Compo Hill, as seen from the Old Mill tidal flats — or the Mediterranean? (Photo/Dan Woog)
At first glance, the early morning scene near Old Mill Beach looked funny — a Halloween prank several months early:
Toilet paper in a tree. No biggie. A bit of cleanup required.
Kids will be kids. Ha ha!
But then neighbors read this note, posted to a tree:
Suddenly, things were not so funny.
In fact, they turned deadly serious.
Because here is one of the stickers, on the homeowner’s car:
(Photos/Katherine Bruan)
Old Mill Beach: The view from Hillspoint Road (Photo/Katherine Bruan)
As much as things seem to change around here, Old Mill Beach looks much like it did in the 1920s.
Fashions are different, of course. And a few of the houses have succumbed to hurricanes or new owners’ plans.
But — as Seth Schachter’s postcards show — bathers from nearly 100 years ago would find themselves in familiar territory, if they were plopped down today on this hidden-in-plain-sight jewel.
Stranded at Old Mill Beach (Photo/Dave Dellinger)
Boat at Sherwood Mill Pond. (Photo/Patricia McMahon)
The on-again, off-again, on-again saga of a restaurant near Old Mill Beach is off again.
This time, forever.
When Positano — the latest in a string of restaurants on Hillspoint Road — closed almost exactly 2 years ago, there was speculation the new owners wanted to tear it down, and build a big house right there on the sand.
There was also talk that some neighbors — fearing the loss of their shoreline view, and enjoying the funkiness of a restaurant in the midst of a residential area — were doing what they could to make sure a new restaurant took Positano’s place.
The “Positano property,” at Old Mill Beach diagonally across from Elvira’s.
That was somewhat ironic. When Positano applied for patio dining in 2012, neighborhood opposition scuttled the plan. Lack of outdoor seating was one factor leading to Positano’s closing, and its subsequent move to a new location next to the Westport Country Playhouse.
Though a number of residents worked for months to get another restaurant on the site, one neighbor continued to object. She sued.
Now comes news that the owner of the property — an LLC with an office in Nashville, Tennessee — has filed an affidavit with Westport’s Planning and Zoning Department. The owner acknowledges and affirms that “any and all commercial uses of the premises at 233 Hillspoint Road have been irrevocably abandoned and discontinued.”
In other words, any chances for a new restaurant — grandfathered in as a pre-existing condition — has been killed. Now, and in perpetuity.
Before it was Positano, 233 Hillspoint Road was several other restaurants (including, most notably, Cafe de la Plage). But before THAT it was a grocery store. Among its names: Beach Food Mart (above), and Joe’s.
So what happens next?
The property is back on the market. It’s listed as “A Generational Waterfront Opportunity.”
Potential buyers have a chance to “build and live directly on Compo Cove Beach’s [sic] most unique [sic] lot with spectacular Long Island Sound views.” The land “is now available for a luxury private home to be built.”
Buyers can enjoy “the most beautiful expansive water views, spectacular sunrises and sunsets” (those sunsets might be tough, since the listing notes it is an “east facing property”, and Compo Hill is a substantial obstruction to the west).
This photo from the real estate listing shows the current footprint of the former restaurant (center). The yellow line shows the property boundaries. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
The listing continues:
Enjoy the ever-changing tides and light, the shore birds, and the tranquility that exists with living right on the beach. With no neighbor to your right, it’s like having your own front row seat to the best Long Island Sound offers — sunbathing, swimming, fishing boating…
Seize this opportunity to create your own magnificent custom home for the first time ever on this site.
The cost?
A mere $4,500,000.
But wait! There’s more!
Elvira’s — diagonally across Hillspoint from #233 — continues to be on the market too. There’s been no sale yet, but word on the soon-to-drastically-change street is that it may not remain a grocery store/ community center.
All of which is food for thought.
A good place to think about it is at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.
You know — where for nearly a century, Allen’s Clam House used to be.
Alert “06880” reader — and longtime Westport observer — Chip Stephens writes:
Those of us who have been around a while remember that not so long ago, Sherwood Mill Pond neighbors had the sand in front of their houses replenished once a year. A barge would recover sand washed into Compo Cove from their beaches by storms and high tides. Big Kowalsky front-end loaders spread it out, recovering private beaches up and down the cove.
In recent years, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has restricted that activity. You can see what’s happened by not replenishing the beaches from Hillspoint Road. Landowners see it more painfully from their windows.
Old Mill “Beach.” (Photo/Chip Stephens)
We’ve long been told that the reason the sand washes away is that the Army Corps of Engineers made errors when they replaced reefs and stones on Sherwood Island and Compo Beach. That caused misdirection of natural currents, sweeping away sand on those local beaches into the Mill Cove flats.
Now the landowners face difficulties with DEEP and local boards in placing erosion controls, walls or reefs to save their beach, their land and their houses.
DEEP’s answer is to plant the beach with grasses and plantings. Unfortuantely, even modest storms wash them away.
What will happen? Well, time and tide wait for no man…
An alert “06880” reader who has never emailed before — and who requests anonymity — shares a special moment:
A friend and I were walking today. We took a seat at Old Mill Beach, on the bench next to the old Positano restaurant. We’ve walked there many times, but never sat down.
About 10 minutes into our conversation, a man appeared on the sidewalk. He started to play “Taps.”
Everyone nearby stood. A young boy put his hand over his heart.
When the man finished, we applauded and yelled “thank you!” He gave a quick wave, then disappeared.
My friend and I — who on September 11, 2001 were both newly married, and living in New York — cried our hearts out, right there on the bench.
We felt badly we had not taken a picture of the man playing “Taps.” Then we realized no photo could have captured that experience.
I don’t know the man’s name. But I hope he knows what a special moment he provided to the handful of people fortunate enough to have seen and heard him today.
Anyone driving on Hillspoint Road has seen Compo Cove — the couple of dozen homes between Old Mill Beach and Sherwood Island. However, many Westporters don’t know they’re accessible only by a foot path near the Sherwood Mill Pond.
Plenty of Westporters do know about this hidden gem, though. And Fred Cantor, Matt Murray, Kathi Sherman, Rich Stein, Robert Mitchell, Michelle Saunders, Andrew Colabella, Susan Huppi, Elayne Landau, Rick Benson, Jann Colabella and Lynn Betts Baker all identified the gate, which was last week’s photo challenge. Click here for the photo; scroll down for comments.
(Fun fact: Back in the 1950s and ’60s — before most homes were winterized — the area was known as “Psycho Path.” The reason: Many summer residents were New York City psychiatrists.)
Today’s photo challenge should be tougher. If you know where in Westport you’d find this scene, click “Comments” below.
Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge
Tagged Compo Cove, Old Mill Beach, Sherwood Island Mill Pond
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