Parking along Railroad Place is restricted to customers of shops facing the train station.
Apparently these 2 guys liked the spot in front of Suited.co — the high-quality, hand-crafted suit store — so much, they figured out a way to save it for a while.
They’re no dummies.
The saga of 63 Turkey Hill Road South continues. Built in 1920, it’s one of 4 remaining Mediterranean-style houses in Westport.
Neighbors hope to save it from a proposed demolition. Right now, it’s under a 180-day stay. Lisa Fay appealed to the Historic District Commission. She wrote:
As a resident of the Greens Farms area, and a Turkey Hill Road South neighbor for 8 years, I have witnessed the demolition of many diverse homes in the area, and the subsequent building of new homes that share too many qualities of style, size and lot coverage. I feel strongly that buyers, our neighbors – and our town — need urgently to consider what we are losing by letting these demolitions happen.
Firstly, original homes – particularly antiques – reflect a town’s history, complexity and heritage. Just by driving down Turkey Hill Road, a tourist or resident witnesses the wonderful aesthetic and cultural history of Westport. With each demolition, we diminish our town’s unique character. To make matters worse, the new homes built on these lots share few variations in footprint, roof form, and materials.
63 Turkey Hill Road South. (Photo/Robinson Strong)
Secondly, many antique homes – although some in need of repair and updating – could never be duplicated with today’s costs. Antique homes possess a certain solidity, built from wood from 100+ year-old trees, not particle board. These homes have withstood decades of human life and natural disasters, and are still standing. By definition, this makes them, in some senses, priceless.
Thirdly, neighbors lose yet another year of peace and neighborly culture while living in a major construction zone. My Turkey Hill neighbors and I have withstood countless trucks, dust, dirt, traffic, noise and loss of hundreds of trees from lots that have been clear cut.
Thirdly, these demolitions exact a cost to our environment. Most of these materials from demolished homes end up in a landfill. Can’t builders try to work with what they have to minimize the impact on our environment?
Steps leading to the front courtyard at 63 Turkey Hill Road South. (Photo/Robinson Strong)
Lastly, demolishing this home reflects yet another lost opportunity to get our town antique preservation benefits right. While the demolition of any antique home upsets me for all the aforementioned reasons, I sympathize with any seller who is in a situation to sell urgently, without regard to the buyer’s intent. Giving antique owners – and potential buyers – incentive to keep antique homes could help stem the tide of demolitions.
Tax relief could provide such incentive. The Mills Act in San Diego provides an example of where tax relief has helped owners maintain the character of their neighborhoods by encouraging preservation. Owners of old homes sign a 10-year renewable contract to restore and maintain their antiques, and in turn receive a 50% discount in their taxes. If Westport intends to maintain its cultural heritage in part by protecting its old homes, it needs urgently to partner with owners in this respect.
Thank you for your leadership in helping to preserve our town’s heritage and character.
Posted in People, Real estate
Tagged 63 Turkey Hill Road South, Westport Historic District Commission
Sunday’s photo challenge showed the dilapidated brick wall at Compo, near the lockers and Joey’s.
The photo below is much more evocative of the beach every Westporter loves:
The photographer requested this credit: “Patrick Goldschmidt and Jonathan Seagull.”
Betsy P. Kahn’s early morning Compo Beach stroll was marred by this sight:
(Photo/Betsy P. Kahn)
Every lifeguard chair up and down the shore was toppled, she says.
And this is not the first time.
No, the wind was not strong last night.
But the (we assume) teenagers out for some late-summer mischief were.
Years ago, alert “06880” reader/nature-and-lifestyle photographer Stacy Bass had an idea: For the next year, she’d take and share an image of whatever she happened to be doing at noon that day.
It was, she admits, “crazy and stupid.” The project lasted exactly 2 days.
Now, Stacy’s back. Her new idea is much more workable — and beautiful.
She was inspired by Kerry Long. Stacy’s friend and fellow photographer worked on her own 365-day project, shooting images of her young daughter Lucy. Kerry’s photos were “outstanding, stunning and wonderfully composed,” Stacy says.
Lucy Roth (Photo/Kerry Long)
Her own children — much older than Lucy — “would not be nearly as cooperative,” Stacy notes. Nor are portraits her specialty.
Stacy wondered what subject matter would keep her interested and motivated every single day, for a year.
Suddenly she knew.
Flowers.
Though she photographs flowers regularly, as part of garden shoots for magazines and private clients — check out her great Gardens at First Light book — Stacy knew she’d have to stay focused (ho ho) for a long time to find, take and share an image each day.
Stacy Bass. (Photo/Julie Bidwell for Wall Street Journal)
But she wanted to try.
Vacationing on Nantucket with her family last summer, she began.
Stacy Bass’s 1st flower.
Nantucket bloomed with flowers of all kinds. When Stacy returned to Westport, she found many more.
The daily challenge proved invigorating. The positive reactions her photos drew on social media kept her going. Friends and strangers thanked her for providing a daily dose of “beauty and positivity.” (Hydrangeas are the crowd favorites.)
Some days were easier than others. About 2 months in, Stacy hit a figurative wall. She wondered if anyone would notice if she stopped.
But the feeling passed. Now that she’s finished, Stacy is proud of her consistency. She’s also thrilled to have tangible proof of 365 flowers, with a beginning, middle and end.
