Experience 400 Years of History, Architecture & Design in 1 Weekend!

Registration for the Long Island East End Tour has closed. If you are interested in joining, please contact Kaitlyn Robitaille, Director of Development at krobitaille@preservenys.org. 

There is no better way to understand the kinds of places the Preservation League fights to protect than by joining the Excelsior Society as we explore the different corners of New York State. We advocate for the preservation of treasured historic buildings, landscapes, downtowns, and neighborhoods threatened by neglect, imminent demolition, or lack of regulatory protections. Visiting the East End of Long Island with us will bring that scope and diversity to life. Keep scrolling to learn more.

Highlights from the weekend include:

Sylvester Manor, the oldest surviving provisioning plantation north of the Mason Dixon Line, a place of enslavement that was established in 1652. We’ll learn about the restoration work being planned at the 1737 Manor house and visit the Afro-Indigenous Burial Ground and archeological digs on the 236-acre site.

Next on Shelter Island, we’ll visit famed architect William Pedersen’s home, a modern masterpiece situated on its own peninsula overlooking Gardiner's Bay. Designed and built by Mr. Pedersen over a period of 20 years, it's still a work in progress, with an addition presently under construction. Rarely open to the public, this yacht-like residence, originally completed in 2005, sweeps us over 350 years from Sylvester Manor to the present in a 15-minute ride!

Cocktails and dinner at the Southampton Inn, our home for the weekend, with a presentation by Peggy King Jorde, a recipient of the 2024 Pillar of New York Award.

The historic Thomas Halsey House (1683) in Southampton Village, one of the oldest homes in New York State.

A visit to St. Andrew’s Dune Church - a former lifeguard station converted to an Episcopal Church in 1884 featuring 42 stained glass windows, nine by Tiffany & Co.

A ride down Gin and Meadow Lanes, passing elegant late 19th and early 20th century summer estates as well as some over-the-top luxury extravaganzas built in the past 20 years.

A tour of the Thomas and Mary Nimmo Moran House and Studio in Easthampton, an idiosyncratically designed 19th century Queen Anne-style studio cottage, which marked the start of East Hampton village as an artist’s colony. The Moran Studio – along with a group of 20th century studios we’ll visit in the afternoon – is an affiliate of the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) Program of The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Saturday’s lunch will be hosted by PLNYS Trustees Council member, Janet C. Ross, at her Easthampton home on Georgica Pond.

Our afternoon will also include curated visits to LongHouse Reserve - the former home of artist, collector, and world-renowned textile designer and weaver Jack Lenor Larsen, which is now both a house museum featuring an extraordinary decorative arts collection and a 16 acre nature reserve and sculpture garden; the Pollack/Krasner Home & Studio, where artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner lived and worked; Green River Cemetery, resting place of numerous artistic notables; and the Elaine de Kooning House. Ms. de Kooning, who was married to Willem de Kooning, was part of the “first generation” of Abstract Expressionist painters.

A visit to the Southampton African American Museum (SAAM). Museum Director Brenda Simmons will recount the building’s history as a barber shop and beauty parlor serving the African American community and its evolution into a museum and contemporary art gallery.

Preservation League Vice Chair, Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Director of the Eastville Historical Society, will join us as we pass the now-vacant site of the Pyrrhus Concer Homestead on our way to Sag Harbor. We’ll learn about the fierce battle to recognize and preserve the property, in which the League participated, and the property’s current status.

In Sag Harbor, we’ll be welcomed to SANS – the Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest & Ninevah Subdivisions – by Community Preservation Activists. This historically African American vacation community on Long Island was developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. SANS was included on the League’s 2020 Seven to Save list.

Dr. Grier-Key will give us further insight into the history of African Americans on the East End as we visit the Eastville Historical Society; the home of E.T. Williams, and the Custom House. 

The last stop will be Stanford White’s Box Hill Estate in St. James, on Long Island’s North Shore. We’ll be welcomed there by Daniel and Betsy White, the owners, and by Samuel and Elizabeth White. Originally a farmhouse, Stanford White enlarged the building several times in the late 19th century, incorporating creative finishes achieved with locally sourced materials both inside and out. Stanford White’s ambitious design of the dining room led to an unanticipated and major reconstruction a century later.

Included in Your Trip:

• Daily luxury motor coach transportation throughout our tour starting and ending in midtown Manhattan.

• Hotel accommodations at the Southampton Inn (2 nights total)

• Three meals daily (pre-dinner cocktails and wine with dinner)

• Generous snacks and water on board the coach at all times

• Guided tours and exclusive visits as described in the brochure

What is Not Included:

• Transportation costs not included in the tour itinerary

• Any additional costs incurred by you

• Private transportation in the event of early departure