As Westport grapples with the need for a new Long Lots Elementary School, the options — renovate or rebuild? — find echoes in a debate more than a quarter century ago.
In 1996, town officials debated what to do with Greens Farms Elementary.
The parallels with today are not exact. GFS had been closed more than a decade earlier, then converted into the Westport Arts Center.
But the controversy over the possible displacement of a major town institution — the WAC then, the Westport Community Gardens now — are similar.
100 plots, at the Westport Community Gardens just south of Long Lots Elementary School. (Drone photo/Franco Fellah)
On October 20, 1996, the New York Times published a long story in its Connecticut section about the issue. It was written by James Lomuscio, editor of the Westport News.
Alert “06880” reader (and former educator) Werner Liepolt found the piece online, and sent it to “06880.” It’s worth reading, to see how much has changed since then.
And how much has not.
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In 1920, in a gray-shingled house near Compo Beach in Westport, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote ”The Beautiful and the Damned.” In 1950, J. D. Salinger holed up in a house on South Compo Road to write ”The Catcher in the Rye.” And James White, a native of Westport, recalls chatting with a struggling, young screenwriter named Rod Serling as he labored over ”Requiem for a Heavyweight” in the Westport Public Library.
The iconic (and Photoshopped) shot of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Photoshopped in front of their Westport home.
Other kinds of artists have also been drawn to the town, a little more than an hour by train from New York City. The illustrator Stevan Dohanos, for example, gleaned many scenes for Saturday Evening Post covers from Westport. James Earle Fraser, famous for his ”End of the Trail” sculpture and for designing the buffalo nickel also lived in town. And there have been scores of Broadway and Hollywood performers, from Bette Davis to to Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. ”Maybe it’s the geography, the folklore, or just something in the air,” said Burt Chernow, first president of the Westport Arts Center and current chairman of the town’s Arts Advisory Council.
It was that artistic heritage that Mr. Chernow, William Seiden (the First Selectman at the time) and others wanted to preserve when they formed the town-sponsored Westport Arts Center in the Greens Farms school in 1984. The building was one of five elementary schools shut down due to declining enrollments in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.
When it opened, Mr. Seiden said the center would provide affordable studio space to struggling artists.
”Typically, when people with money come into communities the artists pack up and leave for less expensive areas,” said Mr. Seiden in 1984. ”We want to keep the artists here.” (Mr. Seiden himself had been a child actor who appeared in the ”Boys Town” movies and ”The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”)
With studio space in the center starting at $8.50 a square foot a month — compared to upwards of $25 a square foot elsewhere town — scores of artists have adopted the classrooms just as in other places they moved in on vacated factory space.
Burt Chernow
”We have over 100 members in the Theater Artists Workshop using the center, and there are more than 30 visual artists here,” said Mr. Chernow. ”At any given time you have close to 150 to 200 people, including musicians, using it.”
Over the years, many artists have come to consider the Greens Farms school a permanent location. Heida Hermanns, the concert pianist and president of Performers of Connecticut, even sold a Chagall painting to finance converting the school gymnasium into a concert hall in memory of her husband, Artur Holde.
But a lot has changed in Westport over the last 10 years. The elementary school age population has nearly doubled, going from 975 students in 1987 to 1,869 in 1996, according to school officials, and now the Board of Education wants to reclaim the Greens Farms building, a proposal that pits two town hallmarks, art and education, against each other.
The arts center is currently in its sixth year of a 10-year lease, and tomorrow the school superintendant, Dr. Paul Kelleher, is expected to deliver a list of options to the Board of Selectmen. Among them are: discontinuing the arts center’s lease in 2000, dissolving the lease sooner, or figuring out a way school children and artists can share the building.
”Let me tell you, we’re out of space, and if we have any more elementary growth as of next year we’ll have no classrooms for them,” said Dr. Kelleher. He said that despite additions and the use of modular classrooms the town’s three remaining elementary schools — Coleytown, Bedford and Kings Highway — are already at capacity.
”We’re beyond the point of posturing,” said Ira Bloom, chairman of the Westport Board of Education. ”We need space, and we need it quick.”
Of the five elementary schools closed more than a decade ago, school officials say the Greens Farms building, on nine acres at the corner of the Post Road and Morningside Drive South, is best suited to reuse. The Bedford Elementary School is now used as the town hall. Last month, the Saugatuck School officially opened as housing for elderly people. In the early 80’s the Burr Farms School was razed, and three years ago the town subdivided the land and sold the lots. The Hills Point school building, now being used for nursery schooling, is not properly designed for reuse as a school, Dr. Kelleher said.
