Last night’s Historic District Commission meeting was special.
It was the one night a year that members did not review proposed demolitions.
Instead, they celebrated buildings that have not fallen to the wrecking ball.
The HDC honored 10 that have been preserved, thoughtfully and lovingly.
Nine were residential homes. One was the very place they met: Town Hall.
The Preservation Award honorees are:
15 BRADLEY STREET
OWNER: Holly Jaffe
The Colonial Revival at 15 Bradley Street originally consisted of the gabled section that was later extended to the south, with a perpendicular garage wing.
Remaining details include the exposed purlins and second story sleeping porch, both typical of a summer cottage architecture of its period.
This lovingly preserved home has been featured in “06880,” as well as the April 2023 issue of “Connecticut Cottages & Gardens.”
Holly Jaffe, the property owner and principal of the boutique design firm Wowhaus, renovated the house in 2021. Working with local architect Jon Halper and builder Alan Dreher, they maximized the space without changing the footprint.
29 NORTH AVENUE
OWNER: Annette Norton
The Mills Farmstead has several different build dates, ranging from c. 1775 to c.1850.
However, it is believed that the house was built c.1775 by Daniel Mills, then either rebuilt or remodeled by Hezekiah Mills c. 1820.
The property remained in the Mills family for 5 generations, until it was
sold in 1982. For the next 40 years the house deteriorated.
In the spring of 2021, Savvy + Grace owner Annette Norton bought the house. Her extensive interior and exterior renovation included removal of a stockade fence that hid the house from view, extensive foundation repair work, and repairs to the cedar clapboard siding, copper gutters and downspouts.
Her home was featured in last fall’s first “Historic Homes of ‘06880’” tour.
Annette Norton was honored for renovating a home that yields information important to Westport’s historic record.
60 LONG LOTS ROAD
OWNERS: Sophie and Victor Nordenson
60 Long Lots Road is a Colonial Revival house built by Daniel Burr in 1767. It was originally located at 71 Long Lots Road, and moved to its current site between 1848 and 1851.
Greens Farms Church records indicate the congregation met in this house after their meeting house was burned down by General William Tryon’s troops in his 1779 raid on Connecticut.
This house was constructed as a 5-bay, central chimney Colonial. It is unclear if the central chimney was replaced with twin stacks during the relocation, or if this occurred later.
The home was renovated in the Colonial Revival mode with 6-over-6 windows, and a leaded transom over the central entrance.
Sophie and Victor Nordenson acquired the house in 2019, and have kept it safe.
61 clapboard hill road
OWNER: 61 Clapboard Hill Road LLC
McCune House is one of the finest examples of Mediterranean Revival architecture in Westport.
Despite being renovated recently, it remains a well-proportioned, textured stucco structure that is casually arranged to suggest the vernacular building traditions of Spain and Italy.
The house’s significant features include steel casement windows, a tile roof, a projecting arched porch and shallow balconette with iron grill.
Built by William McCune c. 1920 on the frontage of an 8-acre parcel, it was a seasonal home for his son and daughter-in-law, William and Edgarda Rowe.
After William’s untimely death, Edgarda married Thomas Coggeshall. They lived in a larger house on Turkey Hill Road, and used this as a rental property.
67 LONG LOTS ROAD
OWNERS: Elaine and Andrew Rankowitz
In 1851, after the Daniel Burr House at 60 Long Lots Road was relocated, this impressive Italianate dwelling was built for William Burr, Sr.
The house passed through the family to his son William, Jr., and then to grandson Morris who owned it into the 1960s.
One of the first Italianate homes in Westport, this 5-bay, 2 1/2-story house has a hip-roof that appears slightly more pronounced today than originally intended as the full-façade veranda was reduced in length.
Some of the splendid exterior details, including coupled brackets under the
overhanging eaves and 6-light frieze windows, are hallmarks of Italianate design.
It was purchased by Elaine and Andrew Rankowitz almost 30 years ago. The 2024 Preservation Award commemorates their caregiving.
83 LONG LOTS rOAD
OWNERS: Elizabeth and Andrew Crossfield
This was built in 1830 by Greens Farms Church minister Reverend Thomas F. Davis, on land purchased from John Hyde. Davis was an owner of the academy on Morningside Road North purchased from Ebenezer Adams, whic became known as Adams Academy.
The Peffers-Everly House has been enlarged, and reworked in the Colonial Revival style.
Its original form was a 3-bay, side-hall plan, Federal building with a Grecian
frontispiece. In the 1930s it was extended on both sides, and the cross gable, lunette window, Doric cornices and a flat-roofed solarium with a Chinese trellis
balustrade were added.
While these additions are not necessarily period appropriate, they represent the fine revival craftsmanship that transformed many of Westport’s early houses
into gracious country estates.
The Preservation Award was given to the Crossfields to commemorate their continued guardianship of this gracious home.
