Cornelia Dodge

Historic Context

1879-1928

“Present development in Montauk is largely a result of influences and events from the late 1800’s onward. Before that time and through much of the nineteenth century, the Montauk peninsula continued to be used by area farmers as summer grazing land for livestock because of abundant grasslands, which was periodically burned over.

 

In 1879, Arthur Benson purchased the entire Montauk peninsula, with the exception of the Montauk Lighthouse and the life-saving station at Ditch Plains, for the sum of $151,000. After Benson, developer Carl Fisher appeared in the 1920s, buying up most of Montauk.

 

Carl Fisher was the developer of Miami Beach. He saw Montauk as ‘The Miami of the North.’ Cooled by the Atlantic and surrounded by superb fishing and with sites for boating, polo, and tennis, Fisher saw Montauk as the summer resort for those who wintered in Miami. Fueled by the immense success of turning Miami Beach into a thriving vacation spot, Fisher acquired a vast tract of 10,000 acres in Montauk in 1926 and set about laying out a community which he forecast ranging from 50,000 in the winter to 150,000 in the summer and that could be marketed as the ‘Miami Beach of the North.’ (East Hampton Town Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan).

 

To create the resort, Fisher organized the Montauk Beach Development Company. The plans called for the connection of Lake Montauk to Long Island Sound to form a protected harbor, the formation of a village center with a ring of shops and Fisher’s office building (The Plaza area targeted in this report), the development of a resort complex, and the construction of four major sporting facilities, the Surf Club, the Polo Club, the Tennis Club and the Yacht Clubs.

 

As with most speculative resorts, a great hotel was erected to serve as a magnet to attract visitors, who might then be persuaded to purchase cottage lots. The Montauk Manor Hotel was Fisher’s first major building to be completed in 1926.  It established the Tudor Revival design that would characterize Fisher’s new community. It stands today outside the hamlet's center, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

The Polo Club, Yacht Club and the Tennis and Surf Clubs soon followed the hotel. With the Tudor Revival resort office building (which stands on The Plaza), the English half-timbered shops around the circle (some still remaining today), and a golf course complete, Carl Fisher’s Montauk began marketing its house lots in 1928.

 

“Lake Montauk was dredged and an inlet opened between it and Block Island Sound creating one of the best-protected harbors on the northeast coast. Unlike the formal grandiose estate development on much of Long Island, the resort developed at Montauk by Fisher and his associates was not a statement of wealth and power but an informal community devoted to play and recreational activities such as swimming, boating and tennis.”(Town of EH LWRP V III-4, V III-5)

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Key elements that make the community thrive are its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and pristine beaches and its resort feel. The downtown Plaza area is a magnet for tourists, who often stay in the nearby hotels and motels.

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