After the original Saugatuck Elementary School on Bridge Street closed, it was adapted for use as co-op housing for older residents.
That leaves Greens Farms. School officials say it would cost substantially less — $11.5 million — to renovate there than it would to build a new school on town-owned property — $16 million.
The executive director of the Westport Arts Center, Marilyn Hersey, argued that students would be better served by a new building.
”Listen, the kids need a school, but they deserve a state-of-the-art new school,” said Ms. Hersey. Greens Farms, constructed in the early 1900’s, lacks accessibility for those with disabilities as well as adequate parking; there are asbestos-covered pipes and a driveway with an incline too steep for school buses in icy weather, she said. ”And why anyone would want to put an elementary school on the Post Road is beyond me,” she added.
Dr. Kelleher responded by citing engineering and architectural reports that say the old building can be reused. ”I am respectful of the history of the arts in Westport and the commitment of time and money to the arts center over the past 10 years,” he said. ”But I feel less respectful of their comments over the suitability of the building as a school.”
Herzl Emanuel, at work.
Herzl Emanuel, a sculptor, was one of the first artists to get a space at the center. A W.P.A. artist who later spent more than 30 years working in a small studio in Rome, Italy, Mr. Emanuel now works in the same room that was his son Adam’s third-grade classroom more than 25 years ago. Mr. Emanuel said he believes the school board wants the Greens Farms building because art is no longer a community-wide priority.
Westport, he said, ”is no longer characterized by a huge knowledgeability and appreciation of the arts. Their foremost concerns are the usual prosaic interests in material things: their homes, their vacations and their shopping malls. In short, we are no longer different from other communities in the area.”
Caroly Van Duyn, a multimedia artist who works in paint and clay, and who has been at the center for four years, agreed the character of the town has changed. ”I grew up in town near Old Mill Beach, and my mother was an artist and my father a designer, and all of their friends were artists,” she said. ”So, growing up as an artist in Westport was nothing unusual.
”This conflict has been a real eye-opener to me because I’ve come to realize that not everyone here is supportive of the arts,” added Ms. Van Duyn. ”Where are we going to disperse to? If this building is reclaimed, some people will go into their homes and be less visible, or they will move out of town, which is sad for the community.”
Ms. Hersey describes the center as a community resource through its concerts, art shows and educational programs. ”We give back to the town’s children $100,000 a year in programming,” said Ms. Hersey. ”There are also scholarships to high schools in Westport and Weston. There’s the Young Artists Competition.”
Mr. Bloom, of the Board of Education, said that while he acknowledged the arts center’s value to the community there was a more pressing need. ”I spent a lot of time there with my own daughter who is involved in the theater groups,” he said. ”But I think you have to look at the big picture and the changes in demographics in recent years. Our primary responsibility has to be to adequately educate our children.”
Mr. Bloom added that reclaiming the Greens Farms building would not preclude establishing an arts center elsewhere in town. ”In my judgment that’s a problem that can be solved,” he said.
Greens Farms Elementary was ultimately reclaimed, and reopened …
Joseph Arcudi, Westport’s First Selectman, has suggested that the artists and the Board of Education share the building. ”The win-win situation would be for both the arts center and the Board of Ed to share it,” said Mr. Arcudi. ”I think it can be done.”
But Mr. Chernow fears a shared use would be ”the worst of both possible worlds.”
”You wouldn’t get the school of the 21st century, and you wouldn’t get the art center that Westport deserves,” he said.
Mr. Chernow added that any savings the town would net reclaiming Greens Farms would be offset by the cost setting up a new arts center.
Early this month, art and education stood side by side at a ceremony at the Kings Highway elementary school, celebrating the restoration of two John Steuart Curry frescoes, ”Comedy” and ”Tragedy,” painted in 1934.
”I’ve looked through decades of old newspaper clippings,” said Alice Shelton, a chairwoman of the Kings Highway P.T.A. ”In 1925 Westport was described as the town that believed in schools. In another article I found it was called a town made famous for its artists.
”I hope that these trends will continue,” she added, ”so that Westport will be known in the 21st century as a community that continues to care about its schools and its artists.”
Ultimately, Greens Farms was reclaimed, and reopened as an elementary school. The Westport Arts Center moved to its own building on Riverside Avenue (today it’s MoCA of Westport, on Newtown Turnpike.).
