Sag Harbor Partnership In Push To Preserve Steinbeck House
Sag Harbor Express, February 23, 2022
Last year, when the Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck’s waterfront home in Sag Harbor was put on the market, with a steep asking price of $17.9 million, it appeared likely that the most famous literary shrine in the village would go the way of countless other small houses — razed and replaced with a sprawling mansion, with perhaps only Steinbeck’s writing gazebo hauled off the property for safekeeping.
But some held out hope that the community could be rallied to preserve the 1.8-acre property on Bluff Point Lane in its entirety and convert it into a study center, museum or other low-impact historic facility.
This week, the Sag Harbor Partnership announced that it is working with an as yet unnamed university to create The Steinbeck Writer’s Retreat at the site and launching a fundraising drive to help cover the cost of buying the property, the price of which has been reduced by about $1.2 million.
There are few details available, but the house would be made available to visiting scholars and writers through the university, with some provision made to allow public access to the site.
On Friday, February 18, Susan Mead, the co-president of the partnership, said it had presented the idea to the Southampton Town Board, which has agreed to make an offer to buy the development rights on the property.
“We are trying to get pledges to assist in the creation of an endowment and to cover any gap” in the town’s pledge and the final purchase price, she said. “We consider this to be urgent. It’s a once-in-lifetime opportunity to preserve the home of a Nobel Prize winner.”
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the fundraising effort. A letter on behalf of the partnership was sent out to its supporters this week seeking pledges.
One of the early advocates for a Community Preservation Fund purchase was Kathryn Szoka, co-owner of Canio’s Books, who has described the property as “a jewel in Sag Harbor’s literary crown,” and said it was vitally important for it to be protected.
“A lot of money has come into the CPF, and it’s supposed to be used in ways that benefit the community,” she said. “There’s no better use than to support the acquisition of Steinbeck’s home.”
Steinbeck was born and spent the early part of his life in California but later moved to New York City. He and his wife, Elaine, bought the Sag Harbor cottage in 1955, and first used it as a retreat before spending more and more time here. The setting of Steinbeck’s last novel, “The Winter of Our Discontent,” which was published in 1961, bore a strong resemblance to Sag Harbor. In 1962, the same year he won the Nobel Prize, Steinbeck set off from Sag Harbor on the transcontinental journey that was described in “Travels with Charley.”
The partnership’s fundraising letter points out that Steinbeck considered Sag Harbor his home in the final years of his life. “He was an integral part of the Sag Harbor community,” it stated. “He was one of us: He ate at local restaurants, he drank at local bars, and he thrived on his interactions with our village.”
The author, journalist, and political commentator John Avlon, who lives part-time in Sag Harbor, has also thrown his support behind the effort. “This is a jump ball moment,” he said. “We have a chance to make sure it continues to be a home for great works to be written.”
Avlon described Steinbeck as an accessible author and said books like “Travels with Charley,” in which he travels the country in an effort to better understand it, still resonate in today’s fractious political environment.
He said there would be only one chance to save the property. “The fact is, it is irreplaceable. If we lose it as a community, it’s gone,” Avlon said. “The Town Board understands the irreplaceable historic nature of it, because they have made a significant commitment.”
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman confirmed that the Town Board had reviewed the proposal and made a tentative offer to buy the development rights. “It’s a beautiful piece of property with a great view in a beautiful village,” he said, adding that it was a unique opportunity to preserve the home of a major American writer.
But he said that the town’s contribution would not cover the whole cost and said the process is unusual, “because we are not in negotiations with the owner, we are in negotiations with a fledgling nonprofit that doesn’t own the property.”
Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, who lives in North Haven, said he supported the purchase. “We see it as part of our heritage in Sag Harbor and, really, the entire East End,” he said. “The area has been home to many accomplished authors, and John Steinbeck was probably the most well-known.”
Szoka, who did much to stir up support for the preservation effort early last year, pointed to a petition she posted on change.org, that collected 32,000 signatures from around the world supporting the preservation of the property.
She said she was happy that the Town Board had indicated its support: “They recognize that preserving the Steinbeck homestead will be a tremendous asset to the town in the years to come.”
She said Canio’s is keeping the spotlight on Steinbeck by celebrating his February 27 birthday by presenting “Celebrate Steinbeck & the Importance of Home,” a program featuring Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw, this Saturday, February 26, at 5 p.m. via Zoom. Shillinglaw will discuss the importance of home to Steinbeck and the different ways home manifests itself in his work. Shillinglaw’s talk is the first in a series, “Steinbeck in Search of America.”
Registration is online at caniosbooks.com.