Connecticut Landmarks

Castle House // 1964

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Perched atop the rocky coast of New London, CT, and seemingly at the base of the iconic New London Harbor Light, the “Castle House” stands as one of the most significant examples of 1960s residential design in a state known for such homes. The Castle House was completed in 1964 from plans by German-born American architect Ulrich Franzen (1921-2012), who attended Harvard’s Graduate School of Design after his service in WWII. After graduating, Franzen worked under I.M. Pei, until he formed his own firm, Ulrich Franzen & Associates, in 1955. The home’s signature element is its dramatic free-floating glass living room pavilion with cantilevered paraboloid vaults and flanking service wings, with a jaw-dropping cypress butterfly ceiling. Additionally, the oval pool sits over the harbor water and provides the best possible views of the 1801 lighthouse towering above. The house was recently updated by SchappacherWhite, a design firm who are known for their thoughtful Mid-Century Modern house preservation projects.

New London Harbor Light // 1801

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In 1760, the colonial legislature of Connecticut passed an act creating a committee to pursue the funding, construction, and staffing of a new lighthouse for the harbor entrance at New London. The following year, thousands of lottery tickets were sold to raise £500 for the lighthouse (a popular method of raising funds for construction projects in those days). The lighthouse, a sixty-four-foot-tall stone tower with a wooden lantern at the top, was finished that same year at the west side of the harbor entrance. By 1799, issues began to pile-up, including a crack in the structure compromised the integrity of the tower, compounded by the fact the light was so dim as to often be indistinguishable from the lights of the surrounding homes. These challenges led the charge for a new lighthouse. Congress allocated $15,700 for a replacement lighthouse on May 7, 1800, and New Londoner, Abisha Woodward began construction on the current octagonal, tapered, eighty-foot-tall tower. The present light was completed the next year and is constructed of smooth-hammered freestone which are lined with brick inside. The current gable-roofed, two-and-a-half-story keeper’s residence was built in 1863, and in 1900 it was expanded to provide quarters for the assistant keeper and their families. Today, the keeper’s house is privately owned and the light tower is owned by the New London Maritime Society, who offer tours of the light on occasion.

Mary English Cottage // 1911

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This shingled beach cottage on the southern tip of New London, Connecticut sits in the Neptune Park community, which was laid out by real estate speculators as summer homes, primarily for local families. The Post Hill Improvement Company made up of professionals, purchased the beach and the surrounding land for $25,000 and began selling off the land adjacent to the beach. Then, once developable lots were sold and many cottages were built, they sold the beach alone back to the City for the same sum of $25,000. Like many such developments, deed restrictions were placed on properties, and ensured that only a dwelling house, with a minimum value of $2,500 if not waterfront and $3,000 if waterfront, could be constructed on the lots. This formerly Colonial Revival cottage was built in 1911 for Mary R. English, and would have cost at least $3,000. The shingled home was later given the tower and other details, but retains much of its charm.

Wakeman Memorial Building // 1913

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The Wakeman Memorial Building in Fairfield, CT, is one of a few buildings erected in the Southport area during the early twentieth century. The boldly proportioned central portico is supported by square Tuscan columns with an Ionic fretwork entablature and denticulated cornice, and topped by a spindled parapet and an elliptical shaped Palladian window on the second story. The red tiled gambrel roof, splaying beyond the exterior walls, is bracketed by decorative modillions. The building was constructed in 1913 through funds by Miss Frances Wakeman in memory of her grandfather, Jesup Wakeman, at a cost of fifty thousand dollars. The building was used by the Boys and Girls Club of Southport as a club house, offering sewing classes, a reading room, and offices. The building was converted to a home after the Boys and Girls Club moved to a larger facility.

Pequot School // 1917

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The Pequot School in Fairfield was built in 1917-18 and is one of only a few institutional buildings erected in the Southport area during the early twentieth century. The school, designed by architect William H. McLean, replaced an earlier school on the site which was built in 1854. The 1854 wood-frame school building was outgrown in the early 20th century and the school board voted to demolish the old building and replace with a larger, modern school. The school is a unique design in the Classical Revival realm, but capped with a cupola and stunning green tile roof. The school closed in 1972, and the historic Pequot School building was acquired by the Southport Conservancy as a treasured landmark. It was occupied by the town until 1985 when it was occupied by the Southport School.

Edwin Sherwood House // 1837

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Located next to his son’s house, the Edwin Sherwood House in Southport, Connecticut is an excellent example of Greek Revival residential architecture in New England. The home was built in 1837 for Edwin Sherwood, a sea captain who traded between New York and Savannah with his two ships “America” and “Georgia”. From this wealth, he became President of the Southport Savings Bank and Director of the Danbury-Norwalk Railroad. The home was renovated in 2017 with a modern interior by Ken Gemes, an interior designer.

Captain John Maltbie House // 1766

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On July 7-8, 1779, the Red Coats marched through Fairfield torching houses to punish the locals for seeking independence. They killed locals, destroying anything they could find on their way out, setting fires to homes and civic buildings around the Green. This home was built by Isaac Tucker, later sold to Jonathan Maltbie, sea captain involved with East Indies trade. He later would fight against the British during the Revolution, and after the war, was hired as captain on one of the first cutter ships built, the Argus. During the British invasion of Fairfield, they attempted to set fire to this home three times, but it seemed to never go up in flames when they returned. The tradition holds that an elderly servant, hiding upstairs, put out the flames and saved the house from destruction, after the British Troops torched it. Burn marks apparently remain inside to this day. Since the home was built, the front door facing the street was relocated to the side, and a large multi-pane bay window was installed in its place.

Old Fairfield County Courthouse // 1794

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Located at the Fairfield Town Green, the Georgian-style Fairfield County Courthouse stands as a reminder on the town of Fairfield’s Colonial-era history. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1720. After a fire destroyed the first (which housed the jail as well), a second structure was built in 1767. That second courthouse was the center of a thriving, wealthy village with a port just blocks away. In July 1779, the British landed in Fairfield and destroyed much of the town, harming its prosperity for decades to come (though it has clearly recovered since). In 1794, a new courthouse was built, also housing town offices. In 1870, it became solely a town hall (the County Court moved to Bridgeport years before) modified and altered in the Second Empire style to ‘modernize’ the building. As Colonial Revival resurged in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th- centuries, the town sought to bring back the Georgian style Town Hall building, in 1936 hiring architect Cameron Clark, to restore the building.