Category Archives: Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge #300

Posted on September 27, 2020 | 10 comments

It’s impossible to miss: Heading toward Fairfield on the Post Road, the side of the 5 Guys building comes into view, just past the old IHOP/now a nail salon opposite the fire station.

But only one reader — Seth Braunstein — knew that last week’s Photo Challenge of a grungy, peeling wall was the same 5 Guys sight.

Click here to see. And you’ll agree that whoever owns the building should immediately send 5 guys — or however many it takes — to clean up that eyesore.

Today’s Photo Challenge is much prettier. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

10 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge, Restaurants

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Photo Challenge #299

Posted on September 20, 2020 | 7 comments

Last week’s Photo Challenge gave readers a sporting chance.

Sportsmen Dave Harrison, Rich Stein, Dan Vener, Tom Wall and Andrew Colabella all knew that Werner Liepolt’s shot showed the small field next to the original Saugatuck Elementary School on Bridge Street (now senior housing).

Give credit to Fred Cantor too, whose cryptic comment (“home field advantage”) references both Liepolt’s home next to the field, and the fact that Fred has an apartment at The Saugatuck himself.

Donna Hansen kicked herself for guessing it was the softball field behind Town Hall — though she attended Saugatuck El, and lived around the corner on South Compo. Click here for the image — and all the wrong guesses too.

If you thought last week’s photo was a bit unkempt (like Darcy Sledge and Wendy Cusick, both of whom commented about invasive vines), you probably won’t like this week’s challenge either.

But it’s pretty recognizable. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Hal Hutchison)

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Posted in Education, Photo Challenge, Sports

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Photo Challenge #298

Posted on September 13, 2020 | 15 comments

It’s clear: The Gillespie Center is an integral part of Westport life.

The men’s shelter — across from police headquarters, behind the old Restoration Hardware (and before that, Fine Arts Theater) and, most intriguingly, around the corner from Tiffany — opened in April 1989. (For the previous 5 years, it was located at the Vigilant Firehouse on Wilton Road, now OKO restaurant.)

The Center — named after one of the founders, Dr. Jim Gillespie — had been the home of the Youth Adult Council and Westport Transit District. Long before that, it was a garage for the town Highway Department.

For over 30 years, the Gillespie Center has served as a shelter for homeless men. Run by Homes with Hope, the building includes a food pantry and Hoskins Place, a shelter for single women. The name honors Rev. Ted Hoskins, longtime Saugatuck Church pastor.

35 readers — possibly a record — quickly recognized Helen McAlinden’s photo as the Gillespie Center in last week’s Challenge. (Click here to see.)

The number of correct answers — 35 — may be an “06880” Photo Challenge record. So may be the fact that there were no incorrect guesses. What a tribute to Westport’s embrace of the Gillespie Center!

Congratulations to Matt Murray, Pat Porio, Lawrence Zlatkin, Gloria Gouveia, Mike Hibbard, Cindy Zuckerbrod, Ed Gerber, Elaine Marino, Suzanne Raboy, Rich Stein, Amy Schneider, Wendy McKeon, Peggy O’Halloran, Jan Carpenter, Karen Kramer, Pat Farmer, Molly Alger, Barry Cass, Jonathan McClure, Michelle Scher Saunders, Michael Calise, Ken Gilbertie, Seth Braunstein, Joyce Barnhart, Nancy Axthelm, Linda Amos, Gillian Anderson, John Moran, Vivian Rabin, Susan Yules, Tony Giunta, Pete Powell, Darcy Sledge, Joelle Malec and Bruce Salvo.

Can so many people also identify this week’s Photo Challenge? Probably not. It’s tougher.

So here’s a hint: It’s a former town athletic facility. If you know where in Westport you’d find this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Werner Liepolt)

15 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Organizations, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #297

Posted on September 6, 2020 | 38 comments

There is so much that’s special about Old Mill, Sherwood Mill Pond and Compo Cove: the pedestrian-only wooden bridges. The oyster house, reachable only by boat. The old-fashioned garages, one of them festooned with seashells.

And the 3-wheeled vehicle that sits in Clark Hanford’s lawn, next to the narrow walkway leading to those garages and bridges (with the oyster house off in the distance).

That little car was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. Every reader who responded knew exactly where it sits. Congrats to Matt Murray, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Linda Revelli, Tom Green, Rich Stein, Fred Cantor, Seth Goltzer, Karen Como, Tom Risch, Amy Schneider and Bob Belciano.

Some of those readers live at or near Old Mill. Some enjoy walking there. All are intrigued by it. Click here, to see for yourself.

And see if you can identify this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d spot this, click “Comments” below.

38 Comments

Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #296

Posted on August 30, 2020 | 15 comments

Last week’s two-fer Photo Challenge threw a few readers for a loop.

As the story said, “winners” (who get nothing except 15 minutes of Sunday afternoon glory) had to identify both photos — of plants and flowers hanging outside a couple of walls — correctly. (Click here to see.)

Most people identified the top photo as Pane e Bene, across from the Westport Inn. Fewer got the second one, another Italian restaurant in the other end of town: Tutti’s.

Congratulations to Rich Stein, Seth Braunstein, Amy Schneider and Claire Elliot for getting both images right. Buon appetito!

We’re back to one photo this week. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Les Dinkin)

15 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge, Restaurants, Saugatuck

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Photo Challenge #295

Posted on August 23, 2020 | 13 comments

After thousands of Westporters spent hundreds of hours squatting on Jesup Green and the Westport Library steps after Tropical Storm Isaias, conducting essential business or watching movies thanks to the library’s free WiFi, I thought more readers would recognize last week’s Photo Challenge.

