Tag Archives: Frazier Forman Peters

Roundup: Untimely Death, Frazier Forman Peters, Pesto …

Posted on August 18, 2023 | 4 comments

The on-scene investigation of the “untimely death” of a 56-year-old woman — found yesterday at 11 a.m. — was completed at 12:45 this morning by the Westport Police Detective Bureau, assisted by the Connecticut State Police Major Crime unit. The investigation remains active.

The woman was identified as Jennifer Lindstrom, of 3 Oak Ridge Park. Westport Police responded to the residence after a housekeeper found her unresponsive at the bottom of a staircase leading to the basement.

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Among the hidden-in-plain-sight treasures of Westport: Frazier Forman Peters houses.

Between 1924 and 1936, the architect designed and built over 40 distinctive stone homes in Westport (and more in surrounding towns).

On November 5 Histoury — a non-profit dedicated to significant buildings — offers a bus tour of 20 Frazier Forman Peters houses. Experts will offer commentary on their designs and histories. Several interior tours will be included.

Tickets are $75 for adults, $49 for students. Click here to purchase. For more information on Frazier Forman Peters, click here.

A Frazier Forman Peters house on Riverview Road with fieldstone facades, slate roof and copper gutters.

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There’s always something new at the Westport Farmers’ Market.

Yesterday, it was this hand-lettered sign from Fort Hill Farm, offering a simple recipe for basil pesto.

“Beautiful flowers and foods, live music, kid’s crafts — it was a great vibe,” says Jo Shields Sherman, who sent the sign shot to “06880.”

(Photo/Jo Shields Sherman)

The Farmers’ Market is halfway through its season. It runs every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Imperial Avenue parking lot.

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Report from the transfer station:

The recycling section was roped off yesterday, for electrical work to install a dedicated cardboard compactor.

The new cardboard compactor will allow cardboard to leave in its own dedicated stream, like the glass dumpster currently does.

In the meantime, temporary bins were set up this morning to accept recyclables.

(Photo and hat tip/Ken Stamm)

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Here’s our first Halloween-related story of the year. (No, it is not Dunkin’s pumpkin lineup — although it is already available.)

This is about CLASP‘s “Rockin’ Halloween Bash.” Set for October 20 (Fairfield Theatre Company), it features lite bits from Little Pub, and live music from Band Central — the popular group made up of clients at the organization providing group homes and other services for people with autism and intellectual disabilities.

Click here for tickets, and other information.

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Also on October 20 (and 21 and 22): StoryFest.

The 6th annual Westport Library event — the largest literary event in Connecticut — has just secured Stephen Graham Jones as moderator for the keynote conversation with Neil Gaiman.

Tickets are available starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, August 22. Click here to order. The event is free, but seats are limited.

In addition, Eric LaRocca will cap a full day of Saturday events with a staged reading of his new play, “Gentle Hacksaw.”

Tickets for LaRocca are $20, and are available now. They include a reception with StoryFest authors, small bites and a cash bar.

From left: Stephen Graham Jones, Neil Gaiman, Eric LaRocca.

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A bit earlier than October — Sunday, August 27 — MoCA sponsors “Kaleidoscope,” a 1-day exhibition featuring works from  MoCA Gives Back Healing Arts, as well as Camp MoCA Westport participants. Food trucks will be on site.

Click here for more information.

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Oliver Bub is rowing his boat — all the way to Serbia.

Or at least, in the Balkan country.

The Staples High School 2014 Biology Student of the Year is part of the men’s eight team that will represent the US at the World Rowing Championships next month in Belgrade. He was an alternate on last year’s squad.

The 6-6, 205-pound Dartmouth College graduate was Saugatuck Rowing Club’s 2015 Most Valuable Oarsman. He lives now in Oakland, and rows for the California Rowing Club.  (Hat tip: Lisa Marriott)

Oliver Bub

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“Monarchs in Motion” — a free September 7 (6 p.m.) event at Earthplace — does not refer to King Charles’ recent ascension to the throne.

It’s about “understanding how insect movement and dispersal ecology informs conservation planning.” Speaker Dr. Kelsey Fisher is an “insect movement ecologist.”

There is space for 100 people. Click here to register, and for more information.

