Once home to two eccentric relatives of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Grey Gardens estate in East Hampton is already rented for the summer season.
It’s priced at $250,000 for Memorial Day through Labor Day, and is one of the first noteworthy rentals of the season, made official even before Presidents Day weekend, when the hunt for Hamptons summer rentals generally begins.
Built in 1897, the house was designed by architect Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe. Its name was inspired by the color of the dunes, sea mist and the garden walls made of cement.
It fell into great disrepair under the ownership of the reclusive mother-daughter duo, both named Edith Beale and better known as “Big Edie” and “Little Edie.” The former socialites were featured in the 1975 documentary “Grey Gardens,” which intimately captured their lives and squalid living conditions, including the presence of a number of cats and raccoons as regular inhabitants. Wildly untamed, the gardens had also become overgrown, nearly consuming garden structures.
The home and property were completely renovated and restored to their original condition after Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of The Washington Post, and his wife, writer Sally Quinn, purchased Grey Gardens about 30 years ago. Mr. Bradlee died at the age of 93 last October.
Situated where Lily Pond Lane meets West End Road, around the corner from Georgica Beach, the 7-bedroom, 6.5-bath home sits on 1.7 acres, and features its famed gardens, now restored, as well as a pool and tennis court.
Carey London on Feb 13, 2015