What Were They Thinking?

There was a period of time during my childhood when I wanted to be an architect. Floor plans covered almost every piece of paper I touched. About the time I started doing renderings of the exteriors, I lost interest. Drafting lessons in 7th grade shop class contributed, but primarily it was the discovery of how much math I'd need to study to become an architect.

However, I never lost interest in architecture. I have a basic grasp of most historical styles, though I am no expert. If a house or building intrigues me, and I can't identify its style, I'll do a little research.

This afternoon I was running some errands, and walking back to my car, passed this building.

I've passed it many many times, but today it really struck me. What were thinking when they built the addition on the front? You can clearly see the bones of the Italianate original.

You can see a little of what the original house looked like in this c. 1900 postcard of the Methodist Church. The house is immediately behind the church and has the cupola, which it lost at some point, that is characteristic of many Italianate style houses.

I understand changing needs of a town, even if I don't always like the results.  It's just not possible to repurpose every building, and if you preserve every existing building, you end up with urban sprawl. That makes no sense in terms of economics or wise land use. But what's with the ziggurat roofline and the giant-sized window on the front of the blue monstrosity?

If you're going to expand a building to suit your needs, put some thought into it. About a block from the blue monstrosity is this law office.

Originally, this was two separate houses, both of which still carry historic markers. The house in the foreground is the c. 1867 Margaret and Amelia Belden House. The one at the far end is the c. 1863 Charles F. Sherwood House. A few years ago they were joined together with this central addition.

The architect also put some thought into what the rear of the new complex looks like.

These houses were near the original church building of my parish, Grace Episcopal Church. From this 1906 postcard of the Norwalk Library and Grace Episcopal Church, I'm gathering the houses were on the other side of the church. They survived the urban renewal projects that followed the 1955 floods, which the church did not. The current church building is down the block from the blue monstrosity.