Dr. Kelsey Fisher 

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Earlier this month, the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club honored 34 members with Paul Harris Society awards.

They’re presented to Rotarians who give $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation. New fellows include Holly McCarthy, Mike Hibbard, Gail Lavielle, Jeff Cohen, Helen Garten, Anil Nair, Liz Wong, Tim Wetmore, Jacquie Masumian, Karen Klein, Jen Tooker, Bruce Paul, Ron Holtz, Yvonne Senturia and Barbara Levy.

Those honored for donating $2,000 were Tom Ayres, Jane Ross, Linda Bruce, Eileen Flug, George Masumian, Mark Mathias and Carole Rubenstein.

Donors at the $3,000 level were Bill Harmer, Ann Lloyd, Steve Violette, Joe Renzulli and Arnold K. Wolgast.

Sheilan Keenan contributed $4,000; Hal Levy and Rick Jaffe gave $5,000; Bob Galan, $6,000; Brian Strong and Arlo Ellison, $8,000, and — topping the Paul Harris Society list — Eric Zielinski and Martin Burger, at $9,000.

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Tessie DeMattia — a chef who worked for over 40 years with her brother Frank DeMace, the founder of Mario’s Place — died Tuesday.

Tessie is survived by her daughter, Linda Voulgarakis (John) of West Haven; son James of Dummerston, Vermont; grandchildren Dawn Blinn, Libby Mazzella, David Aronson, Nikki Voulgarakis and Harry Voulgarakis, and 4 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband Liberty Michael DeMattia, she was predeceased by her daughter Sandra Blinn; siblings Dominick, Frank, Michael and Joseph DeMace and Marie Wallacem and granddaughter Jacqueline Perez.

A funeral service will be tomorrow (Friday, August 18, 11 a.m., Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, Fairfield). Friends may greet her family one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery.

Tessie DeMattia

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Sunil Hirani calls today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — shot at Compo Beach — “Leapfrog.”

Look closely to see why.

(Photo/Sunil Hirani)

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And finally … on this day in 1977, Elvis Presley’s funeral was held at Graceland.

The “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” had several phases in his career. Among them:

(Elvis is gone, but “06880” is very much alive. Please click here to keep your hyper-local blog healthy. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Environment, Obituaries, Police, Real estate, Sports, Staples HS

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Frazier Forman Peters: A Legacy In Stone

Posted on July 28, 2014 | 12 comments

Take even a brief drive around Westport, and you’ll see the signs: Able Construction. Milton. SIR.

They and other builders are redefining our town, with new construction that — in its use of stone — often tries to imitate old.

But they need to go a long way to reach the standards of Frazier Forman Peter.

Frazier Forman Peters

Frazier Forman Peters

Best known as an architect — but also a builder, teacher and writer — Peters was born in 1895 to a New York Episcopalian clergy family. He graduated from Columbia University as a chemical engineer, yet quickly grew disgruntled with the industry,

He came to Westport in 1919, hoping to work the land as a farmer. The rocky soil intrigued him, and he soon found his calling as a designer and builder of stone houses.

Peters’ homes can be found from Virginia to Maine — but most are in Connecticut. Between 1924 and 1936 he designed and built at least 41 stone houses in Westport. His designs are revered for their unique fieldstone wall construction method, as well as their spatial organization and sensitive placement in relation to the natural environment.

Susan Farewell wrote:

Were Frazier Peters to build houses today, he’d be receiving all sorts of accolades for being an architect on the leading edge of environmentally-conscious, energy-efficient, sustainable design and construction.

The thick fieldstone walls (as much as 16 inches) typical of a Peters stone house make them energy-efficient; the stones effectively hold the heat in winter and keep the interiors cools in summer….

Frazier Forman Peters designed and built this house for himself, and his 7 children.

Frazier Forman Peters designed and built this house for himself, and his 7 children.

He segregated rooms by giving each one a separate identity, and through the use of step-downs, varied building materials, and interesting transitions. He was also taken by how beautifully European stone structures aged and compared them to American-built frame houses that “droop and pout if they are not continually groomed and manicured.”

Another important component of Peters’ designs was the marriage of the house and its surroundings. He wrote a great deal about this and was especially enamored with the brooks, hillsides, and woods of Connecticut.

