At Deep Hollow Ranch, around three miles east of Montauk’s commercial district, a turn off Montauk Highway leads to a place of old-world charm enveloped by unspoiled nature. There are just a handful of residences hidden in these woods, most more visible from the ocean than from the land. This is the summer hideaway of legends, from Andy Warhol and Peter Beard to the Rolling Stones and Paul Simon.
Private driveways branch off a long and winding Old Montauk Highway, and to a first-time visitor the place is a kind of dreamscape, one that grows more surreal when the gate is opened and soon it is before you: the Stone House.
Built in 1912, the Cotswold-style house of stone and timber was once owned by the interior designer Tony Ingrao, who rebuilt it, adding modern conveniences, after a 1991 fire. From the house, which was featured in Ralph Lauren’s 1996 Home Collection at the Polo Store catalog, one can see — both from in and outside — the Montauk Lighthouse and Block Island, along with a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean.
With the Stone House standing just feet from the bluff, the property is armored with a rock revetment, said Kyle Rosko of Douglas Elliman, which lists the property at an asking price of $18 million. “The interest has been really strong,” he told a visitor on Friday, as a half-dozen seals bobbed in the shallows below. “I launched it publicly about a year ago, just for about two months, because you can’t really show it later in the season. I took it off all winter. It wasn’t viewable until August.”
The entrance hall features Dutch doors on both the north and south side. “When you’re walking up to the house,” Mr. Rosko said, “you’re looking straight through to the ocean.” A wooden staircase leads down the bluff to a spacious porch before continuing to the beach. The house features four fireplaces and multiple stone patios.
The Stone House and its surrounding property elicit the same feelings in all who visit, Mr. Rosko said. “It is really special to see people’s reaction, to share this place. It’s just an experience. To be able to share it is half of the joy I get of representing properties, taking people through, telling the story, and the feeling that you get when you’re here. It’s super rare.”
All told, the property is 3.2 acres. The house, at just over 3,000 square feet, has a stone and hand-carved wood exterior and custom copper handmade windows. Inside are three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Also on the property is a 608-square-foot artist’s studio with a bathroom and covered porch overlooking a meadow, a 35-by-15-foot saltwater pool, and a 186-square-foot pool house with a bathroom. The property includes 179 feet of ocean frontage.
According to The New York Times, the Stone House was purchased by Jerry and Linda Ehrenwald in 1998. Mr. Ehrenwald died last year, and his wife decided to sell the property.
Celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, and John F. Kennedy have stayed there, and in 1974 the Stone House nearly became the summer residence of a celebrated musician.
“We were staying with Mick and Bianca Jagger at Andy Warhol’s house for the weekend,” May Pang, who was John Lennon’s companion during his separation from Yoko Ono, told The Star. “We went out on a fishing boat. We looked up, and John said ‘What’s that house?’ It reminded him of his days in Scotland. He loved it. I think it was the boat’s owner who said, ‘You know, that house is for sale, would you want to see it?’ ” The answer was an enthusiastic yes, Ms. Pang said.
A visit with a real estate agent was quickly arranged. “I remember John saying, ‘What do you think?’ ” Ms. Pang said. “ ‘The kitchen is not very big. Can you make it work?’ Of course!” It was larger, she said, than that of the Manhattan apartment they shared.
It was a busy time: Ms. Pang recalled visits, in Manhattan, by Paul and Linda McCartney; and at Warhol’s estate, by the musician John Phillips and his wife, Genevieve Waite, and the novelist Terry Southern. George Harrison became the first former Beatle to stage a concert tour of the United States and, at year’s end, the Beatles legally ended their partnership.
Lennon and Ms. Pang visited the Stone House a second time, Lennon’s son, Julian, and his attorney and business adviser, Harold Seider, accompanying them. “That’s how serious it was,” Ms. Pang said of Lennon’s interest in buying the property. “Then we said, ‘Let’s go home.’ John was excited about the house.”
It was not to be. Soon after, Lennon reunited with Ms. Ono, returning to the apartment they’d shared on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
“I’m excited for a new owner,” Mr. Rosko said. “The house really deserves love and care and a new steward.”
“It’s got this otherworldly feeling to it,” he said, “listening to the waves breaking, looking over the water. It’s mesmerizing.”