Dan's Papers - April 11, 2008

With the drama presently surrounding the Community Preservation Fund in East Hampton, it's hard not to take a closer look at a high profile preservation project right on Main Street: the Thomas Moran house. The structure, tucked away off the west side of Town Pond, was built in 1884 by the legendary painter Thomas Moran and still contains his studio. When Moran died in 1926, J. Condi and Elizabeth Boots Lamb inherited the property, and donated it to Guild Hall that same year. Registered in 1965 with the National Register of Historic Places, the property is currently not used for any purpose by Guild Hall or the public and unfortunately, there has been no historical renovation or even maintenance of the building since 1884.

A brief walk on the grounds reveals the decrepit state of the building. Sections of shingle are rotted, weather damage is present on the interior and exterior, and endless weeds and shrubs overtake the property. Last August, the New York Times published an article on what might be the fate of this historical place. Would it remain a bare boned home destined to wither away? Or would a citizen or some organization come to its rescue?

There was a lot of talk about putting the home on the market back in August, selling it to someone who would be willing to take on the financial burden of restoration. There was also talk from Peter Wolf, chairman of the Thomas Moran House Committee, about how to undertake the financial cost of restoring the house themselves and making it an additional part of the ambitious restoration of Guild Hall's John Drew Theater.

Unfortunately, none of those options moved forward. Last Friday the East Hampton Town Board held a meeting to discuss whether or not money would be contributed to restoring the home and making it a usable place for the community.

As we wait and see the fate of the McGintee administration, pending investigations into the use of $8 million from the CPF for projects other than preservation, there is tremendous pressure on the board in terms of how these funds are used. In all fairness, this administration has made a name for itself, saving a tremendous amount of property for the Town. At the meeting, the board immediately recognized the value of the Thomas Moran house and the need to restore the property. With just one person in the room voicing opposition against the use of monies from the CPF, the board voted unanimously to put $500,000 towards the restoration of the historical home. The vote made East Hampton Village Historic Preservation Consultant Robert Hefner a very happy man.

And many residents of East Hampton share that sentiment. The home will now be protected by a historical easement, which will allow restoration of the property. This easement makes it unlawful for the Thomas Moran House to become anything else but what it originally was in the 1800s. The easement that was passed by the board requires that the studio space be restored within three years and that the outside grounds be cleaned up and maintained. The entire $500,000 easement will go towards restoration of the property.

Guild Hall raised millions of dollars to restore the John Drew Theater, bringing the arts back to East Hampton in a way that rivals the activity when the hall was built. The future restoration of the Thomas Moran House, using CPF monies, is another jewel in the crown for the Village.