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Pines Modern is a brand-new, non-profit 501(c)(3) endeavor dedicated to the rediscovery of all that the Pines has created, particularly its mid-century architectural and cultural heritage. We ask for your support in the form of tax deductible contributions to help us to continue discovering, documenting, and sharing the best that Fire Island Pines has to offer. There is much more to document! Our significant expenses include professional photography, drum-scanning of vintage images, creation and maintenance of the web site, required non-profit insurance, preservation consultations with homeowners, and the staffing of Pines Modern functions. Our officers are not paid for their efforts.
Donors at the $50 annual level and above will receive priority notification for house tours and other Pines Modern events. Each donor who contributes $150 and above will receive a free ticket to the next Pines Modern house tour. Please contact us if you would like to place an advertisement on our site.
For support regarding donations, send your message here.
2019 Contributors
Adam Wade
Pines Modern is a brand-new, non-profit 501(c)(3) endeavor dedicated to the rediscovery of all that the Pines has created, particularly its mid-century architectural and cultural heritage. We ask for your support in the form of tax deductible contributions to help us to continue discovering, documenting, and sharing the best that Fire Island Pines has to offer. There is much more to document! Our significant expenses include professional photography, drum-scanning of vintage images, creation and maintenance of the web site, required non-profit insurance, preservation consultations with homeowners, and the staffing of Pines Modern functions. Our officers are not paid for their efforts.
Donors at the $50 annual level and above will receive priority notification for house tours and other Pines Modern events. Each donor who contributes $150 and above will receive a free ticket to the next Pines Modern house tour. Please contact us if you would like to place an advertisement on our site.
For support regarding donations, send your message here.
2019 Contributors
Adam Wade
120 OCEAN WALK
AUDIO
Architect: EARL COMBS, c. 1968. Renovation: MICHAEL GOTTFRIED, c. 1984.
In several homes in the Pines, Earl Combs engaged in tempestuous relationships with octagons. This is his most elaborate example, which was published in House and Garden in 1969 and Architectural Digest in 1985.
The interior spaces of this house are almost spectacularly impractical: its three stories contain just two bedrooms. All is given over to a three-story atrium that takes in the ocean views. But this very impracticality tells us something about the atmosphere in the Pines in the 60’s and 70’s. These houses were not burdened by the need for closet space and other bourgeois refinements. They just needed to be artful, sociable, and a little bit flamboyant.
Composer Tommy Tune, who regularly jogged past the towering home in the 1980’s, came to think of it as “the Emerald City done in cedar.” It was a perfect fit for the 6’-6” Texan’s lanky proportions, and he put his own stamp on its interior in the 1980’s with the assistance of designer Michael Gottfried. The home sustained damage during Hurricane Sandy which, as of 2016, has not been repaired.
Black and White Photos: House and Garden/Helms. Close-up facade: Warren McDowell. Color Photos: Architectural Digest/Peter Vitale. Poster: Courtesy FIPHPS. Illustration: Ferron Bell courtesy FIPHPS.
