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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
LOST MODERN 74 BAY WALK
Architect: HORACE GIFFORD, 1964.
Angelo Donghia, a rising star in the interior design world, turned to Horace Gifford in 1964 to create a bayside retreat for himself and his best friend, the couture designer Halston. Like Gifford, Donghia was a precocious talent who made his mark at an early age. By the 1970’s, Donghia was a household brand, having established a mass-market business model that was later emulated by Ralph Lauren and Martha Stewart.
Donghia’s eclecticism and opulent taste were at odds with Gifford’s austerity, and the client’s classicizing influence is apparent in the broad boardwalk that was centered on the home, a gesture in direct opposition to the winding path favored by Gifford. Three arched bays delineated a symmetrical plan with a clear front and back. Paint and plaster made a rare (for Gifford) appearance, abetting black and white Donghia furnishings. Green glass pool-table pendants designed by Harry Gitlin illuminated the kitchen, as they would in virtually every other Gifford home. A lowered, flat ceiling across the home’s midsection brought curved clerestory windows to both ends of the living room and the bedrooms, diffusing light across the rounded ceilings. Artist Hans Namuth immortalized the house with black-and-white photos that were published first in the New York Times and then House and Garden.
Circa 2005, the home was nested into a glassy expansion by architect Hal Hayes.
This home is featured in Fire Island Modernist: Horace Gifford and the Architecture of Seduction.
Photos: Hans Namuth. Plan: Christopher Rawlins.
