The Southern Shores Historic Flat Top Tour happened to day. The weather wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t all that bad either. At least it didn’t rain.
The number of people that came out for the event was truly stunning. The last time the tour happened, back in 2019, there were 400-450 visiting the homes. This year that number may be doubled.
It’s for a good cause, the money going to the Outer Banks Community Foundation for the maintenance of their iconic David Stick Flat Top. That’s good. That insures their scholarship and grant programs are that much healthier.
The day, though, is really about how remarkable these building are. They truly represent a different time and way of thinking about a vacation. Most of them are simple two and three bedroom homes, the construction concrete block and in many cases, with juniper paneling and beams, if needed.
Those features were not so much by design as necessity. In 1947 when Frank Stick came up with the idea of selling a lot with a home on it, he needed something that was easy to build and cheap.
He based his design on homes he had seen in Florida, used sand from the beach for his concrete, juniper that was being harvested locally, and was able to offer his first lots for $12,000.
The homes are extraordinarily well built. Stick’s idea was to sell something basic, but so strong that if the owner wished to add on, they could do so. And quite number of homeowners too advantage of that. There are a few two story flat tops, and almost all of them have added rooms over the yeas.
Yet the classic lines remain. Simple and elegant, even though there are perhaps just two dozen left, they stand out in the landscape.
There is so much beauty to be found on the Outer Banks. Please consider a visit with us and plan your stay in a Brindley Beach Vacations home.