An Endangered Historic Site
The East Hampton Home and Studios of Charlotte Park and James Brooks
An Endangered Historic Site
The East Hampton Home and Studios of Charlotte Park and James Brooks
History of the Brooks-Park Home & Studios
The Brooks-Park Home & Studios in East Hampton is where noted American artists Charlotte Park and James Brooks lived for over four decades, beginning in 1957. It is an internationally significant site purchased by the Town of East Hampton in 2013 through the Community Preservation Fund (CPF) program. The eleven acres of beech and oak woodlands that connect with historic trails were initially purchased for the purpose of open space. Following public advocacy in favor of preserving the buildings on this site, the town designated the property a local historic landmark in 2014.
The centerpiece of the site is the purpose-built studio designed by James Brooks in 1959. Nearby is the modest house comprised in part by a 19th-century timber-frame cottage that the artists had lived in since 1948 and moved from Montauk after Hurricane Carol devastated the area in 1954. A small building also brought from Montauk in 1957 and sited near the Brooks Studio is the only surviving structure from the fishing community known as the Tar Works. In Montauk, it had served as a guest cottage for friends like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Completing the group of extant buildings on this secluded site, standing partway between the residence and Brooks Studio is Charlotte Park's small studio building, which is said to have been a former Wainscott Post Office.
Since 2014, despite local landmark designation and widespread public interest and advocacy—including being listed in 2021 and 2022 as an endangered site by Preservation Long Island, Preservation League of New York State, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation— any significant progress with preservation efforts has been deterred by a lack of political will and dedicated funding.
The neglected site has faced vandalism, disrepair, deterioration, and even the threat of town-funded demolition.
The Brooks-Park Home & Studios in 2025
BROOKS-PARK ARTS & NATURE CENTER IS A REGISTERED 501(C)(3)
We are a volunteer board of local residents dedicated to preserving the legacy of James Brooks and Charlotte Park comprised of their home and studios in Springs, East Hampton.
Get in touch to learn more or to get involved.