90 hillandale road
OWNERS: Abby Majlak and John Vine.
The Patrick O’Connor House is named for the man who acquired a 2-acre parcel east of Muddy Brook in the 1880s.
He built this house with a vertical, gable-front orientation with deep
overhanging eaves, typical of late 19th-century vernacular Victorian design. The original building had a wraparound porch running along its front and side elevations.
The house was completely renovated in 2021 by previous property owner Kim Walin, utilizing the services of Leonard + Lees Design. It was featured in the April 2023 issue of “Connecticut Cottages and Gardens.”
Abby Majlak and John Vine purchased the house in 2022. A 2024 Preservation Award was given to honor their continued stewardship.
100 HILLSPOINT ROAD
OWNERS: Carolyn and Joseph Wilkinson
100 Hillspoint Road is a Colonial Revival structure built in 1920.
It is a rectangular plan building with a gable roof main block. The symmetrical 5-bay façade has a center entrance set beneath a projecting, pedimented portico supported by classical columns.
Fenestration consists of 2-over-2 double-hung sash windows. A central brick chimney and gable dormers interrupt the asphalt shingled roof.
Carolyn and Joseph Wilkinson have lovingly cared for this home for over 20 years. They receive a 2024 Preservation Award for excellence in ongoing
care and maintenance.
110 MYRTLE AVENUE
OWNER: Town of Westport
The neo-Classical building at 110 Myrtle Avenue serves as Westport’s Town Hall.
It was built as a school in 1927 with the help of local philanthropist Edward T. Bedford. Bedford Elementary School educated many generations of children until 1978, when it was converted to Town
Hall.
The 2024 Preservation Award commemorates the recently completed façade
restoration project of the portico and columns.
The building’s central street facing elevation consists of a porch with 6 2-story fluted Corinthian columns, supporting a classical gabled portico. A flight of stairs provides access from the driveway to the raised porch.
The entire assembly is the focal point for the overall symmetrical composition of the façade, and presents an impressive and serious “face” to Westport Town Hall.
In 2020, though the portico was in good structural condition, evidence of some
surface deterioration and missing details were noted. An assessment was prepared by the Architectural Preservation Studio under the supervision of John Broadbin, deputy director of the Department of Public
Works, and former HDC historic preservation specialist Dr. Daryn Reyman-Lock.
Work began in 2023. The project included coating removal and repairs to the wood columns, pediment, ceiling and trip. The concrete porch, steps and metal railings were also repaired and repainted. Finally, the original bronze and glass bulletin board wasrestored to its original appearance.
136 riverside avenue
OWNER: Town of Westport
Riverside Avenue (the Post-Goodsell House) was built in the Queen Anne style by John Croker.
The building’s name is a combination of 2 property owners; Robert Post, who
occupied the house from 1896 to 1921, and Elizabeth Goodsell, who lived there from 1921 until 1958.
In 1998, the town of Westport purchased the property, adjacent to Saugatuck Elementary School. For the next 17 years it was used as office space for the Westport Public Schools.
This property is now leased to Abilis, a non-profit that has served the special needs community since 1951.
Under an agreement with the developers of the Mill Westport condominium complex, the building has been converted to 5 independent living units. Three are deed-restricted for disabled people earning 60 percent or less of the state median income.
The other 2 units are for individuals earning less 40 percent or less of the state median income.
This project is an excellent example of adaptive reuse. The asymmetrically massed house retains its bold roof silhouette — an excellent example of the rich, varied picturesque mode that dominate the late 19th century.
The wown of Westport receives a 2024 Preservation Award for adaptive reuse.
(The Historic District Commission thanked 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, former HDC chair Bill Harris, former HDC member Bob Weingarten, and HDC administrator Donna Douglass. The HDC chair is Grayson Braun; vice chair is Scott Springer; clerk is Wendy Van Wie; members are Bill Ryan and Martha Eidman, and alternates are Ben Levites, Arthur Hayes and Elayne Landau.)
(Every day, “06880” covers Westport current events. We always look to the future — and honor the past. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Bravo to all who are helping preserve our history and character.
Thanks for sharing these Dan. I’m very gratified to see that every historic house in Westport hasn’t become a teardown and replaced with some McMansion. Kudos to the owners caring for them.
Thanks for showcasing these, Dan. A good friend of mine lived at 61 Clapboard and thus, I feel like I sort of grew up there. My friend’s mother lived at 61 and her grandmother lived in the “sister” house across the fields (address on Turkey Hill) and they both provided a wonderful fantasy land in which to play. They were both McCune/Coggeshall descendants. So, until sometime in the 1970’s/early 1980’s, they were still in the family and formed a pristine 10 acre oasis inside Greens Farms. Someone recently bought the grandmother’s house and tore it down. It was a tradegy, imo and we fought to convince the owner to honor the house and restore, but he had no interest in that, sadly. Makes my heart hurt.