AG Couldn’t Stop Demolition Of Home

Designed By Renowned Architect

After a last attempt by Attorney Richard Blumenthal to delay demolition of a home under consideration for the National Register of Historic Places failed, a privately-owned home in Westport was demolished on January 13.

The home, at 16 Minute Man Hill, was an archetypical example of modernist residential design, and also of noted modernist architect Paul Rudolph’s work. Under a purchase agreement between owner Louis Micheels and buyer David Waldman, the building on the property was slated for demolition last weekend.

The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation had attempted to secure an injunction on the demolition, but Mr Waldman and the trust had settled a week earlier on the case. Under the settlement terms, according to The Minuteman Press of Westport, Mr Waldman had agreed to negotiate in good faith with a potential buyer for the house. If they could not settle by 5 pm on Friday, January 12, they would be allowed to demolish the house.

In court on Friday, Stamford Superior Court Judge Taggert Adams refused to issue any order that would further prevent that demolition.

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, which Mr Blumenthal was representing in court on January 12, has determined that the property may meet the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. A historical investigation remains underway.

“I am disappointed by today’s ruling,” Mr Blumenthal said. “The judge was sympathetic to our claim that the house is an invaluable historic state treasure, but ultimately he found that the state lacked standing to prevent the destruction of the house because it has not yet been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We vigorously fought for additional time to allow a potential buyer to come forward to save the house — or for the parties to reasonably consider alternatives to the irreversible harm of demolition. In the absence of an order from the court or a claim of bad faith negotiation by one of the parties, there are no additional legal remedies available.

“Demolition or damage to this home will irreparably claim a piece of our state’s architectural history. This home is where modernism meets history — an architectural relic that should be preserved for the public trust.”

An American modernist architect, Mr Rudolph (1918-1997) taught at several universities and served as chairman of Yale University’s architecture department from 1958 until 1965. He was one of the most influential American artists of the mid-20th Century, creating buildings that were often characterized by boldly contrasting masses, complexly interlocking spaces, and innovative surfaces.

He designed the Jewett Art Center (1959) at Wellesley College, Greeley (Colo.) Forestry Building (1959), the Government Service Center in Boston (1963), and the famous Art & Architecture Building (1964) at Yale.

His other works include the Earl Brydges Memorial Library in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (1970-75), and the Burroughs Wellcome corporate headquarters (1970) and the chapel at Chandler School of Theology (1979) in Atlanta. Many of his highly spatial later commissions were in southeast Asia, including Beach Road II in Singapore (1981-81) and the Dharmala office building in Jakarta (1986).