| Keeping Time in Sag Harbor |
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| All photographs copyright Stephen Longmire, from 'Keeping Time in Sag Harbor' |
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'Keeping Time in Sag Harbor – the Other Port of New York'
Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street
October 10 - January 4, 2009
Sag Harbor, the whaling port turned summer resort on Long Island’s East End, celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2007. This exhibit is drawn from Stephen Longmire’s photographic book, Keeping Time in Sag Harbor, published for the occasion by the Center for American Places.
Along with New York City, Sag Harbor was declared a “port of entry” for New York State in 1789. An oil boomtown, it landed $25 million of whale products between 1785 and 1871. After its fishery went belly up, Sag Harbor became a factory town. A watchcase factory built in 1881 employed the community for a century, attracting many immigrants straight from Ellis Island.
The architecture of Sag Harbor’s early affluence was long preserved by neglect. Now its historic houses are the engine of the local economy, as they are restored and resold. Built by whalers and watchmakers, Sag Harbor has been inherited by weekenders. Like South Street, it is a case study in architectural preservation at a community scale in changing times. Keeping time in his own way, Longmire explores the community’s architectural and pictorial records as it turns 300.
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| All photographs copyright Stephen Longmire, from 'Keeping Time in Sag Harbor' |
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