Seth Schachter’s shot showed a sculpture resembling 3 bowling balls. It’s actually part of the Westport Library’s logo — and it sits, appropriately, at the top of Jesup Green, adjacent to the police station parking lot and a few yards from the library. (Click here for the image.)

Susan Iseman, Pat Saviano, Valerie Smith-Malin, Jo Ann Flaum and Amy Schneider were the 5 who nailed the challenge.

FUN FACT: The 3-dot logo is replicated on the clock that hangs outside the children’s section, visible from just about everywhere on the main floor.

Today’s Photo Challenge is our first ever two-fer. The images are both gorgeous — but they show different spots. If you know where in Westport you’d see both scenes, click “Comments” below. You must correctly identify the 2 sites, in order to “win” our non-existent prize.

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

(Photo/Patricia McMahon)

13 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Library, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #294

Posted on August 16, 2020 | 9 comments

Last week’s Photo Challenge was a good one. David Loffredo’s clever image showed the tiled plaza by the Saugatuck River, viewed directly from above on the patio between The Whelk and Saugatuck Sweets. (Click here to see.)

Unfortunately, sussing out the scene was lower on most readers’ lists than clearing debris, tossing food from the fridge, and otherwise dealing with the zillion chores and inconveniences that come with a major power outage.

There were just 3 responses. Fred Cantor had the lone correct answer. And he lives in Southern California.

Now that the juice is back on: Try this week’s Photo Challenge. We’re easing back into things with an easy one. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Seth Schachter)

9 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge, Saugatuck

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Photo Challenge #293

Posted on August 9, 2020 | 4 comments

Seems we’re all going around in circles these days. Or caught in a maze of emotions. Or we feel like we’re in a labyrinth, with no way back to normal.

So it was fitting that last week’s Photo Challenge showed the labyrinth on the front lawn of Saugatuck Congregational Church. It’s actually a calming spot, a place to wander, de-stress and focus.

Saugatuck’s labyrinth spans 50 feet, lined with over 1,500 bricks. Its 7 rings are designed to “traverse the material world through to the realm of higher consciousness.” Renowned dowser Marty Cain helped determine the optimal location of the rings, spine and entrance.

The labyrinth was part of church member and then-Staples High School student Liam Borner’s Eagle Scout project. He got help from various parishioners, and pastor Alison Patton. Installation was done by members and friends of the church. Click here for last week’s photo; click here for more info on the labyrinth.

Morley Boyd, Iain Bruce, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Susan Iseman, Lois Himes and Katherine Ross all knew exactly where Lee Scharfstein’s photo was — and what it showed.

How about this week’s Photo Challenge? If you know where in Westport you’d find it, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/David Loffredo)

4 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge, religion

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Photo Challenge #292

Posted on August 2, 2020 | 10 comments

On a hot Sunday last week, “06880” offered a cool view.

Harrison Gordon’s image showed the back of a Wilton Road house, near the Kings Highway North intersection. The view was from across the Saugatuck River, by Parker Harding Plaza. (Click here to see.)

The home was designed to maximize its view. As Harrison’s photo shows, it sure does.

Wendy Cusick, Bob Grant, Susan Iseman, Rich Stein, Andrew Colabella, Ralph Balducci, Diane Silfen, James Weisz, Seth Schachter, Ken Gilbertie, PK Cleary, Lynn Untermeyer Miller and Mary Ann Batsell all nailed this one. Congrats!

Before moving on to this week’s Photo Challenge, here’s a note on the one before last. It featured “Alvord Beach” — the name of Sherwood Island State Park’s East Beach, which virtually no one has ever heard of (or used). No one around here has ever heard of “Alvord,” either.

But MaryAnn Meyer — who lives not far from Sherwood Island — found an “Alvord Genealogy” online. It mentions Nelson Alvord’s home at 295 Greens Farms Road.

Nelson Alvord began a carriage-making business in Torrington, in 1835. The genealogy notes:

He was a pioneer in shipping top vehicles to Ga. These were used for distributing merchandise through the country long before the advent of railroads in that section of the South.

He built up a large business, probably the largest in the state, employing at times 125 men. Before the railroad was built through the Naugatuck Valley, he had to transport his wagons by team to New Haven, thence by water to Savannah, Ga. He continued in active business until he retired in 1863, and removed to Green’s Farms, Conn., on the shore of Long Island Sound.

See you at Alvord Beach!

Meanwhile, see if you can identify this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport this is, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Lee Scharfstein)

10 Comments

Posted in Beach, Downtown, Environment, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #290

Posted on July 19, 2020 | 16 comments

Our “06880” Photo Challenges are meant to be fun: I post an image, you guess where it is.

I have to crop many submissions creatively. Last weekend’s, though, was a rarity. It was both challenging and artistic.

David Squires’ shot showed a gate with black waves, undulating against a background of green grass and blue sky. (Click here to see.)

It was visually arresting. And it was familiar to Wendy Brown, Jonathan McClure, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Wendy Cusick and Stephanie Mastocciolo. All knew it can be seen on Beachside Avenue, opposite Greens Farms Academy. The look is modern, but the view is classic.

This week’s Photo Challenge is also a bit different. The view is of a Westport beach, obviously — but what’s its official name? Click “Comments” if you know.

PS: No Googling. This is tougher than it looks.

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

16 Comments

Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge

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