Monday, September 24, 2018

Wilton’s Architecture: An Update to the Historic House Survey

On Thursday, September 27 from 7:00 – 8:30 the public is cordially invited to an illustrated talk given by architectural historians Stacey Vairo of Scheller Preservation Associates and Lucas Karmazinas of FuturePast Preservation at the Wilton Historical Society. The pair has conducted a historic house survey primarily focused on buildings dating from 1920 – 1940 in Wilton, of which there are over 400.  In all, about 160 structures have been added to Wilton’s Historic Resource Inventory.  



The presentation will include information about how the survey was conducted and used,  interesting finds, areas that would be appropriate to be studied for historic district designation and much more.  The project has been funded by a Survey and Planning grant of $30,000 from Connecticut’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) which was awarded to the Society in late 2016. At the lecture, owners of any buildings that appear on the lists will be able to pick up a copy of their home’s history.  Please register: info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257. 
Vairo and Karmazinas conducted the survey using a combination of research and a “windshield survey,” meaning they literally drove around Wilton looking at structures from the road or right of way (inventory surveys do not require access to the interior or rear of the structure), taking photos as they documented.  Some of the styles of the period include Colonial Revival, craftsman/bungalow, Spanish Eclectic, and Tudor revival, plus the distinctive stone houses designed by Westport architect Frazier Peters, and the stately homes of Wilton’s Nelson Breed.  They consulted old maps, researched within the town’s land records, genealogy records, the Society’s archives, and other resources including the History Room at the library. Discussions with Carol Russell, town historian, and Bob Russell, author of the definitive history of Wilton, and Society Co-Director/Chair, Historic District Commission Allison Gray Sanders, and local architect Rob Sanders were also helpful.

Please register: info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257

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