AUDIO
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
525 SNAPPER WALK
AUDIO
Architect: Unknown. Renovation: HORACE GIFFORD, 1971.
At first glance, 525 Snapper Walk appears to be a forgettable beach shack. But its subtle charms, orchestrated in a 1971 renovation by Horace Gifford, soon envelop the visitor. Like his own home across the street, progression is paramount. One steps off the public boardwalk onto a sandy path, a poetic if somewhat impractical means of reconnecting with the landscape. Ascending steps along the side of the house, the Great South Bay soon comes into spectacular relief. Gifford’s terrace is delimited only by knee walls, low benches, or not at all. This quality of boundlessness is further enhanced by the hilly double lot that this tiny two-bedroom home nestles into. Eschewing his usual passion for symmetrical shapes, Gifford reveled in the angular quirkiness of the original cottage. The interior features a prow-shaped living area with a built-in daybed next to a cast-iron fireplace and a beautifully detailed kitchen. Passing tiny bedrooms, a narrow bridge leads to a secret treetop deck, articulated by low benches in the shape of a pinwheel.
Its new owners understand this house, and have dressed it in Knoll and Nakashima.
Photos: Tom Sibley. Drawing: Horace Gifford courtesy Christopher Rawlins.
