Westport Historic District Commission Announces Awards for 7 Properties

An announcement from the Westport Historic District Commission on the town government website:

The Westport Historic District Commission has selected the recipients of the 2014 Historic Preservation Awards. The awards will be presented by First Selectman James S. Marpe, Historic District Commission Chair Francis Henkels, and members of the Historic District Commission at a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall Auditorium.

The following is a list of the seven recipients and a brief narrative explaining why these properties were selected.

56 Sylvan Road North (Preservation)
Clark Nash House c. 1790
Cape/Colonial Revival
Jennifer and A. Morris Tooker

The Clark Nash House was built circa 1790. After a succession of owners, H. Daniel Webster purchased it in 1906. Webster is well remembered in Westport as the sculptor of the Minute Man Statue on Compo Road South. He was first to renovate the house in 1907. The current owners, who purchased it in 2008, have added a very sympathetic and appropriate addition to the rear of the property for use as a mudroom and breakfast room. Every effort was made to mirror the existing property through the use of materials of the period. The meticulous care of this property, coupled with it sympathetic addition warrant the preservation award.

111 Kings Highway North (Restoration)
Daniel O’Brien House
Four-Square Style, c. 1911
John Koren

When the current owners purchased the c. 1911 house in 2013 it was in a sorry state. Abandoned for several years, it needed a complete restoration. This was done without departing from the original design and appearance of the house. New exterior items include a new roof, masonry foundation repairs, shoring up the front porch and removing mid-century alterations, and extensive new landscaping. Special care was given to restoring the windows by meticulously removing layers of old paint and repainting them while repairing the sash cords in each. With the same care, the original shingles were carefully repaired and repainted as well. The property is once again a contributing element of the Kings Highway North Historic District.

6 Blind Brook Road (Barlow Cutler-Wotton Award for Architecture by Jamieson Architects)
Colonial-Tudor, 1932
Frank Donaldson

The house was designed and built by famed local architect Frazier Forman Peters in 1932. Peters was well known for his fieldstone faced houses built in the 1920s - 1940s, for his attention to the placement of a house on site, and the sustainability of the structure. Several years after the current owner purchased the house in 2005, he felt that he needed to transform the house into a more updated house appropriate for contemporary family living. The owner contacted Jim Jamieson of Jamieson Architects of Westport and worked with Jim to revitalize the interior of the house and to add additional living space. The overriding challenge for both the owner and the architect was to transform the original three bedroom house into a six bedroom house while retaining and preserving its integrity and spirit. As is evident in the finished product, the new additions were carefully conceived to integrate and maintain the exterior stone appearance in keeping with the original façade. The approach to the restoration was to match historic architectural detailing with matching materials. This award is made in recognition of the outstanding effort made in preserving and enhancing the essence of this distinguished house through the architectural design and execution of the renovation and expansion.

59 Roseville Road (Preservation)
The Gampfer House, 1867
Jennifer and Eric Sydor

This award is being given in recognition of the preservation and maintenance of a representative example of the popular, gable-ended picturesque vernacular dwelling that dominated in the 1880-90s. The property was purchased by George Gampfer, a farmer, from Charles Wakeman in 1867 upon which he built a dwelling and a barn. He grew corn, potatoes, onions and rye. The property remained in the Gampfer family until the 1950s. The current owners purchased the property in 2009 and have since meticulously restored the interior and exterior of the house. The grounds are enhanced by the installation of a stone wall, stone walkways and the restoration of a smoke house on the property. Their stewardship of the property protects the important character of the old farming property and its significant role in the historic streetscape.



3 Gorham Avenue (Helen Muller Preservation Award for an outstanding property in a local historic district)
Colonial Revival, c.1930
Grayson Braun and Jamie Walsh

The “in-town” residential neighborhood of Gorham Avenue, now a local historic district, contains a special collection of early twentieth century homes that make up a wonderfully coherent enclave of houses that collectively reflect the aesthetics and lifestyle of that period in Westport’s history. Some Westporters find that areas with the qualities like the reasonable size yards and houses, mature landscape, pedestrian scale and walkable proximity to downtown suit their lifestyles well today. As in some other more established neighborhoods in town, the residents of Gorham Avenue grew increasing concerned that the change they were seeing in other parts of town would intrude and spoil the character of their community. They organized, and with the assistance of the Historic District Commission and the neighborhood leadership of Jamie Walsh and Grayson Braun, established the Gorham Avenue Local Historic District in 2008. Their house was built in 1930 and has remained since then, what is typically described by preservationists as a contributing structure to the character of the neighborhood. In their effort to preserve and upgrade their home, they have devoted sensitivity and dedication to honoring the original character of the house. The meticulous attention to restoring and preserving this significant house sets a great example for other homeowners in historic districts while contributing enormously to sustaining the character of this wonderful community.

44 Church Lane (Adaptive Reuse)
Colonial Revival, c. 1920
David Waldman

This structure was originally a single family house built in 1920 on the fringes of the town center business district on a street that was still primarily residential. Records indicate it remained a residence up until about 1960 when its location, close to the growing town center, subjected it to a series of mixed commercial uses. In the intervening years the building has housed professional offices, a video exchange and more recently a number of food establishments. Varying uses over the years led to a series of modifications to the original structure, mostly a hodge podge of additions and internal and external changes including a number of different first floor levels.

Our award recipient, a real estate developer and his architect took this heavily altered building and performed an extensive reconstruction. They consolidated the makeshift changes to which the building had been subjected over the years and have distilled it back to a refined version of what the structure had been. With a well-developed plan and a vibrant new tenant the owners have created another destination location on Church Lane. Of particular note is the way the owners, with the benefit of a zoning change, were able to remove the earlier parking in front of the establishment. In its place they have opened the front of the café and created an outdoor patio that has become a popular gathering spot that contributes to the vitality of the street life on Church Lane.

97 Hillspoint Road (Preservation)
Warren House, c. 1860
Italianate Style
Lynne and Stephen Goldstein

This award is being given in recognition of the outstanding addition to the original Italianate style structure. The respect for the architectural integrity, scale and massing of the core structure is evident in the appropriate rear addition. We applaud their attention to the architectural details and their sensitivity to the general mass and scaling of the main structure. It is important to note that the owners are continuing the important role of stewards of this historic property which had been moved from across the street in1960 to accommodate Hillspoint School.