look at all the fuss that arose when my fellow Sag Harborites thought they were losing the theater’s sign! Now, it seems, we may be in danger of losing the entire theater and …
Not Every Good Idea Is…Well, a Good Idea
Sometimes I get an idea, and at first blush it seems like a world beater. Fortunately, I’m a bit of a procrastinator, so I usually don’t act on these brilliant insights immediately. Usually, over the next few days, I’ll share this idea with friends or colleagues, and they gently (or sometimes not so gently) point out the the things I’ve …
Sag Harbor: Still Making History
What’s the one constant in Sag Harbor’s 300 year history? Change. Starting as the port for the farmers in Sagaponack, Sag Harbor went on to become a bustling center of trade, home to one of the country’s largest whaling fleets, and an industrial center producing everything from watchcases to parts for the lunar landing module. As you walk the village, …
Saving Sag Harbor
There’s a new and very active group in our community calling itself Save Sag Harbor. Its primary mission is to preserve Main Street’s traditional look and business mix — mostly small locally-owned stores and restaurants — by preventing national chains and big box stores like CVS from moving in and driving up commercial rents to the point where they are …
The Importance of Historic Preservation
Sometimes I read something and am so struck by its “rightness,” that I just have to share it with everyone I know. That happened today when I read a column in the March 1, 2007 edition of The Southampton Press by Anne Surchin, a Sag Hampton-based architect and writer. Ms. Surchin used the Press’ s architecture column to discourse on …
