I have to say, hats off to The New Canaan Historical Society, The Glass House, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and Building Conservation Associates for the Modern House Survey in New Canaan. I know it is not yet complete and they were pressured in to releasing it early by The New York Times but it is a fabulous resource.
On our own and with help from people at The Gropius House, homeowners and other enthusiasts we have identified over 500 modern houses and structures (We know we have said 300 previously but this morning we actually counted). This is not to say that we have been top them or have pix of them, we just know where they are.
Our concern is that maybe, in the rush to identify modern homes and structures in order to save them, are we diluting their importance? I have read that the Modern House Survey was undertaken in part because of the judge's decision in the Westport Paul Rudolph House case. The judge ruled that, despite the fact that people were screaming for it's preservation, there existed no documentation that proved the houses importance. We are not saying that we shouldn't ID, survey and document mid-century modernism. We think that New Canaan model should be cloned in every town that has more than one house that fits the criteria (are you listening Wilton, Weston, Greenwhich, Stamford....).
Our fear is that as we ID thousands of moderns across the country that the importance of the individual unit my be diminished. We can see a developer saying "Well I can tear this one down, there are three more around the corner."
What do you think?
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