0640

By BRUCE LAMBERT
Published: May 6, 2005 for NYT


As soon as it was built in 1959, the beach house at 615 Dune Road in Westhampton Beach caused passers-by to stop in their tracks.

"The house stood out like a spaceship that landed on Dune Road, so it was quite an attraction," said Jonathan S. Pearlroth, who inherited the house.

Its unusual "double-diamond" geometric design, with two adjoining rectangular boxes tilted on their edges, quickly became an icon of modernism and was featured in magazines and books.

But the Pearlroth family eventually reached the reluctant conclusion that the double diamonds would have to go. It needed more room, Mr. Pearlroth said; old additions needed replacing and new laws barred expanding the original structure because it is in a storm damage zone. So the family hired an architect to design a larger replacement house and is ready to clear the site as early as May 15.

Hoping to rescue the house, preservationists are campaigning to move it to a new site, restore the original condition and transform it into an architecture museum.

"We're racing against the clock, trying to get the funding just to do the move," said Jake G. Gorst, the grandson of the house's architect, Andrew M. Geller.

Over the decades, the house had gradually faded from sight. Despite the beachfront locale, wind and waves built up the dunes so much that the house lost its prominence and even its ocean view. "It was buried," Mr. Pearlroth said.

Neighboring houses sprouted, and it was further hidden when the Pearlroth family expanded its living space by building decks and bedrooms around the original structure, which is just 600 square feet.

If preservationists succeed in salvaging the house, they can thank a series of lucky breaks.

Mr. Gorst, a filmmaker who was working on a documentary about his grandfather, interviewed Mr. Pearlroth in February. It was then that the owner sadly explained his demolition plans.

"We have such sentimental ties to the house - I loved it - it was painful for us to think we would knock it down," Mr. Pearlroth said this week.

The plan caught Mr. Gorst by surprise. But as they talked, a new idea suddenly dawned on Mr. Pearlroth.

"It was like a light went off in my brain," Mr. Pearlroth. "I said, 'Jake, please take the house if you can save it and do something with - it's yours.' "

Mr. Gorst leapt at the challenge, becoming part of the story he was filming. He spoke to Exhibitions International, a nonprofit group in Manhattan promoting 20th-century architecture, which agreed to raise money. Organizers figure they need $50,000 to move the house and $150,000 for restoration.

"It's coming in dribs and drabs so far," said the group's director, David L. Shearer. "We have a long way to go. The problem is the house is not 100 or 200 years old. People don't always appreciate the historic significance and need to preserve modern architecture."

The first hurdle is raising various utility cables so that the house can be slipped underneath. Cablevision has agreed to charge no fee, the organizers said, and they are in talks with the Long Island Power Authority and Verizon about their lines.

If the house can be moved, the next issue is where to put it - especially since vacant waterfront property in the Hamptons is almost as scarce as double-diamond houses and commands princely sums.

Once again, fate is intervening. As word of the fledgling campaign spread, an advocate in the American Institute of Architects, Anne R. Surchin of Sag Harbor, took up the cause.

"All the modern houses are being torn down left and right, and some are real classics," she said in an interview. "Sometimes you don't find out they're in danger till you see the bulldozers."

Linda A. Kabot, a member of the Southampton Town Council, said that after Ms. Surchin "sent me a frantic e-mail" she conferred with a fellow Council member, Steve Kenny. He suggested offering a site on the bay side of Pikes Beach park, a mile down the road.

Next Tuesday, the Town Board will hold a hearing on that proposal. The sponsors expect approval that day, to beat the move-it-or-lose-it deadline.

In one of many endorsements for the hearing, an architecture historian, Alastair Gordon, praised the house as "one of the most important examples of experimental design built during the postwar period not just on Long Island but anywhere in the United States." He called it "witty, bold and inventive."

With the proposed site surrounded by open space and the house to be elevated on stilts to prevent damage from stormy seas, the setting would recreate the original look of 1959, proponents say.

