Beech Street Home In Montauk Tells A Story

These days, a house selling in Montauk for $1.8 million might not raise eyebrows, given the hamlet’s hot market. But as is often the case in the Hamptons, almost every property tells a story.

Sold to Bethlam Forsa and Michael Mortell recently was a house on Beech Street that was one of the first coastal homes designed by the famed architect Robert A.M. Stern. The hilltop dwelling is 3,000 square feet on 1.3 acres with soaring ceilings, a solarium, plenty of interior and exterior glass, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The four terraces and rooftop deck offer views of the Montauk shoreline.

The property should offer a nice respite for the new owners. Ms. Forsa, who was born and raised in Addis, Ethiopia, is the president of learning services for the Pearson textbook company. As such, one of the hats she wears is being part of Project Literacy, an effort launched by a number of organizations in the United States to ensure that by 2030 every child born will become a literate adult—a tall order, considering that in 2016, there are 781 million illiterate adults in the world.

Mr. Mortell is a businessman based in New York who, through his late mother, has a connection to the Olympics. Marie Mortell learned to swim at the age of 5 at the Longshore Club in Westport, Connecticut, and she took to the water so well that over time she became a contender in national events. In 1948, Ms. Mortell became a national champion in the 100-yard freestyle, breaking the existing U.S. record. (She would repeat as champion in 1950.) Also in 1948, she was on the U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team, which earned a gold medal and established a new speed record at the London Olympic Games. She later went to work for the U.S. Olympic Committee and its president, Avery Brundage.

She married William Mortell, and they had seven children. It is at the very least that her son Michael and his wife will have a good view of swimmers in the Montauk surf from their new Beech Street perch.