From the April 11 1969 edition of the Vineyard Gazette:

Through the winter and into the spring, the building boom on the Vineyard has continued with an undiminished fervor, and most of the activity has gone into the construction of single-family dwellings, although a number of developments about the Island have burgeoned or are in the process of burgeoning.

The latest to get started is the Anthony J. Ozella tract on Katama Road in Edgartown, which was being cleared this week in preparation for the construction of several single-family dwellings.

Originally, the plan of United Land Development Inc., of which Mr. Ozella is the treasurer, was to build an apartment complex containing 24 units on the two-and-a-quarter-acre tract acquired from E. Thomas Smith and his sister, Miss Frances E. Smith. It was found, however, that the corporation was risking a violation of the new amendment of the zoning by-law, which brought Katama and all the rest of the town under its protection, and Mr. Ozella changed the plan to one consisting of structures that would conform with the restrictions of Residence District III, of which Katama is a part.

It is understood that the property has been divided into 14 lots of about 6,000 square feet apiece, somewhat more than the 5,000 square foot minimum required by the by-law in instances of this kind.

Farther down Katama Road, Stanmar Homes’ Mattakesset has tripled the number of units by adding two more six-unit structures containing duplex apartments, making a total of 18 unites in all. And at Island Properties Inc.’s Waterview Farm overlooking Sengekontacket Pond, the distinctive roofs of the specially designed Vineyard Country Homes have multiplied considerably. The view of the property from the beach road across the pond illuminates the term “cluster development,” which is the type of planning being followed there, meant that the building lots themselves are comparatively small in order to preserve common open spaces and vistas.

At Longview at Lambert’s Cove, Vineyard Homes Inc. added three new houses to the new colony. The five homes there are joined by another, built by the owner of the property in the development, Bob Alter.

The K. T. Galley Company of Edgartown had three new houses among its winter projects, the Williams C. Bowie house at Cow Bay, a house for John Granbery at Down Harbour Estates, and a house for Wilbert Sanger at Katama.

Another Edgartown firm, Burnham and Magnuson, was engaged in a large-scale project at Beach Plum Inn at Menemsha. The work involved enlarging the dining room, remodeling and enlarging the kitchen, and constructing a number of new residence units. Burnham and Magnuson was also to build a guest house for David Guernseys at Kent Harbor.

The company also had in the works a number of remodeling jobs, at the Gordon Lovell house at Katama, at the Theodore F. Whitmarsh house on Morse street in Edgartown, and at the Dr. C. W. Carl house at Wintucket Cove.

Stanley B. Lichtenstein of Oak Bluffs added an eighth house to the neighborhood he has built on Robert’s Way, off County Road, and he has also built a retirement home on Eastville avenue for Mr. and Mrs. Harry Doyen of New York.

Lawrence W. Winterbottom of Vineyard Haven had at least four new houses scheduled for construction this winter, in locations spread widely about the Island. Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Bodkin of Cornwall, Conn., will have a new house at Harthaven; Mr. and Mrs. G. Albert Kent, a new house on Curtis Lane in Edgartown; and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Finnegan of Dobbs Ferry, N. Y., a new house at Mink Meadows.

John L. Black of Edgartown was busy up-Island this past winter, with new houses at Menemsha, Quenames and Gay Head. The house at Menemsha is for Robert Gill Walker, and its architect is Chia Ming Sze. Allan Dworski of Cambridge, who is an architect himself, has designed his own Quenames house. The new building at Gay Head will be connected to the present William Greenberg house by an open deck.

The winter season for Herbert R. Hancock of Chilmark has been a busy one, too. New houses on his agenda have been those of Thomas Porter of Cincinnati, Robert Congdon of St. Louis, Thomas Urmston of Wilmington, Dell., Weston Howland of Milton and Dr. Alexander Preston.

The Porter house, which is on a part of the Dunroving property, has four bedrooms, two baths, a living and dining area. The Congdon house, also at Dunroving, has a three-car garage and a playroom on the lower level and two bedrooms, two baths, a living room and a deck above, and it is winterized.

The Urmston house is at West Chop and is also winterized. It has a living room, a dining room, two bedrooms and two baths. The Howland house at Squibnocket is a two bedroom house and is built for year-round living. And the Preston house at Quitsa has four bedrooms, three baths, a living room, a dining room and a large screened porch.

Mr. Hancock has also put a two-room addition on the John Leavens house in Chilmark this winter.

Compiled by Hilary Wallcox

library@vineyardgazette.com