If you weren’t to the manor born, here’s your chance to compensate for that. This 1927 Tudor home features the classic half-timbered exterior and, on the inside, has retained much of its period character. It is one of the homes multi-faceted entrepreneur and Florida land-boom developer Carl Fisher built in Montauk in the 1920s in a quest to make the area the “Miami Beach of the North.” The project ultimately failed, but still standing are local landmarks such as the Montauk Manor and the Montauk Tennis Auditorium, some of the homes he built on spec, and his own mansion on Foxboro Road, known as The Carl Fisher House and acquired by the Town of East Hampton in 2021.
This 3,227-square-foot home, sited on nearly an acre on Fairview Avenue, is considerably smaller in scale than Fisher’s more ambitious projects, but no less rich in detail and historic character. Original wood paneling, trim and finishes, stained-glass windows and wood-burning fireplaces and a classic Tudor decorative staircase are among the architectural assets that have been retained.
The first floor is largely devoted to the common rooms — a 307-square-foot living room with the original fireplace, 172-square-foot dining room and a newly renovated 330-square-foot chef’s kitchen. There’s also a full bath, a small bedroom and a 145-square-foot sunroom.
A 2022 renovation doubled the kitchen in size and was completed by Jason Biondo of the family-owned Montauk firm, Hammerhead Construction. Susan Ceslow, the Douglas Elliman agent who is listing the home, says Biondo took care to redesign it in the context of the house.
“He took into account it was a historic house, made it not too modern and kept to the structural detail of the house,” she said. “He really wanted to tread lightly and not leave many footprints.”
Featuring dove-gray custom cabinetry and granite countertops, the kitchen offers plenty of storage and work space between the counters and the center island. The renovation kept a classic period look with subway tiles, black-iron hardware and simple pendant lights encased in black metal. The floors are a walnut-colored hardwood, in keeping with the wood tones elsewhere in the house. The stainless steel appliance suite is Samsung.
The living room features stained-glass windows in alcoves flanking the fireplace. French doors lead to the sunroom, intact with original details such as brick floors and the arched window framing.
A stunning wood staircase opens into a large landing leading to the other three bedrooms. Two guest rooms, measuring 169 and 258 square feet, share a hallway full bathroom, and the 286-square-foot primary bedroom is ensuite. The bathrooms on each floor have been well maintained with some updates, and kept original details such as the oversize square wall tiles, and etched mirrors over the pedestal sinks.
The lower level includes the laundry room, plenty of storage and has been “prepped to add an additional bedroom suite” according to the listing notes. Ceslow says that the septic system was recently installed. Adjacent to the attached garage, an exterior door leads into a wood paneled hallway wide enough to serve as a mudroom and which also has additional closets for storage.
The property is ringed with large mature hardwoods offering plenty of privacy and serenity. The back yard is partially planted with low green and flowering shrubs, ground cover and native grasses, and Ceslow says, in season, the yard is filled with flowering rhododendrons. The 135-square-foot patio offers another space for entertaining, dining or as you like it. Because, when it’s your manor, do as you please!
Just beyond the site are Fort Pond and Fort Pond Bay, and Lake Montauk. This, however, being Montauk there’s water all around, including a view of the open Sound. The home is about six miles from the Montauk Point Lighthouse. Also nearby are parks aplenty: Camp Hero State Park, Montauk County Park, Amsterdam Beach State Park. Fewer than four miles, the Hither Woods Preserve is linked to the adjacent to the state park of the same name by hiking trails.
This historic Tudor home at 40 Fairview Ave. lists for $2,600,000 and the details can be seen here.
