All across Westport, new construction is replacing old.
Almost everywhere, that is.
Last night at Town Hall — a repurposed building itself — the Historic District Commission’s Preservation Awards reminded residents that buyers of older properties have options other than demolition.
The ceremony celebrated “homeowners, builders and businesses (who) are dedicated to preserving our shared history for the future.”
2026 Preservation Award winners include:
4 Old Hill Road
Owner: Ann Sisto
Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
Purchased in 2021 by Ann Sisto, this is a refined Colonial Revival home, built circa 1932 and sensitively renovated in 2022.
Early owner Emil Dennert — a painter involved in the building trades — adds an element of artistic heritage to the property.
The house sits on a level lot on the north side of Old Hill Road, opposite the King’s Highway North Drill Ground. Its main block features a roof ridge parallel to the street, wood shingles, and a tall central brick chimney. A prominent, asymmetrically placed gabled bay defines the south façade, while a 2-story addition extends from the north elevation.
The entrance is sheltered by an integral shed-roof portico incorporating a projecting bay window. The paneled door, framed by sidelights and topped with a pronounced cornice, reflects the elegant characteristic of Colonial Revival architecture.
For her commitment to the preservation and careful stewardship of this historic home, Ann Sisto and her team — Bill Achilles of Achilles Architects; Jill O’Shea of Jill O’Shea Home Design, and Keith Manca of Keith J. Manca Building Company — earned a 2026 Preservation Award for Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance.
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6 Oak Street
Owner: Eva Kornreich
Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance
(Home not pictured)
This is a 1-½ story Colonial Revival Cape. It features a gabled roof set parallel to the street, an exterior end chimney, and a narrow eave overhang. The 5-bay façade includes a central entrance with a modern paneled door and full-height storm door, sheltered by a gabled portico supported by square posts. A small 2-step stoop provides access. Windows are paired with 6-over-1 double-hung sash with molded trim.
Owner Eva Kornreich worked with architect Kevin Huelster on this project.
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14 Treadwell Avenue
Owners: Nate Collins and Lili Bordan
Restoration Preservation Award
Built in 1890, this is a well-preserved example of a popular type of vernacular Victorian dwelling, typically erected from stock builders’ plans and sold through mail order plan books in the late 19th century.
The house is a simply massed rectangular building, oriented with its gables to the north and south and crowned with a pitched roof with deep overhanging eaves. The south gable serves as the façade, where the front entry is offset to the west of 2 parlor windows.
Its dominant architectural feature is a 1-story hip-roofed wraparound porch, mounted on seven turned posts fitted with jig-sawn brackets designed to support the porch cornice. Also notable is the double-arched window lighting the attic gable.
Owners Nate Collins and Lili Bordan have preserved its architectural integrity and Victorian charm.
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24 Morningside Drive South
Owners: George Tsahirides and Lillian Fortino
Restoration Preservation Award
The c.1852 Charles B. Sherwood House is a well-preserved example of the Italianate villa, a hallmark of the Victorian-era picturesque movement.
This residential style was valued for offering practical, comfortable, and visually appealing homes that could be built economically. Designs for small villas like this one were widely circulated in the period’s architectural pattern books.
Notable Italianate features of the house include its machine-cut roof brackets, tulip-capped colonnettes supporting the porch roof, and tall 6-pane ground-floor casement windows — elements that retain the character of the home’s original design.
George Tsahirdes and Lillian Fortino meticulously restored and stewarded this historic property.
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26 Treadwell Avenue
Owners:26 Treadwell LLC
Rehabilitation Preservation Award
The Henry Patchen House stands on a lot he acquired in 1912. Despite later porch alterations, the property remains a strong example of a Queen Anne–period residence, a style commonly built from builders’ plans sold through mail-order catalogues.
Notable features include its cross-gabled form, designed to maximize natural light; incised brackets made possible by advances in assembly-line production during the Industrial Revolution, and characteristic mix of siding materials that provide visual texture.
The Victorian-era cross-gable house is fronted by a 1-story, 3-sided wraparound porch supported by simple rectangular posts, with the east side now screened. Deep overhanging eaves define the roofline. The intersecting east and west wings feature 3-sided angled window bays with distinctive corner overhangs trimmed with incised console brackets. The main structure is clad in clapboard, while the gables are finished with novelty-pattern shingles.
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35 Wright Street
Owners: Carl and Cynthia Muller
Helen Muller Preservation Award
The Zalman Sanford House was built in 1845. By 1955 the property was occupied by Theodore Muller, and it has remained in the Muller family ever since.
The 2-story, 3-by-2-bay structure was built in the Greek Revival style. A 2-story ell and 1-story attached garage were added in the 1960s. The most recent renovations were completed in 2025.
