Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
27 Creepshots Of Fire Island's Luxurious Beach Houses
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 8, 2015
Modified Sep 8, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 27
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 8, 2015
Modified Sep 8, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Fire Island is an extremely narrow but very long barrier island, with the Atlantic Ocean to its south and Great South Bay (and Long Island) to its north. Most of it is accessible only by boat, and to a first-time visitor stepping off the ferry, it seems like a charming paradise of modest cottages dotting the hushed woods, a magical summer camp where cars are banned and deer leap along the boardwalks spreading Lyme disease. All of this is true, but Fire Island also boasts an incredible array of spectacular beach mansions, built improbably on this skinny sandbar using construction materials delivered from the mainland at astronomical cost.
Click through for some enviable property porn, showing just a fraction of the elaborate piles and modernist homes that dot the island on the beach and bay side. All photos were taken from public space space while wandering around the island over Labor Day weekend, with exact locations, addresses and residents deliberately omitted—except for The Belvedere, which is a hotel. An amazing hotel:
If you're looking to get out there this year, you can still find rentals at more modest properties through October—summer's not over, after all, and Fire Island is said to be exceptionally tranquil in the early fall, if you're into that sort of thing. For a place that's accessible by mass transit (LIRR to the ferry, via shuttle bus), it really feels like you're Out There when you're out there.
Tagged
fire island
tumbleweed tuesday
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Can New York City's playground gyms solve my mid-life crisis?
If I start doing bodyweight strength exercises now, I could postpone the day where it becomes really painful to bend down and pick stuff up.
By
James Ramsay
Published Sep 10, 2026
Standing on the Corner's music honors the ghosts of New York City
The group's frontman Gio Escobar met Gothamist at the 9/11 Memorial to explain the inspiration behind the experimental collective’s new album that, ironically, feels so full of life.
By
Sonia Rao
Arts & Entertainment
Standing on the Corner's music honors the ghosts of New York City
The group's frontman Gio Escobar met Gothamist at the 9/11 Memorial to explain the inspiration behind the experimental collective’s new album that, ironically, feels so full of life.
By
Sonia Rao
Brooklyn Public Library launches first ever craft library
By
Hannah Frishberg
'The Real Housewives of New York City' is back, and so is Carole Radziwill
By
Eddie Mouradian
A lost archive of NYC 9/11 street art memorials comes back online
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .