At the time of its creation in 1958, the Sea and Sky Portel was a new and unique concept in resort enjoyment, welcoming aviators and mariners by way of its adjoining airfield and marina.
The luxury motel featured apartment-style accommodations with a neighboring restaurant and cocktail lounge located on the eastern shore of Lake Montauk. A complete yacht marina accommodated 30 boats. The waterfront complex also offered car rentals and boat charters.
Tourists could cut travel time by two hours by booking one of the regularly scheduled flights connecting LaGuardia Airport and the new Montauk airstrip –– compared to car or rail transportation taking 3 hours. Three flights flew daily, with more on weekends and holidays. The fare was $20 each way, plus tax, and the flight took only forty minutes.
Perry B. Duryea, Jr., president of Montauk Airstrip, Inc., a lobster wholesaler, and former NYS Assemblyman, headed the airport development, which opened in 1957. A year later, he invested in the Sea and Sky Portel along with Robert P. Schwartz. Duryea told reporters that the airstrip was “built at a cost of approximately $100,000, including purchase of the land.” He said that another $100,000 was spent on the Sea and Sky Portel.
Betty Duryea, Perry Duryea Jr.’s wife, took part in designing and decorating the rooms. Though in an oral history interview, she expressed concern that the rooms were situated at the end of the runway. “I still would shake my head. Knock on wood, nothing’s ever happened there that was terrible.”
The affiliated Flying Fish Restaurant and Control Tower Bar served local seafood and cocktails amid live music and sunsets, with the restaurant’s large picture windows facing the harbor. “There was a sign in the bar that said, in case of engine failure, drinks are on the house,” recalled Barbara Borth, the interviewer of the previously mentioned oral history.
What do you remember about the Sea and Sky Portel? Any memorable experiences at the Flying Fish Restaurant?
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