'Hepburn House,' Damaged In Sandy, Finally Demolished In Mantoloking

MANTOLOKING, NJ — The building known as the Hepburn House is no more. Damaged along with so many others during Superstorm Sandy, the house, which has stood empty since the storm, was finally demolished on Thursday.

Videos and photos of the demolition, posted on social media pages, were accompanied by people remarking on the sadness of the occasion.

The house was called the "Hepburn House" because legendary actress Katharine Hepburn was rumored to have stayed there on multiple occasions. There is some uncertainty as to whether Hepburn, who owned a home in Connecticut on Long Island Sound, had actually owned property in Mantoloking.

Realtors in town say Hepburn was one of a number of celebrities who owned homes in the borough, which was one of the towns devastated when Sandy roared through in October 2012. The damage to Mantoloking was one of the most visible evidences of Sandy's wrath: A gaping gash ripped right through the middle of the borough, as the storm opened a new inlet in the middle of the borough at the base of the Mantoloking Bridge.

While dozens of homes in the borough simply disappeared, the so-called Hepburn House remained, standing on stilts above the sand. According to a report by NJ.com, the home was owned by Emil and Yvonne Solimine at the time Sandy hit and was left untouched as the couple fought their insurance company.

The NJ.com article said the home, which sat near the corner of Lyman Street and Route 35, was at one time owned by American Express heiress Laura Harding and Hepburn — who died in 2003 at her home on Long Island Sound — was an occasional guest there in the 1980s.

But at least one area resident said Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, with whom the actress had a 25-year affair, were seen many times in the borough.

"My Mom told me she would often see him (Tracy) driving down Ocean Ave in his convertible with his white hair blowing in the breeze," said Trish Montenegro in a post on the Bay Head & Mantoloking Today Facebook page. "He was Catholic and did not believe in divorce so it was their place. She had her place in Conn. and he had a huge apartment with his family in NYC."

Regardless of the home's celebrity history, the demolition — videos of some of the work are posted below —removes one more building that had stood as a stark reminder of the destruction Sandy wreaked.

Main photo: The "Hepburn House" predemolition, photo via Google Maps