Finding Fire Island

Through the lens of share-house culture, we follow first arrivals and longtime residents as they describe the rituals that shape life in the Fire Island Pines. Candid perspectives from Indian and Black voices, and a look at The Doll Invasion, the annual trans-takeover festival.

We explore how the Fire Island Pines emerged from exclusion and competition with Cherry Grove. Original Pines entrepreneurs Peggy Fears and John Whyte set the stage for a sophisticated, private alternative to Cherry Grove. Plus– Architect Horace Gifford’s p*n lodge aesthetic, Calvin Klein’s Fire Island legacy and the glass palace “Reflections”—glossy 1980s visions of desire that still feel suspended in time.