Even though the house was built in the 1930s, I like to imagine it as a “whaling cottage.”

Arrived at last in old Sag Harbor; and seeing what the sailors did there; and then going on to Nantucket, and seeing how they spent their wages in that place also, poor Queequeg gave it up for lost. Thought he, it’s a wicked world in all meridians; I’ll die a pagan.– Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Nautical kitsch dreams can come true. (See all boat posts.)

How "The Anchorage" got its name (click photo for album)

Growing up, I had heard tales of Freeport’s many famous thespians who took up waterfront residence here in the early part of the 20th Century. My parent’s house (the former “Windmill Inn”) was host to vaudeville era performers and operated as a speakeasy during prohibition. On a recent visit to my brother’s house (also in Freeport), I was delighted to find a newly minted historic plaque in the front yard, indicating my brother’s residence is built on the site of the L.I.G.H.T.S. Club (Long Island Good Hearted Thespian Society), whose members included Al Jolson, Victor Moore, Will Rogers, and John Philip Sousa. The Freeport Historical Museum has photos of the club in action, and I plan to make a visit there this Sunday (they’re only open one day per week).

My husband being a tourist at my brother's house

L.I.G.H.T.S. Club, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.

L.I.G.H.T.S. Club bar, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.

L.I.G.H.T.S. Club pool table, Freeport, NY, circa 1916. Courtesy Freeport Historical Museum.

One of the traditional Lights Club functions was the celebration of Christmas on the Fourth of July. Most of the vaudeville actors spent their Christmas days on trains, in dingy dressing rooms or in drab hotels. On July Fourth, though the temperature be in the 90s, the Lights’ Christmas tree was decorated and lighted, Santa Claus was dressed in his heavy suit with ermine trimmings, presents were placed under the tree and the members and their children arrived in their furs, mittens and earlaps, some even clattering into the club on snowshoes.

- Fred Allen, “Much Ado About Me,” 1956

I hope you enjoy listening to the tour as much as I do. It’s as though I’m right there in the “Jungle Room” digging my toes into green pile carpet.

Listen to Graceland Audio Tour, 1995

Find some amazing 360 views of the Jungle Room here.

Photo: Kenny Haner

Contact: Andrea Grover
800 Aurora Street
Houston, TX 77009
713-256-0870
andrea-at-andreagrover.com

For Immediate Release:

ORIGINAL AURORA PICTURE SHOW BUILDING FOR SALE

Houston, TX, May 24, 2010 – The original Aurora Picture Show building, a unique church-to-single-family-home conversion, is for sale. Located at 800 Aurora Street, Houston, Texas, 77009, the 1924 wooden church building houses a 96-seat cinema, with a four bedroom, 2.5 bath residential addition.

The property has been the residence of Aurora Picture Show founder, Andrea Grover and her family, since 1997, and served as the main cinema for the non-profit organization from 1998-2008. In addition to the monthly screenings that took place there for ten years (presenting artists Ant Farm, Craig Baldwin, Enid Baxter Blader, James Benning, Constance DeJong, Skip Elsheimer, Harrell Fletcher, Calvin Johnson, Sharon Lockhart, Eileen Maxson, Tony Oursler, and more), the converted church was host to many art community ceremonies, including 13 weddings (the marriages of Houston artists Francesca Fuchs and Bill Davenport; Claire Chauvin and Patrick Phipps, and others); and two memorials (including a tribute to Ant Farm founding member, Doug Michels). Additionally, the East Sunset Heights Association held their bi-monthly meetings there from 2004-2010.

List price is $409,000 $395,000, including pew seating, and a disused baptistry.

Photos may be downloaded at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gentleridevan/sets/72157624060187394

MLS listing: http://search.har.com/engine/doSearch.cfm?QUICKSEARCH=800%20aurora&FOR_SALE=1

About Aurora Picture Show: Founded in 1998 by Andrea Grover, the first home for Aurora was a former church building where Grover and her family both lived and worked. Now the home base for Aurora Picture is adjacent to The Menil Collection. Since 2009, Aurora screenings have been nomadic and site-specific.

About Andrea Grover: Andrea Grover is a migrant curator, artist and writer.

Listed at $495,000 and “in need of major restoration.”

It reminds me a bit of another tragic ruin of the Gilded Age, Bannerman Castle.

Cobble Mountain Lodge, designed by Thomas W. Lamb

And so begins a new category of my writing: Homesteads. I have an addiction to searching for dream homes, planning their renovation, checking out the region online, and then moving on to my next imaginary homestead. The current front runner in this time wasting game is “Cobble Mountain Lodge” for sale in Elizabethtown, New York for $487,000.

Situated on 30± acres, this historic Adirondack waterfront home, built in 1920, was designed by Thomas W. Lamb , for his private summer residence. Mr. Lamb is an internationally renowned architect of some of the world’s most beautiful theaters, including the old Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. This camp contains a total of eight bedrooms, seven full baths and seven fireplaces. The exterior is accented by stone work, including a stone turret which houses one of the upstairs bedrooms. This property, with all of its incredible details, must be seen to be appreciated. Cobble Mountain Lodge requires extensive work and needs that special person to restore it to its original grandeur.

I could be that “special person.” I feel a strange magnetism for any architect who has designed as many major theaters as Thomas W. Lamb.

I love nautical kitsch. While I was on Long Island, my parents were invited to a Bay House party, and I eagerly tagged along hoping to get some decorating ideas for my future houseboat. Bay houses (or Bayman’s Cottages) are small bungalows on the marshlands, originally built by fisherman, baymen and duck hunters, and they’re only accessible by boat. A few of the houses have generators, but most have no power at all, so it’s like camping. Around 1965, many bay houses on LI were moved to preserve the wildlife on the wetlands, but a handful like this one remain, to preserve the other wild life on the wetlands. That’s my dad “Capt. Al” sitting on the cooler on the right. He’s the one with the white beard, dark shades and the fat baby (my Gigi!) on his lap. Please also enjoy the stuffed marlin photo (hanging above the duck decoys and the beach glass).