Connecticut ‘Gold Coast’ Boom : Phil Donahue Joins a Demolition Derby

When TV talk-show host Phil Donahue had an experimental-design house torn down, the architect accused him of betraying his reputation as “Mr. Sensitivity,” but Donahue isn’t the only one swinging the wrecking ball along Connecticut’s Gold Coast.

Rising land values along this shore of Long Island Sound, 45 miles from New York City, have encouraged property owners to raze older buildings, said Lucinda McWeeney, who is using a $25,000 federal grant to identify culturally important resources, buildings and sites worth saving in Westport.

Within one recent 2-week period, she said, Westport, a town of about 26,000 people, received applications for permits to demolish six buildings--four of which are historically or architecturally important.

“We’re finding people who aren’t necessarily natives of Westport but are interested in the economic value of property are tearing down what we feel are significant structures,” McWeeney said, “and it’s not just in Westport. It’s happening throughout Fairfield County.”

Donahue angered preservationists in June, when he had the 26-year-old concrete house torn down. Designed by John M. Johansen, it was described by some as architecturally the town’s most significant house.

Oak boards were used as forms in building the house, so the concrete walls bore the imprint of the wood grain, including knots. The walls were extended above the flat roof and some rooms were lined with silken wall coverings.

When he learned that the experimental house had been torn down, Johansen said: “This wasn’t a very exemplary act from a public figure. And they’ve nicknamed him ‘Mr. Sensitivity!’ ”

Donahue bought the house and 7.2 acres around it for $6.8 million several months ago. He said he wanted more space, privacy and security for his wife, actress Marlo Thomas, and their family. He said the vacant concrete house--next to his $3.5-million, Tudor-style mansion on 3.1 acres overlooking the sound--was attracting “vagrants, lovers and other strangers.” He denied reports that he had it razed to improve his view of the water.

McWeeney said that Westport, also home to actor Paul Newman and his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, has changed drastically in the last 20 years.

“It used to be a community of local artists and businessmen who commuted to New York. Now it has turned into an office park,” she said. “Small local businesses can’t afford to open here. They’re closing schools because young families can’t afford to live here.”

She said she is working to make developers aware of local concerns about preservation before they begin a new project.

“They have individual property-owner rights, but we have visual rights,” she said.

There are some rules protecting older buildings in Westport.

The town, McWeeney said, has two local historic districts, in which the exteriors of buildings are protected from change by state statute, and three districts on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic districts encompass 18th-Century and 19th-Century houses, some of which are are now in commercial use.

Westport also has an ordinance that protects buildings older than 50 years and larger than 500 square feet from immediate demolition. Such buildings can’t be razed for at least 90 days after the date of permit application.

Will Tressler, member of a citizens’ group in Easton, a town of about 6,000 people 8 miles northeast of Westport, said his town also is seeing new development “done without regard for the character of the surroundings.”

Citizens for Easton, he said, will ask town authorities to establish a design review board to evaluate building plans in terms of their potential effects on the traditional character of the area.