Posted onOctober 10, 2023|Comments Off on New Addition To “Historic Homes Of 06880” Tour
There’s new news about next month’s tour of some of Westport’s oldest homes.
The Nathaniel Fitch house has just been added to “Historic Homes of 06880.” The first-ever “06880”-sponsored event is Sunday, November 5 (2 to 5 p.m.).
The 1707 Finch house at 6 Old Hill Road replaces the the 1683 house on Long Lots Road, now unavailable. When the Angotti family bought it in 1996 — nearly 300 years later — it was sagging and dilapidated.
Rather than tearing it down, they embarked on a 2-year restoration project using authentic building material methods, without a single nail or screw.
6 Old Hill Road
The other 3 properties on the tour are equally interesting, each in a different, special way.
There’s 29 North Avenue — the tiny house on the left heading north toward Staples High School, now lovingly renovated by Annette Norton, drawing appreciative looks from all who pass by (and chronicled last spring on “06880”).
29 North Avenue
Two other homes are close by, on Cross Highway. #39 is the much admired, very visible and extensively remodeled home near the corner of Weston Road that recently won a Historic District Commission Preservation Award.
39 Cross Highway
Further up Cross Highway is a barn that stood when the British marched by on their way to Danbury, and is now a handsome/funky/very cool artists’ studio.
Cross Highway barn
“06880” often celebrates Westport’s rich history. We honor homeowners who preserve the past, while enhancing their neighborhoods by giving new life to old properties.
“06880” tells stories. As you explore all 4 houses, you’ll learn the stories behind each one.
Homeowners, and members of “06880”‘s board of directors, will point out cool aspects of each home. We’ll answer questions. You’ll get a brochure explaining the 4 houses too.
Our friends at KMS Team at Compass are sponsoring the “Historic Homes of ‘06880’ tour.”
Tickets are $60 each, $100 for 2. Proceeds help fund “06880”‘s work — which, as always, chronicles Westport’s past, present and future.
Click here for tickets. It’s our “Donate” page. Please note “Historic Homes of ‘06880’” with your order.
Comments Off on New Addition To “Historic Homes Of 06880” Tour
Richard Rauh died today at his Westport home, where he was in hospice care due to a number of ailments. He was 98 years old.
Dick, as he was known to all, lived in Westport for many decades. He earned fame in retirement for his botanical watercolors — highlights of a Westport Library show earlier this year.
Dick Rauh
Most recently, he was part of the film “Below Surface.” The documentary about the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s Aquafit program includes an interview, in which Dick describes how much he got from the program.
An avid Y member, he was 96 when he was filmed, in and out of the water.
He attended primary school in his native Brooklyn, then the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan.
Dick served in the Navy as a communications officer. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Hobart College, and studied at the Art Students League.
He then began a long career as an animator, artist and eventually art director in the New York film industry.
Dick was the art director and part owner of the Optical House, a motion picture effects and editing business where he worked with Woody Allen, Brian DePalma and many others. He worked on many films and television ads, and did pro bono work for public television shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.”
In his earlier years he was president of the New York screen cartoonist union. After becoming an employer he continued to work with the union, helping set up an annuity for members.
As president of the animation community organization ASIFA East, he judged at festivals all over the world.
After retiring, Dick attended a flower drawing course at the New York Botanical Gardens. Inspired, he earned a doctorate in botany from Lehman College.
One of Dick Rauh’s many botanical watercolors.
His love of the beauty and science of plants led him to create and teach a course in plant morphology at the NYBG. He also served as president of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists.
His botanical paintings are in permanent collections at the Hunt in Pittsburgh and London’s Lindley Library, and has won a golden award at the Royal Horticultural Society in London. Dick’s retrospective art exhibition at the Westport Library drew crowds of friends and admirers.
Dick continued teaching online until just a few weeks before his death. He said that of all his accomplishments, teaching was the most important and most gratifying.
Dick was predeceased in 2018 by his wife of 66 years, Harriette Lyford. He is survived by his daughter Helen, sons Daniel and David, grandchildren Marshall, Dustin, Joshua Rauh, and Andrew and Chester Glenn, stepdaughter Sarah Cotner, and great-grandchildren Reece and Ivy.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday (October 11, 1 p.m., Temple Israel). Burial will take be private. For more information and to share condolences, click here.
The Small Car Company’s annual Air-Cooled Charity Car Show on Veterans Green.
The event raised funds and awareness for 2 non-profits: Northeast Community Cycles (which provides bikes free of charge to underprivileged children) and the Bikeport Co-Op (a program where youth earn bikes by attending bike safety and maintenance courses, and performing volunteer hours with local organizations).
