Forget the private jets and the tycoons in their Orlebar Browns. Long before the East End was a playground for the rich and famous, hardy farmers cultivated potatoes, corn and cauliflower here, using windmills to grind grain for livestock. Naturally, several of these evocative structures are now high-status residential conversions.
The glamorous set has always had a soft spot for these quirky buildings. Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller once vacationed at the Windmill House in Amagansett, a 1,300-square-foot dwelling asking $8.5 million for purchase and $45,000 for a summer rental. Originally a working mill, the tower now houses a bedroom in its base and another bedroom on its second level. “The property is very private,” says Bill Williams of Compass — one of the brokers representing the open rental listing (Douglas Elliman is marketing its sale). “you can hardly see it from the road . . . it’s very quaint.”
For those in need of room to spread out, the 5,232-square-foot 15 Sunswyck Lane in Westhampton Beach, which the Corcoran Group listed for $4.5 million in March, boasts an original 19th century windmill that now houses two of the home’s 11 bedrooms. (Corcoran also marketed a now-sold 9,430-square-foot estate in Remsenburg whose historic windmill was converted into a changing and laundry area for the adjacent saltwater pool.)
Other windmills are replicas, like the one at the Edward DeRose Windmill Cottage in East Hampton, which is available for $11.95 million through Brown Harris Stevens. Renovated by Sandy Peabody and decorated by Arthur Dunnam, the three-story windmill houses a foyer at ground level, a library above and a home office on the third floor. Alas, it doesn’t generate any power (beyond its place as a point of cocktail conversation).