It's Like 1952 All Over Again

During a visit to friends at The Daycare Center of New Canaan, where I spend a lot of time in the summer building moderns out of blocks with the kids, I was barraged by questions about whether or not I had been back by the Joeb Moore townhouse on Park Street being constructed by Dave Prutting's (pronounced "prooting") crew.

I hadn't...so I went back today and stopped in.

In the previous post I had mentioned that there is a blurring of the lines drawn by the founders of mid-century modernism and it's progeny. That the buildings although arguably unadorned by extraneous ornamentation had begun to run the risk of becoming the ornamentation themselves. This is the case in so many "new" moderns where form does not necessarily follow function but function is invented to justify form. They have in some cases become part sculpture, which may not be a bad thing but certainly misses the point of modern, in my opinion anyway.

I think this townhouse walks that edge between the two.

The Joeb Moore designed New Canaan townhouse from the northeast.

It is, as you approach it from the north, not that jarringly different. It's mix of gray metal and wood siding looking somehow like it is an abstraction or extrapolation of the regions architecture. Anyone who complains that it does not fit in the neighborhood should pause and take a good look around. Next door on one side is a god-awful condo, on the other (an in the back) old homes that seem to have been carved up for apartments and across the street are the old brick bread box apartments that I remember from my childhood in town. Down the street more of the same, ugly condos and cluster homes crammed into ridiculously small lots. I would venture that the townhouse is an improvement to the neighborhood.

As you reach the front it is evident that this is not yet another cliché house. This is indeed something different. But the view from the front is not an "in your face" view. There is a lot of wood and yes, metal but it still seems to fit. Even more so that the pictures lead you to believe. This is all subjective of course. The back is breathtaking with large windows that overlook Mead Park in the distance. There is a rumored rooftop deck too.

My 76 year old mother is...shall we say....not a fan nor was the older gentleman walking by when I was snapping pictures who sort of harumphed as he passed. It seems to be kind of a love/hate thing. I was reminded of those people who in 1952, began writing poorly rhymed poems as letters to the editors of The New Canaan Advertiser lambasting the modernists for their "packing crates, hatboxes and half open drawers".

I don't care. If it were up to me there would be a lot more of these in town. New Canaan should be happy. Here is a piece of architectural significance not hidden behind a stone wall or down some long tree covered driveway. It is right in the middle of town, walking distance from The Glass House Museum, right where everyone can see it for what it is, a monument to those who, despite external pressures, came to New Canaan and gave it a soul to back up the gigantic pieces of waste that dot the landscape.

The front entrance opening.

This may be the front entry side of things where, if it is, obviously the real front door has yet to be installed. Note the way the siding has been installed to give the wall texture. Brilliant I say.

Where's the garage?

The garage door is a work of art. Absolutely brilliant. It was open when I got there and was closed as I came around from from the back so it was kind of a nice surprise.

The rear.

This is the rear of the house. The picture does not do it justice.

www.joebmoore.com

www.prutting.com