The show featured dozens of vintage Porsches, Volkswagens, Corvairs and other rare and special air-cooled cars and motorcycles from around the tri-state area.
Among the air-cooled vehicles on display at Veterans Green. (Photo/Sarathi Roy)
Meanwhile, adjacent to the Artists Collective of Westport trunk show in the Taylor parking lot, Earthplace naturalist Rachel Grella showed off a ball python, on Jesup Green. Its audience had a variety of reactions.
For this week’s 3 candidate debates, questions must be submitted in advance. They will not be taken from the floor. Questions should be emailed to lwvwestportct@yahoo.com.
Planning & Zoning Commission candidates take the Town Hall auditorium stage Wednesday (October 11, 7 p.m.). They’re followed by a double-header on Thursday, October 12: the Board of Education at 7 p.m., Board of Finance at 8:15.
The debates are sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Westport.
A reminder: Beginning next Monday (October 15), gas-powered leaf blowers are allowed every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., except holidays.
Property owners are responsible for informing landscapers who work on their property.
Homeowners doing their own yard work have extended hours: weekdays 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; weekends and holidays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Beginning May 15, no gas-powered leaf blowers will be allowed through October 15, except in specific situations (for example a health or safety emergency, or storm cleanup).
Property owners should inform landscapers now, so they can plan to buy any necessary equipment before May 15. (Hat tip: Kristin Schneeman)
Lauren Bullock recently resigned, after teaching for 16 years in the Westport Public Schools.
But she had another career too. She wrote, directed and produced a short film, “Tough Love.” It’s been nominated for Excellence in Directing and Outstanding Lead Actress awards by the 2023 Pitch to Screen Festival.
“A young, attractive bartender is crazed by a traumatic childhood after the death of her father. Constantly questioning her self-worth and duplicity, Lana struggles to find love as she seeks affection from strangers. She is burdened by the remnants of patriarchy, religion, and bad choices as she is faced with her own reflection. Lana must look in the mirror and confront her past in order to move on.”
It’s available for public viewing online for 4 days only (October 12-16); click here for details. It then moves to the big screen, at Manhattan’s Dolby Theater, on October 20.
Half of the film was shot in and around Westport last spring. A few local actors were in the cast.
Winners of festival awards will be determined by viewers’ votes.
Click here for the Bullock Productions website. Click below for the “Tough Love” trailer.
A Senior Center audience of over 120 attendees was entertained yesterday by the Gramercy Brass Orchestra.
The invitation came from Senior Center board member Molly Alger. She was on the Gramercy Board for 20 years, before moving from New York to Westport.
Her son Jason was a student at the United Nations International School, where orchestra leader/trumpeter John Henry Lambert taught — and took private lessons from him too.
Gramercy Brass Orchestra at the Senior Center. Leader John Henry Lambert is at far right. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from Canal Road, on Saugatuck Shores. Humans have made their mark there — but it’s still filled with natural wonders.
Last week, the Long Lots School Building Committee voted unanimously in favor of “Concept C.” The plan — one of 6 proposed for the elementary school project — includes construction of a new building on the site of the current baseball field.
A new diamond, in turn, would be developed where the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve are now located. A new garden would be built behind the site of the current school.
Long Lots Elementary School Plan C. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
Gardeners and their supporters say it is impossible to reconstruct the 20 years of work and growth — not to mention the soil itself — that’s been put into the 120-plot garden.
Why, they wonder, did Building Committee members — many of whom spoke fondly of the gardens — not consider “Concept C-Alt”? That option would build the new school in the same place as C. However, the garden would remain (with a new soccer field next to it).
Under “C-Alt,” the baseball field could be built behind the present school. The diamond could also be moved to a different location elsewhere in town, if one could be found.
Long Lots Elementary School Plan C-Alt. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
“06880” asked all 7 LLSBC members why they favored “C” over “C-Alt.”
Two responded. They said:
Liz Heyer: “As the Board of Education representative on the committee, I believe that option ‘C’ meets both the requirements and spirit of the educational specifications and will deliver an exceptional new elementary school, while balancing the impacts of all other considerations on the property.
“The challenge with ‘C-Alt’ is the incremental project cost, and the risks associated with placing the field in an area with extreme variations in topography and existing drainage.
“I love and value the Community Gardens. However, as a Building Committee member responsible to Westport taxpayers, I can’t presume and recommend that taxpayers should incur an additional $2.3 million on an already costly project, especially given the many capital projects on the horizon.
“Ultimately, the town governing bodies are responsible for deciding what is in the best interest of the town. And as stated at the meeting, the feasibility option is a work in progress, not a final design plan for construction. Aspects of the project can and may need to change in the design stage.
