Historical Society House Tour

The East Hampton Historical Society’s 2017 House and Garden Tour will feature five houses ranging in style from traditional to modern on Nov. 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. A cocktail party to benefit the historical society will take place at the Maidstone Club on Friday, Nov. 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

One highlight of the tour is Kilkare, an estate within the Georgia Association that was built in 1877 by shipbuilders on 330 feet of Atlantic Ocean beachfront. Its 85 windows and screened double doors afford sweeping views of the ocean and Georgica Pond.

Another singular property on the tour is the Woodhouse Playhouse on Huntting Lane, built 100 years ago by the philanthropist and arts patron Mary Woodhouse. The Elizabethan-style house is notable for its 75-foot-long great room, with its 30-foot gabled peak and church-like nave, an Aeolian-Skinner organ, and massive fireplace.

A stylistic outlier of sorts is an early-20th-century village cottage with French and English influences. The interiors reflect France with hand-finished plaster walls, antique limestone floors and mantels, period paneling, and a La Cornue range. Intricate stonework and a swooping shingle roof suggest an English cottage.

A shingle-style house on Further Lane is distinguished by two balanced, curved turrets, multi-pane windows, spacious rooms, and well-appointed furnishings. 

Also on Further Lane is the house of the interior designer Joe Nahem and Jeff Fields, who have filled the contemporary spaces with new, vintage, and antique furnishings, traditional materials, and an extensive art collection. “Fox-Nahem: The Design Vision of Joe Nahem” has just been published by Abrams.

Tickets to the self-guided tour are $65 in advance and $75 on the day of the tour. Cocktail party tickets are $200 and include the tour. Tickets are available at easthamptonhistory.org or by calling 631-324-6850.