Ferry Lane West — the official but seldom-used name of the road running along the eastbound side of the Westport railroad station parking lot — is a well traveled road.
But in their rush to get to or from trains, few folks look around.
Those that do might notice — and wonder — about the long and high brick wall rising next to them.
And, it seems, only a few people have noticed the good-sized red wooden door, set deep into the wall.
That door was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)
Andrew Colabella, Scott Brodie, Seth Schachter, Dan Vener, Lynn Untermeyer Miller and Michael Simso were the very observant readers to correctly identify the mysterious door. (Incorrect guesses included the Kings Highway North cemetery, Viva Zapata, and a Compo Beach bathroom.)
The 1,675-foot long wall was built as part of a privacy agreement, when the Cockeroft family sold some of their estate to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad.
Over time, their handsome home — built around 1890, and accessible via a steam launch from New York City — deteriorated.
Around 1950, Lawrence Langner of the Theatre Guild, Lincoln Kirstein of Lincoln Center and arts patron Joseph Verner Reed tried to build an American Shakespeare Theatre and Academy on the property. Proximity to the train station was a major piece of the plan.
The price for all 21 acres: $200,000.
But many residents objected. There were also concerns that it would draw audiences away from the Westport Country Playhouse. (Others argued that a Shakespeare Theatre would enhance the town’s reputation as an arts community.)
The theater was never built here. It opened in the aptly named town of Stratford, Connecticut in 1955, and was moderately successful until ceasing operations 30 years later.
In 1956 Westporters Leo Nevas and Nat Greenberg, along with Hartford’s Louis Fox, bought the property for residential development, called Stony Point.
Little remains of the original estate. But the brick wall — and that odd, little noticed door — is still there. (Click here for more details.)
Here is this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Richard Hyman)
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