What’s next for Long Lots, and the Westport Community Gardens? That chapter has not yet been written.
… and the Westport Arts Center moved to its own building, on Riverside Avenue.
(“06880” was the first media outlet to report on the Long Lots/ Community Gardens story. We’ll continue to cover it. And we hope readers will continue to support our work. Please click here to contribute. Thank you!)
The changes in Elementary student population size over time is really something – must be challenging to plan for long term:
1987 = 975 kids in what might have been K-6 back then?
1996 = 1869
2023 = 2416 in K-5.
I remember this decision well. It was indeed not easy to reclaim the Greens Farms Elementary School building and terminate the lease with the Westport Arts Center. (The Town paid a large monetary amount to end this lease.). Looking back, it was a difficult decision that was essential for the school system and ultimately allowed the arts community to flourish.
Ira, any lessons learned that would be helpful for those facing similar issues today? Or lessons learned on how to avoid facing such difficult and costly decisions in the first place?
Thank you for your interesting articles! Yes, we are at another turning point in Westport history. I believe the Westport Community Garden and Long Lots Elementary can grow together. There needs to be a plan that allows both the thrive! The garden is well established along with the Long Lot’s Preserve and these two places can not be moved! But I am sure there is a way to make this happy and make everyone happy!
I knew Burt Chernow back around 1962 when he used to play billiards in the poolroom at Westport Lanes. I was 15 and he was one of a small group of guys who’d only play billiards. He would have known me as Jack or Jackie back then.
Of course the big difference between now and then is that the full Jaeger property was purchased (after thorough debate) for future municipal uses. Some argued that we should only purchase what was needed for Long Lots School but Town wisely chose to purchase the full Jaeger property for those undetermined future municipal purposes.
Long Lots School has never used the properties on which the Gardens and Preserve sit. The BOE did nothing to restore and improve those properties.
Frankly, I find the actions of the BOS and BOE to be, at best, distasteful.
The First Selectwoman created a committee without any real representation of any interests other than the BOE. The BOE tasked the Building Committee with coming up with a suggestion for a building plan without suggesting the slightest consideration for the Gardens or the Preserve. Clearly, to the BOE the Gardens and Preserve are simply land that they consider theirs to use as they please.
I’ve lived in Westport for 28 years. Although I never had kids in our schools, I’ve never begrudged a tax bill that is now more than 60% assigned to our schools. I believe it is important that our children receive a first class education and I am keenly aware of the secondary benefit of rising property values.
But just once it would be nice if the Board of Education showed that it wasn’t completely oblivious to other interests in Town. We have seven schools, we have around fourteen playing fields, and we have one Community Garden (that I doubt would fill the space of a single playing field). The idea that a Community Gardens that is under the auspices of Parks and Rec is suddenly fair game for the BOE is absolutely absurd.
Good one‼️
The new Bedford elemetary sits on the former community gardens, directly upon those once previously cherished lots. If i was on the committee i would suggest to build the most kick ass brand new long lots possible. I went to long lots (79》in 7th and 8th grade before shipping off to private school for 9th. But the gardens could be set up at WTF. Wakemans farm and the community gardens were my stalking grounds growing up in the 70’s, before I started hanging out at the green.what is the problem with building the best school possible? I would let a garden get in the way. Actually, the advanced way to do would be to bring the gardens inside, into the school, the kids might learn something useful. The future of food is indoor vertical growing.
Whenever I read this blog I have major flashbacks from the magic that was westport in the 70s… ha
There is no problem “building the best school possible.”
There is a big problem treating the Community Gardens as the cost of doing business for anything the BOE wants to do.
Ya wanna grow kids or a couple turnips?
Im kidding, obviously we need an equitable solution for both sides. We should look into the vertical farming for the community growers, its the future…
There is obviously a simple way to establish priorities in these types of situations I do remember that old farm there, right next to the school. And the community gardens folks are fanatics about nature and growing things,
Going on a limb here, how about a couple acres at Nyla Farms? There a a few ways to solve this, im guessing. It is exciting to be building a brand new school, with all the modern efficiencies.
This is exciting, i can hear that old long lots song…
You’re not serious at all. Vertical farming sounds lovely but it’s a fairytale in this town. If I were you I’d stay off tree limbs.
Thanks,
Food can be grown year round inside with led lights on each plant, controlled by AI. I bet the Nyla farms owner would let one acre to be used for gardening. All you have to is ask. Vertical farming is not a fairy tale, it is real! Just google it.