Don O’Day: “Concept C keeps every field and the Gardens, but in a rebuilt form. I am not insensitive or unaware of the impact of a do-over for the Community Gardens after 18 years of work. The Gardens are truly impressive, and a rebuild does mean destruction. I get that, and I’m sorry for it.
“Concept C-Alt does show the Gardens in the same place, with a multi-purpose field in the area behind the old school. This cost to build such a field is approximately $2.5 million, and its success is not certain given the topography of the area. It is easier to build a new Garden in that area, as the need for total space and for the land to be almost entirely level is less than that for a field.
“Importantly, all fields and the Garden will be closed for 2 years and certainly subject to damage. That concept doesn’t seem to be accepted but it is the result of building a new school on a relatively small footprint while maintaining the existing school for 600 children and staff.
“It is an objective decision for the greater good, in my opinion. So, that’s why I chose C over C-Alt.”
Some people never make it past the Black Duck dining room (or bar).
But those who venture further know there are alligators (crocodiles?) on the dock in back.
The seldom-seen-unless-you’re-there reptiles were the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see).
Richard Stein, Howard Potter, Mark Soboslai, Andrew Colabella, Jamie Walsh, Jonathan McClure, Martha Witte, Nathan Greenbaum and Lisa Hayes have all spent time there.
We won’t ask for stories. But we will over congratulations on identifying the Challenge.
Here is this week’s. If you know where in Westport you’d see it, click “Comments” below.
Former 2nd Selectman and Board of Finance chair Avi Kaner and his wife Liz are in Israel, during these precarious times. Avi told “06880” this morning: “We arrived last night to spend a week, and flew into a country at war.
“The primary purpose of our visit was to dedicate a Torah scroll, which my grandfather rescued, to the Yad Vashem Holicaust Museum on Wednesday.
“This is a very resilient nation. All the terrorists succeeded in doing is reuniting the people.”
Liz added: “During our flight to Tel Aviv yesterday Israel became embroiled in war. I got teary-eyed at airport after seeing a young Israeli family – blond hair/ blue eyes — meeting their safta (grandmother). What did they do to elicit such hatred?
“This is so emotional, but I wouldn’t trade being here tonight for anything. We bonded with Avi’s cousins while going to and from bomb shelters 4 times.
“We witnessed the sights and sounds of rockets being launched by Hamas, which were then diffused by Iron Dome. First was the hissing of the rockets and then the “boom boom” of their decimation….
“While in the bomb shelter Avi’s cousin started singing ‘Am Israel Chi (The People of Israel Live’), which reinforced our love for and solidarity with Israel.”
The Kaners sent 2 emotional videos. Click below for their first-hand report:
“My wife and I just returned from a very pleasant Friday night walk along Main Street for ice cream at Cold Fusion.
“Well, pleasant to a point. As we see often, some very negligent parents let their tweens and early teens loose and alone to ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards and electric 1-wheelers on Main Street. No helmet. No regard.
“Because … why bother to make sure their own children are safe? The kids uninhibitedly take their chances against traffic, zipping in and out of lanes and between cars, cutting them off without a thought.
“So it was very nice to see Officer Shawn Booth on foot patrol watching over the street, pedestrians, and diners coming to and from the restaurants, as well as checking on stores to see that all was usual.
“But a foot patrol is not usual, although it is absolutely necessary on weekends to prevent these children from causing an accident, getting hurt oe, God forbid, killed.
“The parents obviously won’t take care of their children, so let us thank the Westport Police Department for keeping their children safe.
“They must be kept away from and out of traffic and casual strollers on Main Street.”
The “Fairfield County Talks Housing” series continues with October 17 (7 p.m., Westport Library), with a conversation called “Housing Matters: Connecting Housing and Education.”.
The discussion about the relationship between a resident’s address, quality education and opportunity includes Connecticut House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, CT Voices for Children executive director Emily Byrne, and ConnCAN executive director Subira Gordon.
The event is sponsored by the Fairfield County Center for Housing Opportunity and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.
In Connecticut, Zip Codes and educational opportunity are tied closely together.
After many months, Westport is getting a … nail salon.
The Nail Factory reopens Monday, next to CVS.
Owner Quiyang “Amber” Tian moved to the US from China in 2015. She worked as a cashier, then became a nail technician in the Bronx, Long Island and Orange (commuting from Queens.
She and a co-worker bought an established nail business in Westport in 2019, now known as The Nail Factory, where they became known for their designs. COVID struck soon, shuttering them for 3 months.
The property owner did not renew her lease after 3 1/2 years. She has built out her new location, investing in all new equipment. Welcome back! (Hat tip: Charlene Reiss Zeiberg)
The Nail Factory opens tomorrow. (Photo/Molly Alger)
After decades of getting ready for the opening. bell, retired teachers have the luxury of sleeping in.
