Horace Gifford (August 7, 1932 – April 6, 1992) was a celebrated beach house architect of the sixties, seventies, and early eighties. He grew up in Florida, where his family had developed the town of Vero Beach.Although Gifford never finished his formal architectural education—and therefore relied on licensed peers to stamp and sign off on his work—he led the Modernist transformation of New York's Fire Island, largely in its gay communities. Across this popular, car-free barrier island, off the southern coast of Long Island, he produced 63 homes, with 15 others further afield.
Though critically praised and published during his lifetime, Gifford was nearly forgotten until 2013, when architect and historian Christopher Rawlins published Fire Island Modernist: Horace Gifford and the Architecture of Seduction. Christopher has insights into the design of this home you will find fascinating.
See also The Horace Gifford Project, Pines Modern, and The Fire Island Pines Historical Preservation Society.
