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As it stands today, the historic Canoe Place Inn building in Hampton Bays needs much renovation. Currently, owners Mitchell and Gregg Rechler are planning a hospitality-oriented resort for the property, while Hampton Bays residents are fighting to keep the structure standing. Photos by Kelly Carroll

Hampton Bays - As the local legend goes, the Canoe Place Inn, located steps from the Shinnecock Canal in the hamlet of Hampton Bays, was a haunt of New York State governor and once presidential hopeful Al Smith for approximately 30 years. As he was a revered patron of the inn's nightly dinners, the tale continues, no one danced before Smith and his wife took the floor.

One night, without his wife by his side, Smith asked a local Hampton Bays woman, working as the inn's bookkeeper at the time, to open the night of dancing with him. At the end of the night, the bookkeeper went home and saved the shoes she was wearing during her special dance with Smith, never to wear them again.

According to Brenda Berntson of the Hampton Bays Historical Society, many local residents have fond memories of the old inn. Image courtesy of the Hampton Bays Historical Society

This is just one of the many stories Hampton Bays Historical Society Officer Brenda Berntson says have emerged from the historic Canoe Place Inn, which still stands just north of Canoe Place Road in Hampton Bays. Now owned by Suffolk County developers Mitchell and Gregg Rechler of R-Squared, LLC, however, current plans for the storied establishment would ultimately mean its destruction.

Bernston, and hundreds of other Hampton Bays residents, have now taken up the cause to try and save it. "We're asking them to work around it," Berntson asserted, noting the Rechler's plan to build a private residential club on the site. "Find a way to compliment it. Retain some of that hometown flavor. We have a flavor to the East End and it should be retained."

The History Of Place
There is some evidence that Britain's Queen Anne chartered the Canoe Place Inn during her reign in the late-17th century and into the early-18th century. In the mid-1700s, the location provided a stagecoach stop and tavern to travelers, and the surrounding area later became a British fort during the Revolutionary War. Supporters of the inn boast that it was the training grounds for World Heavy Weight Champion John L. Sullivan, and became home to the leaders of Tammany Hall.

However, the original structure burned down July 5, 1921, after a fire completely destroyed the building, killing a maid and cashier who worked there. "Destruction of Canoe Place Inn removes an irreplaceable landmark of colonial history," reads a New York Times article dated July 6, 1921.

The building that stands now is 88-years old, and is the structure that once housed Governor Smith's dancing nights. According to Berntson, other visitors included Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Cary Grant, Babe Ruth, Helen Hayes, Lou Gehrig, and Gary Cooper.

However, today, the structure is now a semi-dilapidated nightclub, known as the White House, hidden behind the built-up northern side of Montauk Highway. Overgrown trees cover half of the façade, mainly the ballroom portion of the building. Broken windows line the top floor, and earlier this month, four arrests were made on the property, all related to the patrons of the nightclub.

"The White House's current condition is grand-fathered in," developer Gregg Rechler offered in a conversation last week. "The building does not conform to ADA compliance. The structure couldn't make it conform. The reality is, we own this property, and we're just trying to minimize the bleeding. It costs us money each year. It would cost less to tear it down."

Currently, the structure is home to the White House nightclub.

According to Berntson, the Rechlers' plans to tear down the existing structure is not welcomed, and the Hampton Bays community is more in favor of the Rechlers incorporating it into their plans.

"You come here because it's quaint, and then you want to change it all," she offered. "When people travel, they don't say 'Oh God, I saw the coolest new building.'"

In the past few months, more than 100 letters have come into the Southampton Town Clerk's office addressing the project, as members of the community voice their concern over the revamping of the structure. Recently, Berntson's teenage son, Colby, took up a petition to save the structure, and he and his friends have garnered approximately 220 signatures so far.

"I said, 'why don't you educate your friends to what this is,'" Berntson recounted, telling the story of how her son became involved. "Al Smith, John L. Smith - these are things they learn about, but the connection to local history is lost."

The old ballroom is hidden by overgrown trees. The Rechlers propose building a new banquet facility, in the vein of the old Canoe Place Inn.

The Rechlers say they are sensitive to the concerns of the Hampton Bays community. Recently, the cousins decided to change their plans to include a catering facility on the site, in the vein of the old Canoe Place Inn where many weddings and family functions were held, although they have not decided whether to work off of the Revolutionary era design or the 1920s version. This building, according to Gregg Rechler, would house old photos of the inn. "We want to make that a special place, and continue to be a part of the Canoe Place Inn," he said.

"I don't know which style would be better," Berntson offered, when asked if the Rechlers' concessions would ease her opposition. "The new one was built to mimic the Revolutionary War one. I don't understand tearing down what's already there and building something like it."

The Newest Plan
What the Rechlers are proposing at the site is known as "The Residences at Canoe Place," a hospitality-oriented resort. The development is slated to have two, three and four-bedroom units, and will be used by several owners throughout the year, though Rechler stressed, "it's not a timeshare. Its not condos."

For those purchasing units at the new development, amenities will include hospitality services, including housekeeping as at a hotel, as well as a spa, health club facilities, and a transportation shuttle service to area beaches, restaurants and shopping, "to break away from the hassles that exist in the Hamptons," Rechler noted.

"Our approach is a bottom-up, grass-roots approach," he continued. "We approached the different community groups and the town itself and asked about their goals and objectives. A straight residential development was not an interest of the town. But a form of hospitality [development] was welcome."

The Rechers maintain that what can be brought to the Hampton Bays community with their development is economic stimulus - more revenue into the hamlet, and more jobs created. As the units change hands, Gregg Rechler explained, more visitors would be frequenting Hampton Bays' restaurants and shops, for more than just the summer months. The construction portion of the project is slated to create more than 1,250 jobs, with an estimated 60 jobs created when the residences open. The Rechlers project that more than $4.5 million will be generated in sales taxes, with $24 million in total annually contributing to the community. The Rechlers also estimate that the Hampton Bays School District will be the beneficiary of more than $250,000 a year.

The Rechlers propose that more than 1,200 jobs would be created during the construction of the new development, and millions of dollars would flow into the local community. Here, the Canoe Place Inn is shown in its heyday. Image courtesy of the Hampton Bays Historical Society

Still Berntson questions whether building anything residential in this economy is going to be beneficial - "Who are the people who are going to buy these?" she asked. "In this economy we have to be rational."

Gregg Rechler explained that the buyers his company is trying to solicit would be families looking for second or third-homeownership, but are not looking to break the bank, such as empty-nesting East Enders looking to downsize or visitors who usually rent for one month, but can't spring for two. While he did not want to project any pricing numbers, Rechler was confident the units would be fairly affordable.

"We think the timing is really good," he asserted. "It will create jobs. When we're ready, we should be in a better part of the recovery of the economy."

If the Rechlers are able to receive the necessary approvals and permits associated with their project, Gregg Rechler said it could take as little as 16 months to have it up and running, possibly pumping some much needed stimulus into the East End. However, Berntson still maintains that what the community would be losing is a lot more than what it would be gaining.

"There really is not that much left in Hampton Bays, as far as historical sites," she offered. "This was our claim to fame. The people who frequented it were superstars. The building could be a calling card. It may be harder to preserve, but in the end it may be a jewel."