Owners Carl and Cynthia Muller worked with Jack Franzen and David Woitowitz of J.P. Franzen Associates; Mike Kaesmann of Kaesmann Builders LLC; Gloria Gouveia of Land Use Consultants; Diane Devore of Devore Associates; and Mike Ceci of Ceci Bros, Inc. The Helen Muller Preservation Award honors a property within a local historic district that exemplifies excellence in restoration or preservation.
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44 Compo Mill Cove
Owners: Lance and Anne Lonergan
Rehabilitation Preservation Award
The much-photographed Gallagher Cottage is one of the oldest remaining homes in the Mill Cove Historic District. The district is composed of cottages and bungalows designed in Colonial Revival and Bungalow-style architecture, all built between 1908 and 1940.
The Gallagher Cottage was constructed circa 1917 as a bungalow, and is noted as one of the best preserved structures in the district. The modest home also had a smaller cottage built circa 1905.
The home exhibits typical Bungalow-style architectural characters, with some details commonly seen in Craftsman architecture dating from 1905 to 1930. It is a 1-1/2 story simple floor plan featuring a large central fireplace with a stone exterior, a deep covered porch tucked beneath the main side-gabled roof, and a large, shed dormer looking out to Long Island Sound. Distinctive roof details typical of the style include exposed rafter ends at the exterior walls, and a subtle break in the roof slope.
The home has changed hands less frequently than usual. Anne and Lance Lonergan purchased the home in 2022. They undertook a significant restoration project to raise the home to meet modern standards for coastal resilience, while preserving its historic character.
Preserved details include the deep porch, shed dormer and described roof, which was further enhanced with the installation of the more historically appropriate cedar roof in place of the asphalt shingles.
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64 Wright Street
Owners: Kathy Bergsteinsson & David Grimes
Restoration Preservation Award
This historic home is named after its original owner, Frederick Morehouse, who earned his living as a shoemaker. Constructed circa 1840, the residence has undergone several additions over time. It was most recently restored in 2024.
This well-preserved vernacular Greek Revival-style home, accented with Colonial Revival details, is distinguished by its gable end facing the street, wide roof overhangs at the eaves and rake, and returns at the gable ends.
The façade is arranged in a 3/3 bay configuration with an offset entrance sheltered by a gabled portico supported by slender columns. The entrance features an arched transom and 3/4 sidelights, with the arch echoed in the portico’s gabled roof.
The house occupies a level lot on the north side of Wright Street, within the King’s Highway North Local and National Historic Districts.
The owners are new to Westport, but have chosen an iconic building as their home. In recognition of their commitment to preservation, they are honored along with Alfred Demarco, owner; Steven Folb, developer and owner’s agent; Deirdre O’Farrelly, architect; Peter Stofa & Company and team, builder; Cuoco Structural Engineers, engineer; Andy Ramage, ARD Builders, restoration contractor, and Maggi Baumbusch & Family, inspiration.
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70 Turkey Hill Road South
Owners: Rahul Ghai and Priyanka Singh
Restoration Preservation Award
The John F. Dingee House stands on a lot purchased in 1892. The owner later assisted in constructing the nearby trotting track (c. 1915) used by E.T. Bedford at his horse and breeding farm on West Parish Road. The two men shared use of the track for many years.
This late-19th-century Queen Anne residence has been extensively restored by current owners Rahul Ghai and Priyanka Singh. Although a previously issued demolition permit would have allowed them to raze the structure, they elected to preserve it, utilizing zoning regulation 32-18, which also permitted construction of an additional building. Their project included rebuilding the front and rear porches, replacing vinyl siding with wood, and installing a new wood roof in place of asphalt shingles.
The house is a distinguished wood-framed structure characterized by its asymmetrical massing and distinctive roofline of hipped and peaked forms. The primary gable-front block faces east toward Turkey Hill Road, while a secondary hip-roofed wing containing the main entrance extends north. A 1-story shed roof porch supported by 3 posts unites the 2 volumes, and frames the northern entry bay. All 2-over-2 window sash are reproductions.
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107 Wilton Road
Owner: Janet Liston-Reynolds
Rehabilitation Preservation Award
The Hurlbutt-Haslam House, constructed circa 1740, is an early Federal-style residence that has undergone substantial alteration through multiple additions over the past two centuries.
The main block is oriented with its gable end facing the street. A 1-1/2 story ell extends from the north elevation, followed by a set-back single-story garage. The ell aligns flush with the main block.
The house features wide eave and rake overhangs, and a modern brick chimney is centrally located along the main-block ridge near its junction with the ell.
The property, referred to as the “Old Mansion House” at Old Hill in an April 5, 1790, deed, was likely built by Captain Phineas Hanford sometime after 1737.
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