Our Hamptons

Esperanza and Irwin reflect back on a haunting 2011 Vanity Fair article on the White Family Farm.  Prior to becoming one of America's priciest zip codes, Sagaponack was primarily a farming community.   And the White's, one of Sagaponack's oldest families, have farmed their land since the 1600's.  The White's small cottages nestled in the Sagaponack dunes, were rented seasonally...

Esperanza and Irwin embark on a virtual Happy Hour back in time to the bars and taverns we love, and the characters that inhabited them.   From the literati at the original Bobby Van's in Bridgehampton, with Capote, Matthiessen, Knowles and Plimpton to John Steinbeck at Barons Cove in Sag Harbor.  Deep in the woods of Springs, Jungle Pete's had Pollock at the bar with baymen and Bon...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss Fair Field from the beginning to present day.  The plan to construct a 100,000 square foot compound on 63 oceanfront acres sent shock waves throughout the East End.  Fair Field had its own power plant, a 100 car garage and multiple outbuildings. Yet the compound violated no laws, in fact it taking up less than 10% of the property.   While its sheer s...

Esperanza and Irwin pick up in the late 1950's heyday of The Bridge.  Can-Am races, The Vanderbilt Cup, Nascar races all were happening in this era, with the world's greatest auto racers.  But unfortunately, economic challenges, Southampton Town rezoning, development pressures and changing demographics created problems for The Bridge. An unlikely alliance between The Bridge and environme...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss Bridgehampton's prominence as a mecca for auto racing in the early to mid 20th century.  Hard as it is to fathom, auto racing took place on the streets of Bridgehampton from 1915-1921 and again from 1949 to 1953.  After the NYS legislature banned racing in the streets, a group purchased almost 600 acres to the north, off Millstone Road.  There, a challeng...

Esperanza and Irwin welcome Build. In. Kind/East Hampton founder Jaine Mehring.  To “build in kind” means to renovate or rebuild a structure basically as it is—in the same form and existing footprint.  To those of us who live, visit or even read about East Hampton knows this is rarely talking place.  In fact, for years now, we’ve been seeing the opposite – it’s been mainly “all demo...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss 100+ years of Bell Estate history and folklore. Dr. Dennistoun Bell’s 21 room Georgian Manor house on a bluff over Gardiner’s Bay, with outbuildings, guest cottages and a funicular! His generosity led to 120 Town preserved acres at Albert’s Landing and Fresh Pond. The end of the 20th century brought the power couple Reginald and Loida Lewis as the final lords of the man...

Leisurama Part 2 brings Esperanza and Irwin to present day Montauk.  While many of the original Leisurama's have been renovated beyond recognition, or replaced by larger homes entirely, the bones are still evident.  Past and current real estate ads for Leisurama are contrasted to the original marketing plan, and the value of an intact Leisurama as a piece of history is discussed.  &...

Esperanza and Irwin explore the crazy history behind Leisurama of Montauk.  The story starts with a piece of history: the 1959 "Kitchen Debate" between Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev and Vice President Richard Nixon taking place in a...you guessed it...Leisurama Kitchen in the American National Exhibition in Moscow. The cast of characters now include the architect Andrew Geller, Marketing Di...

Esperanza and Irwin return to 1950's Sag Harbor, and continue the incredible story of the sisters Maude Terry and Amaza Lee Meredith that led to the Azurest subdivision.   We try to take you back through the words and tales of past and present residents including the late William Pickens, a patriarch and pillar of the community.  We bring it into the present day, the efforts to try...

Esperanza and Irwin touch on Sag Harbor's rich history as a whaling port, and the diverse workforce employed in that industry, and at the Joseph Fahys Watchcase Factory in the 19th century.  It all leads into Eastville, a community ahead of its time as Native Americans, African Americans, Europeans lived together in apparent harmony.  We close in 1940's/50's Sag Harbor, and the extraordi...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss the Shinnecock Monuments in both real and metaphorical terms.  The monuments were installed in 2019 and 2021 to bring a much needed source of revenue to the Shinnecock Nation; 60% of the Reservation lives below the poverty line.  Yet despite being a sovereign nation, the Shinnecock's and their monuments drew the wrath of local and state governments, not to men...

Esperanza and Irwin continue to delve deeper into Wainscott.  The Wainscott Chapel, overlooking Wainscott Pond, and the Osborne homestead.  The Wainscott Sewing Society, and their good deeds for the community.  The Walker family, Wainscott's first African American family, the Conklin House, and of course, the iconic Georgica Association, one of the most unique enclaves on the east e...

Esperanza explains why she is "all in" as a Wainscott resident, and why she feels it's so important to raise her children there.  She then joins Irwin on a virtual walking tour of the hamlet.  Stops include the former Wainscott Post Office on Main Street, the general store on Hollow Road, and farms, vistas and viewsheds that have stood the test of time.

 Esperanza and Irwin look back on the abstract expressionist movement that thrived in Springs in the 1940's and 50's, and James Brooks and Charlotte Park's place within it.  The abundance of art spaces with public access in Springs, including Pollock Krasner House, Duck Creek and the Lieber Collection.  A virtual exploration of the 11 acre property replete with hiking trails, and th...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss The Fulling Mill Farm, a dairy farm in full operation as late as 1959 in East Hampton's Georgica, now an underutilized nature preserve.  A few short blocks away is The Apaquogue, an early 19th century boarding house with an extraordinary history and uncertain future.  The lack of proper lodging in East Hampton in the early 20th century led to village residents...

Esperanza and Irwin discuss development pressures in Amagansett's Poseyville.  The conversation was inspired by architectural critic, writer and east end resident Paul Goldberger's recent letter to the East Hampton Star.  The letter then led to a look back at Goldberger's iconic 1983 NY Times article, The Strangling of a Resort.

The introductory trailer for OUR HAMPTONS.   Neither Hamptons tabloid podcast, nor Hamptons news in review podcast,  OUR HAMPTONS is dedicated to eastern Long Island history and folklore, an embrace of preservation, and an absolute celebration of our rich sense of place.   Longtime East Hampton residents Esperanza Leon and Irwin Levy engage in conversations you'll want to...