'Midcentury Marvel' Sells on Shelter Island for $13 Million

A Shelter Island “midcentury marvel” recently sold for $12.95 million, a record for a single-family home on the island, according to Sotheby’s International Realty.

At 2 Charlie’s Lane, the home was designed by Bertrand Goldberg and built in 1952 for John Snyder, the CEO of the Pressed Steel Car Company, and offers “magnificent panoramic water views of West Neck Harbor and Long Island Sound,” according to the listing. It went on the market this winter with an asking price of $13.95 million.

The home was initially a “demonstration house” that many onlookers traveled from New York City by amphibious airplanes to experience. According to the official Bertrand Goldberg website, the house was built with prefabricated components from Goldberg’s Unishelter program. A Unishelter ad from the 1950s states, “When modern industry needs housing-in-a-hurry for working in far off constructions sites Unishelter is the answer!”

Snyder’s company manufactured Unishelter homes and Unicel freightcars.

“The focal point of the house was a dramatic cantilever, composed of the prefabricated units” and jutting out over the water, bertrandgoldberg.org states. However, the cantilever no longer exists.

The current owners rebuilt the house on its original footprint in 2002, maintaining the midcentury modern design while bringing it to up 21st century standards. It is 6,000 square feet, all on one level and sited on 3.4 acres.

It has six bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms, a cook’s kitchen, and numerous seating areas.

The original stone fireplace has eight flues. Stone floors contrast with the interior glass walls looking out to water and nature.

Among the outdoor amenities are a 74-foot-long heated saltwater gunite pool, a private beach and a 235-foot deep-water dock.

The deal closed on August 28.

Nick Brown of the Sotheby’s International Realty East Hampton office represented the seller. Gary DePersia of the Corcoran Group brought the buyer, which means he had been involved in three of the top four sales on Shelter Island over the last three years