Buy a Charming Slice of Old Montauk on the Ocean for $8M

This adorable three-bedroom cottage has a lot of history and charm. Originally it was offered at $8.75M back in January 2014, but has had several pricechops since then. (Even more originally, it was offered for $75,000 fully furnished back in the late 1950s—see the ad after the jump.) The house isn't huge at 2200sf, but it's built closer to the ocean than is permitted now, which is nice. There's also lovely mature gardens and a guest cottage.

The house was originally owned by Lawrence Schwab, an old-school Broadway writer, producer, and theater owner, and various stories have names like Mary Martin and Oscar Hammerstein partying here in the old days. According to legend, Schwab and Carl Fisher walked the beach together and selected this spot for the house. Back in the 1970s, the current owner was visiting Montauk, saw an open house for the property, and bought it on the spot. A friend of his fell in love with the house as well, so he bought land next to Gurney's Inn at 316 Old Montauk Highway and built an almost identical house. You can see the similarity—316 Old Montauk Highway is the last photo. Supposedly, this property sold to Ralph Lauren a couple years back—it's one property down from his five-acre spread. If true, this property for sale is the original and Ralph owns a knockoff.

· Old Montauk Oceanfront [BHS]