The Montauk Playhouse, known originally as the Montauk
Tennis Auditorium, was built between 1928 and 1929.
Together with the Montauk Manor and the Fisher Building,
it was part of developer Carl Fisher’s vision
of a Miami of the north. With the stock market crash,
his vision was eclipsed, but the striking buildings
he left behind have demanded the attention of residents
and visitors ever since. The estimated cost of constructing
the Tennis Auditorium was $125,000, a large sum for
the late 1920s. Envisioned as a multi-purpose building
it was planned not only for tennis but for boxing matches
and large-scale conferences.
After the stock market crash the Tennis Auditorium
continued to operate, serving primarily as the indoor
tennis courts for the Montauk Manor. During World War
II, the Tennis Auditorium was transformed into an assembly
hall and theater for the troops. In the 1950s, it served
as a summer stock theater and was renamed the Montauk
Manor Playhouse. It did not succeed and found a new
use as a movie theater. Abandoned in the 1970s and only
used minimally thereafter, the building deteriorated
to the point of precariousness, but its architectural
features and historical interest were recognized with
its listing on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1987. The last few years have seen important progress
toward restoration and reuse of the structure. In 1999,
the owners donated the Playhouse and its 4.4 acres of
surrounding property to the Town of East Hampton. The
Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation , a friends
group was formed. In Fall, 2001, a Town of East Hampton
advisory committee recommended that the building be
restored and used as a community center. Recently the
Town of East Hampton received a $350,000 Environmental
Protection Fund grant for restoration. The Preservation
League of the State of New York listed the property
on its 2002 Seven-to Save list, recognizing both the
significance of the structure, and the pivotal role
it can still play in the life of its community.
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