Whats up with the tree limbs? Please clarify your remarks. Why wont VF work?
There could be a garden at golden shadows, there used to be, just cycled through that property today, looked terrible. The Barron’s garden was completly overgrown. For 15 years i lived next to Barrons south, I would walk through the garden in the evenings, at dusk. The maintence of the prpoerty and grounds is appalling. Perfect location for community gardening. The Barron had a thing for white lillies, so the story goes.
How about we leave in place the Gardens and Preserves and that the Long Lots building committee look for alternatives that don’t include destroying the Gardens?
20 years of work is not “moved” it is destroyed. The perfect location is where it is.
Why must a school be one story? That’s what most of the comments seem to suggest…another sprawling one story building. Just wondering.
That was indeed a fascinating piece.
And, while there are interesting parallels between what happened in 1996 and what is being considered now at Long Lots, I think the local history that provides a more direct parallel to the current situation is what transpired over 20 years ago with the initial proposal of a new Staples complex being constructed, in part, on the soccer and baseball fields.
I can’t remember all of the details but what I do recall is the following:
the BOE came up with the proposal without consulting the groups that might be impacted by it and that when we tried to approach Dr. Landon about considering other possibilities, his basic response was that this was far and away the most cost-effective solution—and yet I think the final school plan that was put into place after P and Z rejected the initial proposal ended up costing less (and perhaps even far less) than that initial proposal.
And, again, I don’t recall all of the details but I think the reason P and Z rejected the initial BOE proposal was because that plan was deemed contrary to an established section and/or principles of the zoning text which had to do with the importance and preservation of green/park/open space in town—and it was this section of the zoning text that we largely based our opposition on.
Perhaps this section or a similar section would be relevant to the cause of the people who want to keep the community gardens intact.
The bottom line: there were some people from the BOE who were very dismissive of our efforts but, the truth is, no one gave careful consideration initially to other ways that the school could have been built other than in a space that would destroy the park-like setting of the soccer/baseball field area. And, as we all ultimately saw, there was another option—just as I imagine there is another option here that would preserve the community garden.
I would like to weigh in on this question of school vs. community garden…having grown up in Westport (class of 66), the son of two educators…multi-media craftsperson….craft shop owner, designer, builder, draftsman, Yosemite climber, Caribbean sailor, Maine kayaker….theater set designer…….environmental activist… Westport Volunteer Fireman (Coleytown Engine Company #6)………domestic violence hotline volunteer…..alcoholic w/thirty six years sobriety……first person to be sent home from Staples with long hair (no joke). I have a second “fatal” disease…cancer. A form for which there is no cure. I am lucky to have two fatal diseases…….why? Because I like questions, problems and puzzles…..they allow me to use my brain….I like tools and I like well thought out solutions to complicated problems. Having cancer has given me the opportunity to look at sobriety where we hold a fatal disease in check by making a decision a day at a time…a sort of a long term “time out”. We put the disease on hold. We use our brain to make these decisions that aid us in “living” our lives. On the other hand the cancer has no brain it has a drive to survive and with it comes the end, the termination of the host. Very organic. This is the blessing of having cancer, having Westport as my home of origin, the art community and the ebb and flow of trends, times, attitudes, adjustments and in a lot of cases lost information, resources and examples of what creative minds can accomplish. To this end I am now seeing and living more in the moment with the constantly developing understanding of the “organic” nature as to who we are as “human beings”. In my humble opinion I think schools are good but community gardens are better. Why? Because schools hopefully educate kids in a variety of subjects. Some are better and some are worse as far as providing a “real” context in which to relate to the information they are receiving…..(I did not do well in school because interest, information and context was never shown). As my cancer continues to educate me to my physicality, my mind is constantly working at “bartering”….and to which there is no “work around”….in essence as I lay on the floor suffering from one of my episodes I get an opportunity to understand that if my house was on fire I could not save myself. The garden on the other hand represents and illustrates the integration of the organic, the intellectual and the “global” (as in climate change”) that the students can see in “real-life”, present time illustration of cause and effect….compassion and neglect…..space and restrictions……hot and cold……wet and dry…..strong and weak… In my estimation the garden and all the related activities provide more “worthwhile” information than any singular subject taught in a school. Long story short….keep the “community” garden and it’s environs… look for another location for a school (which may have a shorter life span than a community of gardeners, environmentalist and educators) . Long live a progressive “global” education system.