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Friday, September 4, 2009

Hooked On The Old Houses of the East End

A glorious end-of-summer day today -- brilliant sunshine and the kind of clarity that is the special talent of Fall. Everything looks sharp!

It's a good day to go house-peeping.

Climb in, we're off to Long Island's East End, one of Nature and Man's favored places.

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At the end of New York's Long Island are the Twin Forks, North and South, and we are heading for the North Fork. (See end of post for a link to more information.)

Although surrounded by water -- Peconic Bay, Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic -- there are no endless miles of open sandy beaches, no boardwalk, no honky-tonk stuff on the North Fork (unless you count the Fireman's Carnival and the midweek concerts at the Gazebo), and many of the day trippers come to see this:

The vineyards and wineries.

They don't come for a day at the beach, because public beaches are mostly
limited to the local taxpayers, and the rest of the water front is private. It's a quiet place.


Join me for a Friday Hooked On party, at Julia's Hooked On Houses blog. Click here.

I am Hooked On the old houses of the North Fork!

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We all love beach houses and waterfront cottages, but out on the East End, there's another breed of beautiful house that is everywhere you look: The Old House.

Farm house, doctor's house, 17th century parsonage -- despite coming out this way for almost as long as I can remember, my eyes still ping-ping back and forth as we drive along; there's just so much house to look at!

So here, in no order, and without explanations, and in all sorts of conditions,
are just a few of the great old houses of the East End:



Oh, you have to love this -- an interior design office in a former gas station.
Did I mention that the East End is not pretentious? We leave that to the big Fork across the Bay.


But we have the world's best looking McDonalds!

Yes, that really is a McDonald's, below. That huge corporation jumped through a thousand local hoops
to get permission to build the only fast food place on the North Fork. No drive-thru; might cause littering!



Lots of places to buy locally grown produce, seafood, and apparently -- "baked gods."
:-)


Is it any wonder, after spending summers out on the East End, that I fell in love with this New Jersey house?

That Old House would fit right in on Long Island, wouldn't it?
And rightly so, as it was originally built by a farming family that moved to New Jersey
from -- you guessed it -- the North Fork of Long Island in the 1700s, looking for more land.

Have a lovely long holiday weekend, my friends!
Stay safe, wear sunscreen, and give Summer a grand send-off! -- Cass

P.S. For more information on Long Island, and a nice clear map so you can see what I mean by the Twin Forks, click here.

23 comments:

  1. What great old houses! Love the photography.

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  2. Hi Cass-
    Love, Love, Love old houses, buildings, schools, churches, stores etc. I like imaging what they were like in the past.

    Have a safe holiday weekend!

    Melinda

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  3. It's me again-
    I forgot to say that now I'm following YOU and have added you to my list of places to wander. :)
    M

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  4. I love the older homes and you get some great shots of some nice ones. Thanks for sharing.
    Pam

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  5. What a lovely post! I love that style of house. Especially the one on the banner, is it yours?
    They look spacious and full of light.
    Have a lovely weekend
    Isabelle x

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  6. Love seeing the old houses - Thanks for the tour.
    Have a happy & safe weekend.

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  7. I love the old houses, they have such character and history. I would love to live in one... you definitely live in a beautiful area.

    Thanks so much for sharing!

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  8. Those are some really neat houses. I liked them all. I love the real architecture of old houses! I love their character. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I saw one in particular that needed some lovin' and I wish I could be there to give it to it. Wow.
    Of course yours makes the others pale in comparison.

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  10. Cass,

    Thank you for posting your rip out east. I am a born and bred Long Islander and I loved taking the visual ride out east with you thru your pictures because it has been some time since we've taken a road trip to the point. I recognized quite a bit of the houses.

    Smiles,
    Diane

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  11. Elizabeth in MississippiFri Sep 04, 03:15:00 PM EDT

    Thanks for these great photos ...love old houses, too, all that family history stored away. Oh and did you notice that picture #5, that appears to be an abandoned home, is NOT alone. A whisper of ephemeral smoke floats around the 2nd story. Who still lingers? 8-) Have a wonderful weekend.

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  12. Just a beautiful post. I grew up on the south shore of Long Island in Freeport, but for the first 6 years of my live, we lived in Riverhead. In those days (50 years ago), it was potato farms and duck farms. I loved the scenery out there. Thank you for taking me back..just lovely.
    ♥, Susan

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  13. To this southern boy, Long Island might as well be on the moon. How can one place have New York City on one end and all the "country" on the other?

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  14. These are some amazing old houses--but yours is my favorite! I would've fallen in love with it, too. I wish I could walk right up to your front porch and sit a spell.

    Is that really a McDonald's? I've never seen one like that. How fancy!

    So glad you could join my party today, Cass. Hope your weekend is wonderful. :-)

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  15. Love the North Fork too. Definitely one of my favorite parts of long island!

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  16. Oh so pretty. Some remind me of the old farm house my best friend in childhood lived in down the street from me. Happy LONG weekend!
    **blows kisses** Deborah

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  17. Thanks for the tour. Delightful!
    ~Andrea~

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  18. love the old houses,
    they don't make them like they used to -

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  19. Those are some beautiful old ladies, but I have to say "This Old House" is my favorite in the group. What a McDonalds! Is the food more expensive (or any better) than at a regular McD's? laurie

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  20. Sorry, I just had to tell you that I once saw a combination interior design/tatoo parlor! I didn't go inside, but I do wish I had taken a photo of their sign. laurie

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  21. Great houses but come on....having your house in Jersey is way better then outon some island....It's Jersey!!! I love by the way your stone foundation sun room on the side of the house....Have a great holiday weekend....Enjoy some of those Jersey tomatoes and corn...Sue

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  22. You have so lovely blog and this old house. Vau
    Tiina from Finland

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