By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Ten Westport properties, including Town Hall itself, are being recognized with this year’s “Historic Preservation Awards,” presented by the Historic District Commission.

The property owners will be presented with the citations Thursday, May 9, at a ceremony set for 7 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium, 110 Myrtle Ave.

Among the honors is a special citation for “Excellence in Ongoing Care and Maintenance,” which will be bestowed on a 1920 Colonial Revival at 100 Hillspoint Road. 

The Post-Goodsell House/John J. Croker House at 136 Riverside Ave. will receive an “Award for Adaptive Reuse.” The house was remodeled into affordable rental units for disabled individuals and opened for occupancy last December.

The town’s administration will be recognized for restoration of the Town Hall façade, completed in June 2023. The $251,000 project included reconditioning the six Corinthian columns at the entrance of the building, which was formerly Bedford Elementary School.

The Preservation Awards ceremony “is the best night of the year for the HDC,” said Grayson Braun, the commission’s chair.

“From fiscal year 2020 through today, we have reviewed approximately 300 demolition waiver permit applications. The Preservation Awards are the only night of the year when we gather that does not include reviewing proposed demolition,” she said.

Preserving historic homes and other structures versus demolition and new construction not only maintains the historical character of a community, it also helps the environment, Braun said.

“Preservation is as green as it gets. … The amount of waste from new construction is staggering,” she said. “Studies show that new builds typically do not last more than 30 years before major components require replacement. The average lifespan of a traditional wood or stone building, with ordinary maintenance, is 100 to 120 years.”

Information about properties being honored with this year’s Historic Preservation Awards can be found on the comprehensive Westport Historic Resource Inventory.

Other properties that will be honored with Preservation Awards, in addition to those receiving special citations, include:

15 Bradley St., circa 1927: a Colonial Revival house, Compo Owenoke National Historic District.

61 Clapboard Hill Road, circa 1929: William G. McCue House, Mediterranean Revival/

90 Hillandale Road, circa 1885: Patrick O’Connor House, Vernacular Victorian.

60 Long Lots Road, circa 1767: Daniel Burr House, Colonial style.

67 Long Lots Road, circa 1851: William Burr Sr. House, Italianate style.

83 Long Lots Road, 1830/circa 1935: Peffers-Everly House, Federal style.

29 North Ave., Mills Farmstead, mid-19th Century vernacular style English barn, State Register Historic Property.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.