174 Hillspoint Road is the house everyone loves to hate.
Built in 1968, and located not far from Old Mill Beach, it looks vaguely Mediterranean. Westport Journal’s Thane Grauel described it as “a single-story house with a sort of terracotta mansard roof, white stucco-ish sides, narrow vertical windows and greenhouse windows like a fern bar.”
Historic District Commission members were happy — no, thrilled — to waive a 180-day period before demolition.
“When we put the (demolition) sign up, people walking by started applauding,” said chair William Harris.
So why is this “offspring of a Burger King and a diner” (architect Christopher Pagliaro’s words) part of this week’s “Friday Flashback” feature?
Because eagle-eyed “06880” reader Scott Smith saw a connection between it and another, now-long-gone structure.
For years, the architectural of 174 Hillspoint Road has reminded Smith of photos he’s seen of the Longshore bathhouse. It stood near the entrance to the pool and tennis courts, right about where the pavilion and snack bar are today.
Smith was not around then — the bathhouse was torn down in the 1970s — but in 2010 he chaired Longshore’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Here are 2 photos of that bathhouse:
Of course, that’s the same architecture that was seen for years at the current Parks & Recreation Department office, across the parking lot from the Longshore golf course pro shop.
Even after a renovation, you can see elements of the Longshore bathhouse — and 174 Hillspoint Road:
(Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Smith says that the bathhouse photos — many other images, videos and historical documents — were included on a website the Longshore 50th Commission created, with other committee members.
They were hosted on what was then called the Westport Historical Society’s website.
The WHS took down the content shortly after the anniversary. The committee gave the WHS a hard drive full of digitized historical material, along with a modest surplus from the group’s fundraising efforts.
“If anyone’s interested in further digging, that may be a good place to start,” Smith says.
