It’s Free to Look Hamptons: 25 Main Street, Southampton

This golden oldie on Southampton's Main Street is in a relatively urban setting for the Hamptons, but don't let that worry you. Built as the Southampton Bank in 1898, and now used as a jewelry and antiques store, the building has a security apparatus dating from the Spanish-American War. Hamptons riff-raff can't touch the place with a 10-foot bowsprit.

For the collector of fine things or money, the perks of having your office in a bank are considerable. There may not be a media room or a movie theater or even a bedroom in this vintage commercial structure, but there are two walk-in safes, one of them "oversized," according to the Douglas Elliman listing. The basement also includes "plenty of storage," to stash any extra doubloons.

At $9 million, the two-story fortress won't break the bank, and not just because it is one. For a prime piece of Hamptons history, it's practically a steal and can serve as an ideal foothold in the region. From the wood panel grand office on the second floor, with the rest of your millions locked securely downstairs, you'll be inspired to contemplate purchasing an actual residence. — William Alden