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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
143-44 OCEAN WALK
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Designed by: JOHN REILLY, 1977.
Occupying a double lot at the heart of the Pines, 143-44 Ocean Walk’s vast home stands out among its more diminutive neighbors. Built in the same year as other standard bearers like 556 Ocean Walk, it epitomizes the change in scale and ambition that filled the few remaining parcels in the Pines at this time.
A double ocean lot was only available because it stood empty for years as a view corridor for composer Jerry Herman’s home across the boardwalk. Herman sold the lots to Shillo and Bernice Adir, whose prosperity derived from the banana trade. They commissioned John Reilly, an unknown architect who evidently built no other homes in the Pines.
Despite its size, the home’s manageably scaled volumes, low-slung guest house, and pleasing degree of transparency render it at home in the Pines. Inside, the airy, open plan is defined by dramatic floor and ceiling height changes. Photographer Michael Dunne captured the home at its finest hour during a frenetic photo shoot through the Pines in 1977. More recently, the house starred as a principal setting for Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, shown on HBO.
This home is currently being renovated by Bromley Caldari Architects.
Photos: Michael Dunne.
