Backstory: The Amazing History of Bay Street in Sag Harbor
By Dan Rattiner
Bay Street Theater, one of the seven major cultural stages for live performances in the Hamptons, currently operates out of a brick building on Long Wharf which was originally built as a manufacturing company that tested torpedoes. The factory that made the torpedoes for the Navy was J C Bliss and Co. in Brooklyn beginning in 1891. Once built, the torpedoes needed to be tested for accuracy, so they were put on the train and brought out to this building they constructed on Long Wharf, tested in the bay there and, if they went straight and true, were delivered to the military.
A story that appeared in the newspapers in June of 1898 described one occasion when a torpedo was launched from the company’s ship Sarah Thorpe stationed in the Sag Harbor bay. It went off toward the net set up (if they could hit the net they passed) then, halfway there, turned around and headed straight back for the Thorpe. On board were a crew of 13 headed by Captain Thomas Corcoran who tried to get the ship out of the way but, out of time, failed to do so. The torpedo did not explode but made a hole in the ship’s side. Crewmembers rushed to stop water from gushing in, and then successfully brought the torpedo into the factory building for adjustment. It was quite a scare for the ship’s crew. And it was nearly the first time in history for a captain to have his ship sunk by its own torpedo.
After the U. S. victory in the Spanish-American War that summer, the Bliss Company moved its whole operation to Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, continuing to make and test torpedoes there and then, as Long Wharf got more crowded, moved the testing operation to a dock on Noyac Bay until the late 1920s.
For many years, this building remained derelict. But by the mid 20th century it became a warehouse for goods being imported and exported, then a storehouse for Grumman airplane parts then under the ownership of Pat Malloy, part of the row of stores on the Wharf. After that, briefly, it became a restaurant, then, for another ten years, a noisy discotheque and, since 1991 a non-profit regional theatre through the efforts of Jerry and Adrianne Cohen and a host of others supporting the three founders, Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Steve Walton. Five years ago, an attempt to move the theatre from its spectacular location on Long Wharf to an even more spectacular location in John Steinbeck Park a few hundred yards away failed to come to fruition. And now, a long lease has been signed to continue. The outdoor marquee has been beautifully lit too.
This spring, there will be a great array of performances by musicians, comedians and other personalities.
Then, this summer, the play Mister Halston will premiere at Bay Street from June 2 to June 21. Produced in association with Tony Award-winning producer Bruce Robert Harris, it examines the 1970 meteoric rise, stunning fame and ultimate fall of iconic American fashion designer Halston. The book is by Raffaele Pacitti, the direction by Michael Wilson.
After that, the play Cagney, the Musical will be there on June 30 to July 29 followed by Dear Evan Hansen August 4 to 29, then Bonkers In the Boroughs in September with Joy Behar.
Have a East End real estate story? Want to share? Text us at 516-527-3566. We’ll call you back, and then write it up for this weekly column. –Dan
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