Dozens of Iain and Linda Bruce’s many friends, colleagues and fellow civic volunteers gathered at the Westport Library last night to say thanks and farewell.
After 33 years in Westport — and countless contributions in all areas of town life, from the Westport Weston Family Y and Library to music, schools, religion and RTM — the couple are moving at the end of this week.
They head to York, Maine where they’ve had a second home for years. They’ll jump right into community activities there (and Iain will pursue a master’s in history at his alma mater, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario).
Iain and Linda have made Westport a much better place. Our loss is Maine’s gain. Thank you both. And of course, we look forward to seeing you whenever you want to head south.
Iain Bruce — always proud of his Scottish heritage — wore a kilt at last night’s event. His wife Linda shared the stage, as both made very brief remarks. (Photo/Dan Woog)
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Every I-95 driver knows the former Armstrong Rubber/Pirelli headquarters in New Haven. That’s Marcel Breuer’s 1960s-era concrete box on the left as you head north, just before the I-91 merge.
It was vacant for quite a while. But 3 years ago, Westport architect/developer Bruce Becker bought the Brutalist building.
After extensive renovations, this spring he’ll open the Hotel Marcel. The 165-room boutique hotel runs generates and manages all its own power, thanks to solar panels, storage batteries and state-of-the-art energy-saving technologies.
It’s called the first zero-net-energy hotel in the U.S.
Connecticut Magazine has published an in-depth, fascinating story on Becker, and the hotel.
It quotes architect Duo Dickinson: “Bruce Becker is changing architecture more than any other practitioner in New England and perhaps America.”
The story notes: “a structure created a half-century ago by an innovative designer (Marcel Breuer) is returned to vibrant life by another innovative designer bent on changing the way we think about energy, built environments and our future.” Click here for the full story. And click here for an “06880” on Becker’s zero-energy Westport home. (Hat tip: Dennis Jackson)
PS: One more Westport connection: Saugatuck’s LANDTECH is the Hotel Marcel’s site/civil engineer.
Bruce Becker, in front of his new Hotel Marcel. (Photo/Ned Gerard for Connecticut Magazine)
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They’re not big news. But a couple of agenda items for the next Parks & Recreation Commission meeting (Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., Zoom) seem interesting.
Commissioners will be asked to disband the Levitt Pavilion sub-committee. The agenda says: “As part of her review of the Town’s various sub-committees, the First Selectwoman has decided that she would like the Levitt Pavilion committee to report directly to her office. In order to do so, the sub-committee of the Parks and Recreation Commission must be disbanded.”
More impactful may be a proposed moratorium on bench donations.
According to the agenda: “Many of our beach and park facilities are over-saturated with memorial benches. Staff are presently reviewing the current policy while we also work to create standards that will be used going forward for any new installations.
“Until we have more detailed information that we can provide to the Commission, we request a moratorium be placed on all new bench requests until further notice.”
Click here for the full agenda, and meeting information.
Compo Beach memorial benches (Photo/Anne Ziff)
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The Bayberry Lane Bridge over the Aspetuck River will be closed for construction. The project starts Thursday, and is slated to run through November 30 (fingers crossed)
So that means — according to the sign below — Bayberry Lane #2 is closed.
There’s just one problem. There is no road called “Bayberry Lane #2.”
In fact, there’s not any road in Westport ending in “#2.”
Or probably anywhere else in the country. (Hat tip: Bill Dedman)
(Photo/Bill Dedman)
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Yesterday’s post-Easter and pre-Arbor Day festivities at Jesup Green included egg hunting and a tree giveaway.
Bartlett Tree Experts donated red maple saplings. Westport Tree Board members handled the rest.
Westport Tree Board members on the left are Dave Lowrie and Dick Stein. Ed Picard is on the right.
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lotsa lotsa kids egg hunting! Here’s a pic of some interested neighbors acquiring a red maple sapling, donated by Bartlett Tree Co. (sorry didn’t know the pic was being taken so didn’t get their names.) Tree board members left to right are; yours truly, Dick Stein and Ed Picard far right
Congratulations and thanks to the Westport Police Department, Westport Womans Club, Sunrise Rotary and Homes with Hope, for collaborating on yesterday’s food drive at Stop & Shop.
Thanks too to all who donated, to support the Gillespie Center food pantry, and Westport Human Services.
Volunteers at yesterday’s food drive. From left: Marty Berger, Paul Keblish, Anna Rycenga, Rob Hauck, Andy Berman, Tom Lowrie, Joe Watson.
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Can there be anything more natural than the tides?
Jonathan Prager contributes today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo: timeless tides, and their aftermath at Compo Beach.
(Photo/Jonathan Prager)
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And finally … in honor of the photo above:
Thank God the odious Levitt Sub-committee is finally getting killed off. Its job was to rarely meet, ignore residents, waste everyone’s time and shield the Levitt’s tennant from accountabilty. I certainly hope a more serious, less cynical committee will take its place.
Wishing all the best to my former swim parent friends, neighbors and Y Board leader. Your dedication to the town, institutions and people you’ve known has made Westport a better place
Perhaps they’re calling it “Bayberry Lane #2” because south of Coleytown, the road that’s a short jog to the west was renamed “Bayberry Lane” from White Birch Road” some decades ago. So it’s the second road to be called Bayberry Lane.
We used to catch eels in the creek there, fishing off the bridge.
Is there really problem with more places to sit in this town. Simple benches for people to donate to give the rest of us places to sit and enjoy our beautiful town or the view from it? Seems silly to me.