Adam Stolpen — who lives in a Frazier Peters house — adds: “He was our first ‘green architect.’  And he was completely self-taught.

“These are definitely not cookie-cutter McMansions. They are homes meant to be lived in. And each one has a bit of whimsy.”

This Frazier Forman Peters house on Riverview Road features The exterior to the Tudor cottage at 9 River View Road features fieldstone facades, slate roof and copper gutters.

This Frazier Forman Peters house on Riverview Road features fieldstone facades, slate roof and copper gutters.

Peters’ work is revered in Westport. (Though not always: a gorgeous one belonging to the late pianist Natalie Maynard on Charcoal Hill, near several of his others, has been torn down.)

Now the architect lives on in more than his buildings. He’s the subject of a book — Frazier Forman Peters: Westport’s Legacy in Stone — by Laura Blau and Robert A. Weingarten.

She’s Peters’ granddaughter, and a noted Philadelphia architect. He’s the Westport Historical Society‘s house historian.

Frazier Forman Peters bookThe handsome, lovingly designed book includes stories of Peters’ life, descriptions of his building techniques and philosophies, and plenty of photos of his Westport houses.

The interior shots are great, showing double-height rooms with central hearths, balconies and built-in casework.

But the exterior photos are even more compelling. Except for one on Greenbrier Road (demolished in 1997), the authors have found shots of every Westport house Peters was known to build.

From the Old Hill section to Coleytown; from Wilton Road to Compo South; from Longshore to Hillspoint, Frazier Forman Peters’ legacy surrounds us.

You just have to know where to look.

(Frazier Forman Peters: Westport’s Legacy in Stone is available at the Westport Historical Society, 25 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT 06880, or by mail at that address [$25 plus $5 shipping per copy]. Click on the WHS website for more information.)

 

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Posted in Environment, Looking back, Organizations, People, Real estate

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Remembering Frazier Peters — And Mollie Donovan

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 8 comments

A fascinating exhibit opened Sunday at the Westport Historical Society.

Called “Frazier Forman Peters:  At Home With Stone,” it honors the man who is arguably Westport’s most famous architect.

Frazier Forman Peters

Peters — also a builder, teacher and writer — was born in 1895 to a New York Episcopalian clergy family.  He graduated from Columbia University as a chemical engineer, but quickly grew disgruntled with the industry,

He came to Westport in 1919, hoping to work the land as a farmer.  The rocky soil intrigued him, and he soon found his calling as a designer and builder of stone houses.

Peters’ homes can be found from Virginia to Maine — but most are in Connecticut.  Between 1924 and 1936 he designed and built over 36 stone houses Westport.  His designs are revered for their unique fieldstone wall construction method, as well as their spatial organization and sensitive placement in relation to the natural environment.

Susan Farewell wrote:

Were Frazier Peters to build houses today, he’d be receiving all sorts of accolades for being an architect on the leading edge of environmentally-conscious, energy-efficient, sustainable design and construction.

The thick fieldstone walls (as much as 16 inches) typical of a Peters stone house make them energy-efficient; the stones effectively hold the heat in winter and keep the interiors cools in summer….

He segregated rooms by giving each one a separate identity, and through the use of step-downs, varied building materials, and interesting transitions. He was also taken by how beautifully European stone structures aged and compared them to American-built frame houses that “droop and pout if they are not continually groomed and manicured.”

Another important component of Peters’ designs was the marriage of the house and its surroundings. He wrote a great deal about this and was especially enamored with the brooks, hillsides, and woods of Connecticut.

Adam Stolpen — who lives in a Frazier Peters house — adds:  “He was our first ‘green architect.  And he was completely self-taught.

“These are definitely not cookie-cutter McMansions.  They are homes meant to be lived in.  And each one has a bit of whimsy.”

A Frazier Forman Peters house on Charcoal Hill. (Photo by Alan Goldfinger/Westport News)

The exhibit includes photographs of his houses; artifacts, and a model of stone construction method and materials.

But it would not have come about had it not been for a modern Westporter with an affinity for history — and a connection to Frazier Peters homes.

A few years ago, longtime town volunteer Mollie Donovan wanted a plaque for her son’s family.  Dan and Nicole Donovan had just bought a Peters house near Charcoal Hill — one of Peters’ favorite areas.

