Until the 1960s, Long Beach Island was an offbeat summer destination. During that time, the properties on the Island were predominantly bungalow-style cottages and Cape Cods. For the past 50 years, as the desire for vacation homes grew, the complexion of LBI has changed dramatically.

Now, the Island is more upscale and many of those houses have been replaced with modern, spacious ones. Although these multimillion-dollar homes are impressive, many original structures are disappearing, and with…