Editing Montauk, New York (section)

===20th century===

==== Early 20th century ====

In 1924, [[Robert Moses]] began condemning the Benson land to establish state parks on either end of Montauk − [[Hither Hills State Park]] in the west and [[Montauk Point State Park]] in the east. The two parks were to be connected via the [[Montauk Point State Parkway]].

In 1926, [[Carl G. Fisher]] bought most of the [[East End (Long Island)|East End]] of Long Island ({{convert|10000|acres|km2|abbr=on}}) for only $2.5 million. He planned to turn Montauk into the "[[Miami Beach]] of the North", a "Tudor village by the sea".<ref name=nyt>{{cite news |last=Tuma |first=Debbie |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/nyregion/montauk-embraces-its-legacy.html?src=pm |title=Montauk Embraces Its Legacy |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 11, 2002}}</ref> His projects included blasting a hole through the freshwater [[Lake Montauk]] to access [[Block Island Sound]] to replace the shallow Fort Pond Bay as the hamlet's port; establishing the Montauk Yacht Club and the Montauk Downs Golf Course; and building [[Montauk Manor]], a luxury resort hotel; the [[Montauk Tennis Auditorium]], which became a movie theater (and is now the Montauk Playhouse); and the six-story Carl Fisher Office Building (later the Montauk Improvement Building and now The Tower at Montauk, a residential condominium). This last building remains East Hampton's tallest occupied building, as zoning ordinances restricted heights of later buildings. The 30 or so buildings Fisher put up between 1926 and 1932 were designed in the [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival style]].<ref name=nyt /> Fisher had successfully developed Miami Beach before beginning his Montauk project, but although he continued to pour his money into the development, to the extent of $12 million in total, he eventually lost his fortune due to the [[Wall Street Crash of 1929]], and most of his enterprises were shut down. Other hotels that opened at the time of Fisher's project include [[Gurney's Inn]], built by W. J. and Maude Gurney, who had managed a Fisher hotel in Miami Beach.

In the [[Great Hurricane of 1938]], water flooded across Napeague, turning Montauk into an island. Floodwaters from the hurricane inundated the main downtown, and it was moved {{convert|3|mi|0}} to the south, immediately next to the [[Atlantic Ocean]].

[[File:Camp hero radar ANFPS-35.jpg|thumb|ANFPS-35 radar at [[Camp Hero]], which became the centerpiece of the [[Montauk Project]] conspiracy theory]]

====Mid 20th century====

During [[World War II]] the [[United States Navy]] bought most of the east end, including Montauk Manor, to turn it into a military base. Fort Pond Bay became a [[seaplane]] base. The U.S. Army established [[Camp Hero]] with {{convert|16|in|mm|adj=on}} guns to protect New York shipping lanes. Several concrete bunker [[observation post]]s were built along the coast, including one immediately to the east of the Montauk Lighthouse. Base buildings were disguised so they would appear from above as a [[New England]] fishing village.

In 1951, sport fisherman [[Frank Mundus]] began to lead charter fishing trips out of Lake Montauk, initially looking for [[bluefish]] but soon found fishing for [[shark]]s was more lucrative. The sport of "monster fishing" became Montauk's signature draw.

On September 1, 1951, the ''[[FV Pelican|Pelican]]'', captained by Eddie Carroll, capsized in the shoals off Montauk Point, resulting in the deaths of 45 passengers and crew. The {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=on}} ''Pelican'' was carrying 64 people, most of whom had taken the Fisherman's Special trains to the [[Montauk station|Montauk LIRR station]] from New York City. The boat left the Fishangrila Dock at Fort Pond Bay at 7:30&nbsp;a.m., severely overloaded. After fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on the south side of Montauk for several hours, it returned home, encountering engine trouble on the way. The weather turned stormy, and a northeast wind developed against an outgoing tide, resulting in standing waves of several feet at Endeavor Shoals, just off the Point. The vessel, wallowing in the heavy seas, became unstable in its overloaded state, capsized and then foundered at 2:10&nbsp;p.m. Nearby vessels were only able to rescue 19 passengers. The wreck was secured by fabled sport fisherman [[Frank Mundus]] and towed into Lake Montauk by the Coast Guard. As a result of the disaster, strict new regulations regarding overloading of fishing vessels were adopted nationwide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clavin |first=Tom |title=Dark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican |year=2005 |publisher=International Marine |location=Camden, ME |isbn=0-07-148659-3 }}</ref>

In 1957, the Army closed Camp Hero, and it was taken over by the [[United States Air Force]], which in 1958 built a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} [[AN/FPS-35]] radar. A massive building was erected to house its computers.

[[File:Shops on Main Street south side Montauk.jpg|thumb|right|Shops on Main Street]]

====Late 20th century====
In 1959, following the [[Kitchen Debate]] between United States Vice President [[Richard Nixon]] and Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]], the designers of the kitchen, including [[Raymond Loewy]], announced plans to sell affordable [[prefabricated house]]s, called [[Leisurama]], to be used for second homes. One of the houses was exhibited on the 9th floor of [[Macy's]]. Two hundred of the houses, the largest installation, were assembled at [[Culloden Point]] in Montauk.

In 1967, the [[United States Coast Guard]] announced plans to tear down the Montauk Lighthouse and replace it with a taller steel tower. Erosion had reduced its buffer from the edge of a cliff from {{convert|300|ft|m}} when it was built to less than {{convert|100|ft|m}}. After protests, the Coast Guard backed down from the plan. In 1982, the Air Force base formally closed, and the military began selling its surplus property.

Montauk Friends of Olmsted Parks LLC was established in 1994 to protect an extensive system of beaches and waterfront properties and roadways.

In 1995, Montauk became the birthplace of the extreme surfcasting technique known as [[skishing]]. The sport involves donning a wetsuit and flippers and swimming into the ocean with rod and reel to catch fish while drifting offshore.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rhoads |first=Christopher |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703636404575353323048912844 |title=Swimming With The Fishes: Angler's Tangle Over 'Skishing' |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=July 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Burke |first=Monte |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/1027/202.html |title=Skishing |magazine=[[Forbes]] |date=October 27, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=DeBenedetto |first=David |url=http://www.stripersontherun.com/excerpt.html |title=Swimming With the Fishes |website=On The Run: An Angler's Journey Down Striper Coast |date=September 16, 2003}}</ref>