(Photo/Stacy Bass)
She’s not quite sure what to do with all those images, though. Fans have inquired about buying a print of their favorite “day,” or of a special date as a birthday or anniversary gift.
Perhaps figuring out how to do that is Stacy’s next project.
(For more information on Stacy’s flower photos, email swbass@optonline.net.)
A collage of Stacy Bass’ flower photos…
…and a collage of all 365 images.
Alert — and humane — “06880” reader Colleen Zapfel writes:
While driving on Sasco Creek Road today, we saw a man named Rob stopped next to an injured osprey. [NOTE: Readers — including Audubon experts — have identified this as a red-tailed hawk.]
It was sitting in the middle of the road, not moving, as cars drove by. We got out to help.
We called animal control, went back and put him in a box for safety.
Gina from Westport animal control picked him up. She took him to Dr. Plunkett in Fairfield.
So if the osprey red-tailed hawk you love to watch is gone for a few days from its normal nest — now you know why.
Westporters are still adjusting to the loss of Oscar’s.
But around the time the Main Street deli closed — and beloved owner Lee Papageorge died — longtime Westporter Susan Brody spotted this doppelganger in Marseille:
The French are known for fiercely protecting their language. Neither “bagels” nor “sandwiches” sound French to me.
As for “Oscar’s” — in any language, that means “love.”
(Hat tip: Eden Werring)
Alert “06880” reader Susan Iseman snapped this photo moments ago, on the first day of the North Compo Road closure, from Cross Highway to Main Street:
(Photo/Susan Iseman)
The road will be shut for 30 days, due to culvert work.
Meanwhile, not far away, Jeff Gray reports that — contrary to previous indications — North Avenue is still closed, at the Merritt Parkway bridge.
Safe travels!
Posted in Places, Transportation
Tagged Connecticut Department of Transportation, Cross Highway, Main Street, North Avenue
When you or I go on a scavenger hunt, we try to find random but normal items: a menu from a local restaurant perhaps, or the signature of someone semi-famous.
When Tia Pogue went scavenging this month, she created a human piano; showed an alien draining our civic infrastructure, and milked a dairy cow (while dressed in semi-formal attire — that’s her in the center below).
And when you and I go scavenger hunting, we play for a few bucks or a bottle of wine. Tia — who graduates next June from Staples High School — competed for a free trip to Iceland.
That’s the difference between your and my scavenger hunt, and the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen.
The week-long event takes — as you have already figured — a hefty amount of energy, creativity and intelligence. Tia has tons of that.
It’s genetic. Her dad, David Pogue, is the world-renowned newspaper/TV/book tech expert — as well as a Yale music major who spent 10 years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals.
In early April, Tia saw a Reddit post soliciting members for a GISHWHES team. The group — Team Raised from Perdition — had finished as a runner-up the year before. Members came from across the US, Canada and Brazil; their professions included sign language interpreter and opera singer. All shared a love for creativity, and making the world a better place.
In addition, the hunt combined art, randomness, philanthropy, challenges and fun — all things Tia loves. She eagerly applied.
She had 3 days to do 3 challenges from past hunts, and make an “About Me” video. She was selected from a pool that included many adults.
The GISHWHES event takes a week. Teams race to complete as many of nearly 200 challenges as they can. Participants submit pictures or videos of their work.
Tia Pogue’s team proved that aliens are taking jobs away from Americans.
Rules are quirky. For example, most videos must be exactly 14 seconds long. Kale was arbitrarily banned.
Tasks fall into 3 categories:
Tia and her team communicated daily, using an app called Slack. She found everyone warm, accepting, interesting. Teammates grew tighter — virtually — and hope eventually to meet in real life.
With the help of her family, Tia completed 23 items.
Several moments stand out. One was when — after many hours — she finished her junk food version of the famous National Geographic cover with an Afghan refugee:
Other team members created a dress entirely out of corn husks, painted a portrait of a live model while scuba diving, recreated a landmark out of sticks and twigs, held a corporate meeting in a sandbox, and did a variety of charitable acts
Tia learned a few things in the process. One is that she’s happiest when she is creative. This school year, she plans to spend a little time each day doing something crafty.
She also learned that her age is not as big a barrier as it initially seemed. She calls her teammates “friends,” even if some are decades older.
Final results will be released in October. If Tia’s team wins, they’ll finally meet each other.
In Iceland.
Below: Tia Pogue plays a human piano:
(To see Tia’s complete team page, click here. For their spreadsheet, click here. For more information on the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, click here.)
Click here for “06880+”: The easy way to publicize upcoming events, sell items, find or advertise your service, ask questions, etc. It’s the “06880” community bulletin board!
Most commuters leave the train station parking lot as quickly as possible. They just want to get home.
But if you drive out of the eastbound parking lot, and get stuck in traffic turning onto Saugatuck Avenue, look to the left. Behind a brick wall at #11 West Ferry Lane, you’ll see an odd sight: an old British telephone booth, and a Beefeater Queen’s guard.
That was last week’s photo challenge. Congratulations to alert readers Susan Reilly, Cindy Zuckerbrod and Virginia Tienken, who knew where it was. (Click here to see the photo, and their comments.)
This week’s challenge also involves a brick wall. If you know where in Westport you’d see this dilapidated one, click “Comments” below.
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
