The commercial real estate listing is pretty straightforward: An 11,000-square foot brick and stone office building on Saugatuck Avenue, close to I-95 and the train station.
There’s a photo —
— and a name: The Eno Foundation Building.
But the listing doesn’t give a hint what the Eno Foundation was.
It’s named for William Phelps Eno. He was a Westport businessman known as the “Father of Traffic Safety.” His innovations included the stop sign, pedestrian crosswalk, traffic circle, 1-way street, taxi stand and pedestrian safety island. He designed traffic plans for New York, Paris and London.
For many years, his worldwide traffic institute was headquartered on Saugatuck Avenue, near the Norwalk line.
Believe it or not, Westport — with all our traffic woes — was once the place where transportation ideas that transformed the world were hatched.
William Phelps Eno — who (you can’t make this up) never learned to drive — is no longer around to solve our current traffic issues. He died in 1945. If he were, he could start right around the corner from his headquarters, then work his way through town, ending up at the Merritt Parkway Exit 42/Weston Road/Main Street/Easton Road goat rodeo.
But you can now buy his building. It’s a beauty.
And there’s plenty of on-site parking.
William Phelps Eno was honored with a plaque at the old Westport YMCA.
(For more information on the real estate listing — or to buy it! — click here. Hat tip: Kate Schwartz.)