An Ageless Inn Flaunts Her Brilliance

At the age of 80 years, Gurney’s Inn is a grand old hotel that is taken a bit for granted in Montauk. The old gal showed off at her finest on July 4th night under a nearly full moon (it’s full on July 7) in an inky dark sky with softly luminous puffy clouds sailing by and the moonbeams lighting a silvery path on the quietly sensual sea.

There was a full house, plus a big wedding. At 9:15 p.m., when dusk had just turned dark, the first of the skyrockets rose from the launch site at Umbrella Beach about a mile east toward the town and burst into cascades of scarlet and silver glitter about 1,000 feet in the air, far enough away so that the muffled sound of the gunpowder explosions were heard several seconds after the showers of embers and sparks were visible.

Within ten minutes there were several hundred very nicely dressed wedding guests, plus the bride and groom (she petite and he a shaved-head hulk) and the little flower girls in long white dresses who turned floppy somersaults on the sand.

The professional fireworks were produced by the famous Italian Grucci family (since 1850), who staged a virtuoso half-hour exhibition of what pyrotechnicians can do, including some amazing square burst shapes that defy easy explanation. The finale was dazzling and the Gruccis earned their applause.

But within a minute, a “local” pyrotechnician with so-called “South Carolina” fireworks set off a ten-or-so-minute barrage at the far end of the Gurney’s property which was just about 100 yards from where the bulk of the guests were gathered. The crowd enjoyed the high excitement and noise that comes from rockets and flares bursting almost overhead. The oooohs and aaaahs and applause were many times more enthusiastic for the smaller, more local display and Gurney’s guests were delighted at their luck.