"It could be a wonderful architectural and navigators' landmark," Mr. Kenny said. "Perched high, almost like a work of art on a pedestal, the view looking out over the bay is going to be spectacular."

Mr. Geller, whose résumé includes work on the Lever Building interior, Windows on the World and Lord & Taylor's logo, recalled the Pearlroth house as "a one-of-a-kind" project that he did for fun.

Mr. Pearlroth's mother, Mitch, recruited the architect after reading about another house he designed. Mr. Geller said he studied the site and the family's living habits "previous to any doodling on paper."

Because the Pearlroths lived in New York City, Mr. Geller designed their beach house "to escape from the cell-like appearance of an apartment, to stay clear of four walls." The high-peaked ceilings also invoked the feel of an American Indian tent, he said.

The whimsical house inspired nicknames to match, including the Square Bra, the Box Kite, the Cat, the Milk Carton and the Reclining Picasso.

At 81, Mr. Geller said he was grateful for the effort to save the house. "I'm flattered," he said, "and I'm just thrilled."


jonathan s pearlroth sounds like a total load :
"It was like a light went off in my brain," Mr. Pearlroth. "I said, 'Jake, please take the house if you can save it and do something with - it's yours.' "
a light just went of in my brain, let (inheritance-boy) pearlroth pay to move it. creep!

ps: would it kill the nyt and curbed to point out what a sleezy move this is?



- bill 5-06-2005 7:17 pm

anom posted this elsewhere :

The Pearlroth House of Westhampton Beach, New York, designed by Andrew Geller in 1959, will be demolished on May 27, 2005 unless it can be moved off the property to its new home at Pikes Beach, Dune Road!

Exhibitions International, historian/filmmaker Jake Gorst and the Town of Southampton are working together to rescue, relocate and restore this landmark house. It will become a museum of architecture and design if preservation efforts are successful.

The New York Observer named this beach house one of the top ten houses of the Hamptons. Architectural historian and writer for the New York Times and Dwell Magazine Alastair Gordon said, "Andrew Geller's Pearlroth House in Westhampton Beach is one of the most important examples of experimental design built during the postwar period - not just on Long Island but anywhere in the United States. It is witty, bold and inventive."

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE PEARLROTH HOUSE

$50,000 must be raised just to move the house to its new location. If you would like to help, please send your tax-deductible donations to Exhibitions International by visiting http://www.paypal.com. You must sign up for a free PayPal account if you do not already have one. Payments can be made using a bank card, credit card, or account transfer. PayPal is safe and secure. Send your donation to shearer@ei-ny.org. Please enter the amount of your donation, and select "service" as your payment category, The e-mail subject should be "Pearlroth House", Enter your name, address and phone number in the "note" field so we can send you a letter of gratitude, which can be used for tax purposes.

If your company or organization would like to help save the Pearlroth House, please contact David Shearer - shearer@ei-ny.org or 212-674-7726.

For more information please read the official Town of Southampton press release: http://www.explodedview.tv/pearlroth/press_release505.doc.

- anonymous (guest) 5-07-2005 7:15 am

- bill 5-07-2005 3:30 pm [add a comment]



ive just forwarded the above information to the national trust.


- bill 5-07-2005 9:40 pm [add a comment]


