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Updated: September 8, 2009, 1:32 pm

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Say Goodbye To Dragon Head, Say Hello To Calvin's New Beach House

An End Of An Era On The Dunes

  |   16 Comments

SLAYING THE DRAGON: The mansion, as significant as it has been all these years, was not deemed historically significant or architecturally relevant by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) in Southampton earlier this year. Photos by Andrea Aurichio

Southampton - It was quiet on Meadow Lane except for the occasional banging of a hammer in the distance and the song of a red wing blackbird about to take flight near the shores of the Atlantic. History was being made in the midst of this tranquility as a small crew of workmen began dismantling Dragon Head. Soon Calvin Klein's 50,000 square foot mansion set on a beautiful ocean bluff will be no more as it is gently razed to make way for a new, much smaller, 17,000 square foot, streamlined beach house.

Soon to be the house where Calvin lives.

Very Calvin, clear, spare, modern and, of course, chic and green. The new Southampton home, symbolized by Klein's cutting edge design that has shaped the American fashion industry for more than a quarter of a century, will take hold as a storied historic manse is erased from the landscape where it has amused and amazed since before Calvin became famous for his jeans.

The mansion, as significant as it has been all these years, was not deemed historically significant or architecturally relevant by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) in Southampton earlier this year when they approved Klein's plans to demolish the old house and replace it with a new one, due to the myriad of alterations to the interior over the years.

Klein's building permit was displayed prominently at the service entrance on the eastern portion of the oceanfront estate on Wednesday afternoon where the parking area was filled with pick-up trucks and heavy equipment. Hay bales lined both sides of the road mindful of the work in progress at an ecologically fragile waterfront location. Klein's property totals 11 acres in all, and includes parcels on both sides of Meadow Lane, providing its high profile owner with direct access to the bay as well as a magnificent ocean beach. Dragon Head was the largest private home in the Hamptons for decades until Sagaponack resident Ira Rennart built a house more than twice its size on oceanfront property more than a decade ago.

The Chesterson Estate during the DuPont days.

A few residents drove by quietly in a Mercedes convertible coupe with the top down to take advantage of the exemplary day as well as maximize their view of the subdued demo in progress as they waved and pointed. Klein's architect, Michael Haverland, was on site supervising the workers. A silver Porche was parked at the property's western gate. Red wing black birds flitted about on the trees in front of the Klein property.

No one was available for comment as work progressed quietly at 4:30 p.m. Early reports of the work underway began circulating on Wednesday morning when members of the real estate community began emailing one another. "Dragon Head is being demolished right now" one observer emailed to her colleagues, "history is being made."

Dragon Head had several owners before Klein purchased the property in 2003 for $28.9 million. It was a bargain in its day since the house had been listed for sale with no takers at $45 million by its previous owner, Francesco Galesi, who put it on the market in 2000. Galesi purchased the house from Barry Trupin for $2.3 million in 1993.

A bird's eye view of the massive estate in its heyday as Elysium. Image courtesy of Sotheby's


When Klein purchased Dragon Head, the house resembled a castle by the sea, having undergone substantial renovations and alternations by a cast of previous owners, including one who installed a turret for special effect. Originally the property was developed by the DuPont family in the 1920s when they built a traditional seaside manse on the ocean. The stately home was originally dubbed the Chesterson Estate and later Elysium.




Comments

darren from san francisco, ca says:
I'm a committed preservationist, but I know this place from summers out in East Hampton, and anything historic or tasteful was long ago wiped out prior to Mr. Klien's purchace of the property. Notable, yes. But for being tacky, misused, over-the-top, over sized, and tasteless. Good ridance!

Posted: 17 days ago

penny from patchogue says:
Dragons head has been knocked down,when is the new Calvin klein house being built? We saw a building go up then it was knocked down whats going on .

Posted: 28 days ago

stephanie from smyrna, de says:
why did he not just sell it and buy an open piece of land to develop. What a loss.

Brian from Liverpool, NY says:
I had the pleasure of being in the house and being involved with the aquarium when I was a student at Southampton College. I am sad to see it go, for me and for many that place stood as a symbol of Southampton.

Isidoros G Michalos from Sag Harbor says:
I had the pleasure of being shown the interior of Dragonhead when Mr. Trupin had it for sale. In my opinion this was a great one of a kind house. I had a lot of respect for it and I loved it. I'm sorry I did not buy it. At least I would have preserved it for future generations. Why do people hate it? It's a part of the Hamptons history. Anyway, money talks and Calvin's shoe box will be built for all to admire.

Richard L Offitto from Farmingville NY says:
Having personally manage, directed and supervise all construction activities at Calvin's personal residence in NYC I can firmly attest that his vision is unlike anything you could have ever imagined. Be completely confident that when Calvin's vision is executed this parcel of land will be graced with one of the most exciting designs ever to be witnessed. Calvin holds a vision that is far beyond our time. There is nothing negative about a renovation that is so pure in creativity. When you have an understanding of how Calvin directs design you will become as confident as me. This is a project that anyone in the Design and Construction industry would be honored to be associated with.

... nothing u need to know from manorville,ny says:
i really think the castle was orignal but i am up set tht he is re modeling. btw wut happend to samuel VI the recent owner

Dave from Washington DC says:
What happened to John Samuels IV, a previous owner of CK's manse?

Ann from Far Away says:
They should not have allowed the remodel that turned a lovely home into "Dragon Head" in the first place. Klein is doing everyone a favor by removing the monstrosity.

greenlocal from southampton says:
What is energy efficient about tearing down and putting in a dumpster something that is existing and functional? the state of demolition as viewed from the road is a travesty. How in this day and age can any architect or client with a conscience let such this type of destruction occur? There is no sign of salvaging or recycling materials at all. Demolition is a fact of life out here, but it should be done with a proper waste management plan. So much for the environment.

who cares from southampton says:
who cares what calvin klein does or where he lives. everyone needs to get a life!

cathy from southampton says:
Is anything from this demolition being reused or recycled??

been there.... from water mill says:
what is so historically significant about this? it is a monument to the glut of the '90's, and lost all it's historic value after Trupin "renovated". One of the highlights of Meadow Lane? all a matter of taste...

Neil from Sag Harbor says:
What will they say 100 years from now when they want to tear down these "new" so called energy efficient homes???? AND, replacing them with "new" truly energy efficent and environmentally friendly homes that use no fosil fuel at all????? TIME MARCHES ON...

Elaine from Bolivar says:
My sentiments exactly. Money was talking and the ARB was listening!

SHLocal from Southampton says:
It is ashame that this mansion is being knocked down. It is sad how so many people come to our town and are willing to ruin something significant just so they can have something better. This house was certainly historically significant and shame on the ARB for letting them knock it down. This mansion was one of the biggest highlghts of Meadow Lane. Now we get to see some brand new house just so Calvin can enjoy his "summer" home which I'm sure he will not use very much. Sorry Southampton, but there goes history. Its a damn shame!

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