The History of Fire Island’s Carrington House
Frank Carrington circa 1950s in front of his home.
Carrington House
The Carrington House is located on a tract of land between Fire island Pines and Cherry Grove. It is one of the earliest homes built on Fire Island, originally constructed in 1912 by Frederick Marquat, and purchased in 1927 by theater director Frank Carrington, a patron of the arts who co-founded the Paper Mill playhouse.
Frank expanded the property by adding a cottage where he would host a large circle of art-world acquaintances, including Lincoln Kirstein, co-founder of the New York City ballet, and Truman Capote, who wrote Breakfast at Tiffany’s there. In 2022, the site was redeveloped by the National Park Service to be used as a cultural space for Fire Island’s LGBTQ communities.
Carrington Estate
The original parcel of land that makes up the Carrington Estate is on what was proposed to be Lewis Walk, Cherry Grove. The subsequent parcels, added in 1947 and 1955, were purchased from the Home Guardian Company and are located in Fire Island Pines.
The house was built in 1909 by Frederick Marquat, a US Army Corporal that served with Carrington’s father, Major Frank Carrington, in the Philippines from 1900 to 1909. When Marquat and the Major returned from the Philippines in 1909, one of his first actions was this land purchase. The 2 families used this retreat until 1927, at which point young Frank bought the property and turned the space into a nexus for the cultural development of mid-century arts.
At one point Frank Carrington was offered $1.5M for the property by a real estate developer but was more interested in preserving the site, so sold it to the National Park Service (NPS) in 1969 for approximately $300,000 and continued living there until 1975. It is the only parcel that can claim a locale in both communities, and as such, forms a symbolic marriage of these unique and important havens.
How the Carrington Estate looked when it was owned and occupied by Frank Carrington.
Famous guests at the Carrington cottage
Frank Carrington expanded the property with the “Lone Hill Cottage” built in 1948, inviting his first tenant, Lincoln Kirstein, founder of the New York City Ballet. Other tenants, guests, and neighbors that followed include: Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Margaret Hoening, Fidelma Cadmus, Donald Windham, Sandy Campbell, Tennessee Williams, George Daniell, Georgia O’Keefe, a young Robert DeNiro, Bill Blass, Jerome Robbins, Joan McCracken, Truman Capote, Christopher Isherwood, W.H. Auden, Eugene O’Neill, Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Gertrude Lawrence, George Tooker, Bernard Perlin, Jensen Yow, George Platt Lynes, Pavel Tchelitchew, Natalie Molostwoff and others. These people were writers, painters, actors, dancers, photographers, producers, directors, and designers. This mixed genre of creativity is embedded in the arts we produce today.
Photo of Lincoln Kirstein on the west deck of Frank Carrington’s cottage, circa 1948; photo reproduced from The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein by Martin Duberman
Modern Era and Restoration
In 2016, the property was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is the only residential, LGBTQ property in the National Park Service. It is a classic, east coast beach cottage, that fits the style of the period. It is emblematic of other art residences found in such places as Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Enthused local residents are partnering with the National Seashore to restore, operate and maintain this property in a manner that will honor its legacy as an LGBTQ arts incubator as well as inspire future creativity.