Setauket

The Federal style Setauket Elementary School, located in the heart of the Old Setauket Historic District, was designed in 1951 by Richard Haviland Smythe, who also designed the Stony Brook Village Center. The school building celebrates local history. On the gable peaks of two flanking wings are set images of Richard Woodhull, one of the original settlers, and Major Benjamin Tallmadge, the Revolutionary War hero. In the auditorium are murals of Revolutionary war scenes, original to the building.

The community is fighting to prevent unsympathetic alterations to the original open symmetric plan, which will result in a constrained irregular opening where once was a gracious invitation into an entrance portico and interior spaces beyond. The Civic Association of the Setaukets has offered an alternative which will eliminate blocking the courtyard, while still allowing for expansion of the auditorium. As part of the effort to preserve the school’s architectural features, community members are also seeking to list the school on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Southampton

The Charles H. Sabin estate, known as “Bayberryland”, sited on a bluff in Shinnecock Hills overlooking Great Peconic Bay, was built during 1918-19. The estate buildings, including a two story English manor house in the Stuart Revival style, were designed by Walter and Eliot Cross, and the estate was laid out by Marion C. Coffin. All of the service buildings, which form an extended gate lodge leading to the manor house, still exist. The gardens, also designed by Marion Coffin, were considered one of her finest efforts. Since the 1960s, the 307 acre property has served as a convention center for executives of an electrical workers union. In August, 2001, the property was purchased for $45,000,000 in order to construct an organic golf course. For the plan to be implemented, the Town of Southampton would have to grant a zone change. According to an assessment done by Jan Pokorney Associates, Inc. for the application’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the house is considered in restorable condition, but the owner has not included it in the proposed plans.

SPLIA filed written comments with the Southampton Town Board as to the historical and architectural importance of the property, and the need to consider potential reuse strategies in the environmental review process. Several local organizations are also attempting to encourage the owner to use the structure rather than demolish it, including the Southampton Historical Museum and the Southampton Preservation Society. In November, 2002, Town consultants, Allee King Rosen and Fleming, recommended that the EIS must evaluate the estate’s historical and architectural significance, particularly the manor house, and the gardens, and consider alternatives which preserve these elements. The Planning Board has adopted these recommendations.