Most homes with a historic plaque are at least 100 years old.  But Bob Weingarten — the WHS member in charge of authorizing plaques — realized that the style, beauty, and placement of the Donovans’ house warranted one.

His interest in Peters was piqued.  He searched for other houses.  Each time he found — and verified — one, he sent a note to the WHS (and Mollie).

After a dozen, she decided Peters should be honored too — with an exhibit.

Frazier Forman Peters died in 1963.  Mollie Donovan passed away last April.

But — thanks to both of them — an intriguing, informative exhibition lives on.

So do Frazier Peters’ houses.  According to Bob Weingarten, of the 36 houses he’s found that were designed and built by Peters, only 1 has been demolished.

In today’s Westport, that might be Frazier Peters’ most enduring legacy of all.

(The Westport Historical Society exhibition runs through December 31.  Click here for details.)

Another Frazier Forman Peters house view. (Photo by Alan Goldfinger/Westport News)

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Posted in Environment, Looking back, Organizations, People, Places

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Frazier Peters’ Houses

Posted on April 20, 2010 | 5 comments

Adam Stolpen has a thing for Frazier Forman Peters houses.

As a child he lived in a South Compo Road home designed by Peters, arguably Westport’s most famous architect.

Today he lives in another Peters house on Spring Hill Road.  Neighboring homes are also Peters-built.

Adam Stolpen's Frazier Peters house. (Photo by Douglas Healey/The New York Times)

This Saturday (April 24), Stolpen will host Laura Blau.  Peters’ granddaughter — and an architect in her own right — she and Stolpen will ride around Westport, looking at the handsome stone homes created in the 1920s and ’30s by her grandfather.

Her visit comes at a propitious time.  The Westport Historical Society is considering a 2011 exhibit devoted to Peters.  Under the direction of Bob Weingarten, the WHS is also identifying Westport homes designed and built by the legendary architect.

They’ve found 25 so far.  Ten more are being investigated.  They’re on the lookout for others.

Though Weingarten will be away when Blau visits, she’ll have a full itinerary.  And she’ll enjoy seeing — first hand — the mark her grandfather made on Westport.

Writer Susan Farewell wrote about Peters:

Were Frazier Peters to build houses today, he’d be receiving all sorts of accolades for being an architect on the leading edge of environmentally-conscious, energy-efficient, sustainable design and construction.

The thick fieldstone walls (as much as 16 inches) typical of a Peters stone house make them energy-efficient; the stones effectively hold the heat in winter and keep the interiors cools in summer….

He segregated rooms by giving each one a separate identity, and through the use of step-downs, varied building materials, and interesting transitions. He was also taken by how beautifully European stone structures aged and compared them to American-built frame houses that “droop and pout if they are not continually groomed and manicured.”

Another important component of Peters’ designs was the marriage of the house and its surroundings. He wrote a great deal about this and was especially enamored with the brooks, hillsides, and woods of Connecticut.

Stolpen has a copy of Peters’ final — and unpublished — book.  Decades ago, the architect wrote about urban planning.  “He was our first ‘green architect,'” Stolpen says.  “And he was completely self-taught.

“These are definitely not cookie-cutter McMansions.  They are homes meant to be lived in.  And each one has a bit of whimsy.”

The rear of Adam Stolpen's house. (Photo by Douglas Healey/The New York Times)

Blau — who co-founded BluPath Design, a Philadelphia firm specializing in environmentally sensitive spaces — has been to Westport before.  Stolpen drove her around.

“We just looked at the homes,” she recalls.  “One or two people were in their yards.  We introduced ourselves, and chatted.”  For the 1st time she understood the depth, breadth and impact of her grandfather’s work.

This weekend, she hopes to get inside more properties.  She also plans to meet WHS volunteers who are considering next year’s Peter’s exhibit.

Blau, her husband and son will stay in Stolpen’s guest house.  Of course it’s a Frazier Peters structure — built elegantly to house masons, as they worked on other Peters homes that still stand proudly, all around town.

(If you think you live in a Frazier Peters house — and the WHS does not know about it — email Bob Weingarten: rwmailbox@aol.com.  If you’d like Blau and Stolpen to see your house when she is in town, call Stolpen at 203-227-8758.)

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