With the Westport Family Y firmly entrenched now at Mahackeno, David Waldman is moving ahead to build Bedford Square: the retail/office/ restaurant/residential complex that will substantially redefine our downtown.
Westporters are watching carefully, as work begins on the old Bedford building — the handsome Tudor-style structure that since 1923 has marked the Post Road/Main Street corner.
The 1978 Weeks Pavilion never engendered such love. A stark box with all the warmth of a Russian factory, it was thankfully hidden from view by trees, the Kemper-Gunn House, and the narrow confines of Church Lane.
When the Kemper-Gunn House was moved across Elm Street in November, the Weeks Pavilion was exposed.
Now, it’s being prepared for demolition.
The Weeks Pavilion, as viewed from Elm Street. An old, low-slung wooden medical building that fronted the road has already been removed.
Soon, all that will remain are memories of swim meets, racquetball, a cramped lobby, and newcomers wandering helplessly through a maze of hallways trying to find their way out.
On the other hand, compared to the new Y lockers, those in the Weeks Pavilion were like the Taj Mahal.