New owners renovating East Hampton’s famous Grey Gardens

With new owners and a massive renovations underway, Grey Gardens, the East Hampton estate that was home to Big and Little Edie Beale looks very different today from the unkempt mansion made famous by the 1975 documentary of the same name. The house’s porch and chimneys have been removed, and the entire structure is set to be lifted off its moorings to make way for a full basement, the East Hampton Star reports. Sold for $15.5 million in the fall by journalist Sally Quinn, who had bought Grey Gardens in 1979 with husband Ben Bradlee, the historic home’s new owners said through their contractor that the restoration will return the property to its former glory, saving as much of the original structure as possible. [EHS]