Looking To Protect ‘Unique’ Home
By Carey London for the independent 5/3/5

Preserving local architecture should include the postmodern as well as the historic, Jake Gorst told the Southampton Town Board last Friday. Gorst, a documentary filmmaker, made a plea to the board to help him preserve one of his grandfather’s last remaining architectural designs on the East End.
“I have over the years watched several of my grandfather’s houses disappear,” he said. Known for his unconventional designs, architect Andrew Michael Geller designed several unique houses on the coast of Long Island.
Commissioned by Arthur Pearlroth in 1959, Geller built what has come to be known as the Pearlroth Beach House on Dune Road in Westhampton. The 600-square foot home — the size of three parking spaces — is essentially two elongated boxes, creating a box kite or double diamond shape.
Arthur’s son Jonathan Pearlroth inherited the house several years ago, but intends to build a new home on the property. He offered the unique structure to Gorst, with the caveat that the grandson must find a way to move the house by the middle of this month. Gorst, who has been raising money for the move and subsequent restoration of the house, hopes to donate it to town officials who have considered declaring it a landmark.
Councilwoman Linda Kabot and Councilman Steve Kenny have suggested moving the house a mile west of its current location to Pike’s Beach. Like a “small public sculpture,” the house could serve as a marker for boaters on Moriches Bay, said Kabot.
It could also become a museum for architecture and design, said Gorst, and if possible, named after his grandfather. Gorst wants to sit on a committee directing the use of the house and would like to have Exhibitions International — a nonprofit organization that raises money for museums — curate one exhibit annually.
The renovation process would be broken into four phases, starting with the move. Phases two and three would involve pile driving and restoration of the home, which is expected to last from July to the spring of 2006. Furnishing the house with mid-century, modern period furniture would be phase four. The estimated cost for the project is $150,000.
The Hamptons’ landscape is one of “shifting sands and changing styles,” said Kabot said on Monday, with large modern houses consuming the area’s post World War II resort architecture. “This is somewhat refreshing to see something small,” she said of Geller’s home. “It’s unique.”
The town board will vote on whether or not to accept Gorst’s donation at a public hearing on May 10.


- bill 5-09-2005 4:57 pm [add a comment]


i have listed the name pearlroth for google news alerts. this came up today.


- bill 5-10-2005 4:02 pm [add a comment]


i heard back from preservation 911 on line and they thanked me and promised to investigate.

there is enough of the libertarian in me not to want the government telling you what you can or cant do to or with your house. but this just doesnt sound right. jake gorst the documentary filmmaker and grandson of andrew geller sounds near saintly with his patients in the following quote :

Mr. Gorst, a filmmaker who was working on a documentary about his grandfather, interviewed Mr. Pearlroth in February. It was then that the owner sadly explained his demolition plans.

"We have such sentimental ties to the house - I loved it - it was painful for us to think we would knock it down," Mr. Pearlroth said this week.


pearlroth sprang his intentions on gorst in a february 2005 interview that he planned to knock down the house in may 2005. he had already hired an architect who had designed a new larger house for the location and wanted to start the demolition process within three months. then suddenly offered it to gorst for free if he could find some way to move it by then. gorst is quoted as follows:




While the end-of-the month deadline may be extended, Gorst knows it can't go on indefinitely. "Jonathan wants to see the house saved as much as anybody else ... but we don't want to cause any problems for him. We don't have a lot of time."



this 600 square foot house was described as one of the top ten best houses in the hamptons by the ny observer in 2001. thats "david" kicking some mighty powerfull "goliath" but considering the hamptons real estate scene. the house was celebrated in the "weekend utopia" book which i believe accompanied a museum show of the same name as well as a film (viewable on quicktime). gorst sounds like hes walking on eggshells discussing the surprise revelation from pearlroth based the above quote. but again in a libertarian world where the government plays hands off on bossing around citizens, there is a social trust that the citizen would be sensitive to the world around them. that doesnt appear to have taken place judging from what i read. lets just say that an honorable position might be for a responsible owner to move the house them self, to act with transparency regarding their intent and to allow a comfortable time frame for the process to transpire. and only then build their big-ass house in the sand.




- bill 5-11-2005 8:18 pm [add a comment]


and they act on my tip!


- bill 5-25-2005 1:18 am [add a comment]


In other news, the Pearlroth Beach House will be temporarily relocated four lots down on town-owned land from its present location on Dune Road in Westhampton until fundraising monies are secured and a final location is determined. Owners Jonathan and Ariana Pearlroth offered to donate the home to Jake Gorst, grandson of architect Andrew Michael Geller, who designed the box-kite-shaped home in the late 1950’s. Gorst is donating the home to the town to be slated for landmark designation. A resolution authorizing the town’s acceptance of the house was supposed to be approved yesterday.

- bill 7-02-2005 8:42 pm [add a comment]