But former Staples High School educators find a variety of ways to stay active and engaged. They lead full, interestinglives.
Every so often they get together (though a bit later than dawn) to compare notes, and talk about their lives then and now.
They call themselves ROMEOs: Retired Old Men Eating Out.
How many of the legendary teachers in the photo below do you recognize?
They are (clockwise from lower left): Al Jolley, Jim Wheeler, Tom Owen, Bruce McFadden, Barry Curseaden, Pete Van Hagen, Stan Rhodes, John Pepe, Werner Liepolt, Jeff Lea, Bill Brookes, Ed Bludnicki.
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo is as natural as it gets.
Peter Swift snapped this shot. He writes: “Never mind the politics — the show goes on at Westport Community Gardens. Early Saturday. Compost stacked. Birds singing. Bees buzzing. The compost guy.”
Bill Ryan moved to Westport 50 years ago this month. Except for 3 years in Paris, he has been here ever since. He and his wife Catherine’s 3 daughters went through the Westport public schools. Two grandsons are in Staples now; 2 small granddaughters enter the school system soon.
Bill spent much of his career with IBM, in corporate finance. He was also VP of internal audit with AmeriCares, then returned to IBM to run a leadership development program for nearly a decade.
Locally he coached softball, and has been active in the Kings Highway North/Wright Street neighborhood association. (“Blame me for the speed humps or stop signs,” he says.)
Bill is also a member of the Historic District Committee. It’s a natural fit: His first home was in what is now the Gorham Historic District. He’s spent 40 years in the Kings Highway North Historic District — which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Bill writes:
“Westport is losing its New England charm. Too many houses are being torn down!”
Sound familiar?
While that refrain has been heard a lot over the past few years, it’s not new. It can be traced back at least to the early 1970s.
But back then a group of Westporters decided to do something about it. They formed a committee to explore establishing a local historic district. They hoped that by doing so, one of Westport’s oldest neighborhoods and many of its older structures could be preserved.
The result of their efforts was the Kings Highway North Historic District, created by an RTM ordinance in 1973. Coincident with the creation of the District, per state law, Westport’s Historic District Commission was established. It too has been functioning for 50 years.
Among the homes in the Kings Highway North Historic District: 104 Kings Highway North …
The committee was headed by the late Sylvia Milberg. It included Jacqueline Heneage who shortly after was elected Westport’s first female 1st Selectman.
Also on the committee was local architect Bob Gault, a scion of the long-time Westport family.
He now lives in Maine. But he remembers well the work the committee put in to see the District come to fruition.
“People were getting tired of seeing so many homes falling to the wrecking ball. Many of us were concerned there would be little of Westport’s history retained. The Kings Highway North area was a natural place to focus.” Gault recalls.
The committee zeroed in on Kings Highwa North and Wright Street. Property on Edge Hill Road, two parcels on Wilton Road and one on Old Hill Road were included, totaling 71 properties in all.
… 45 Kings Highway North …
To be approved, at least 75% of the property owners had to agree. While the measure passed handily, Gault recalls it was not without some cajoling. “Nobody in Town Hall is going to be telling you what color to paint your house!” members said.
As part of the process to justify the area as historic, the committee spent nearly 2 years gathering information and filing reports, before culminating in RTM approval.
This researched events that would fortify the position that the District was of historic significance. For example, many of Westport first settlers owned homes within the District, most of which still stand.
While George Washington may never have slept or dined along Kings Highway North, records show that he traveled along the road more than once. So did other historical figures, such as Lafayette.
The road was the prime east-west route before a bridge was established (where the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge is now located). The road curved to the north, where fording the river was enabled at the current location of the Kings Highway North Bridge.
In addition, the triangle green at the intersection with Old Hill Road was a military drill ground during the French and Indian War.
… and 6 Edge Hill Road.
In 1998 the Kings Highway North Historic District received the added distinction of being included in the National Register of Historic Homes.
In contrast to other neighborhoods, the streetscape in the District is pretty much what it was like 50 years ago. Trees and shrubs come and go, but structures have endured or been enhanced.
Property improvements and alterations do take place, as is very much in evidence on several properties.
But for changes affecting direct sightline from the street, a Certificate of Appropriateness must be presented to and approved by the HDC. The commission and its administrator work closely with property owners to ensure an efficient and effective resolution, in keeping with the history of the property.
A drive through the District today shows that changes do take place, but with an eye on history.
Even better: a walk through the area.
Kings Highway North Historic District walking tour.
(“06880” is all about history. If you enjoy our looks back — as well as looks around today, and forward — please consider a tax-deductible donation. Just click here. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
