The Times Reports that Waldman Tore Down Rudolph's Micheels House Even Though He Had An Offer to Sell
[Read 'Modern,' our new modern house blog, here.]
The Times reports this morning that a fellow named Steven Campus, who owns a house that Paul Rudolph designed in Manhattan, had made an offer to buy the Micheels House in Westport. There are few other details, so it's hard to say how far the negotiations with David Waldman went. It's hard not to come away with the impression though that Waldman had little intention of selling.
WestportNow has some terrific (and sad) photos by Dave Matlow (here) and a good comment thread going, here.
What seems obvious is that Westport has an inadequate historic preservation law. I hope the publisher of WestportNow, Gordon Joseloff, who also happens to be Westport's chief elected official, pushes for changes that would provide some protection for Modern houses.
For more on the issue, see The Destruction of Paul Rudolph's Micheels House in the right hand column.
The Times reports this morning that a fellow named Steven Campus, who owns a house that Paul Rudolph designed in Manhattan, had made an offer to buy the Micheels House in Westport. There are few other details, so it's hard to say how far the negotiations with David Waldman went. It's hard not to come away with the impression though that Waldman had little intention of selling.
WestportNow has some terrific (and sad) photos by Dave Matlow (here) and a good comment thread going, here.
What seems obvious is that Westport has an inadequate historic preservation law. I hope the publisher of WestportNow, Gordon Joseloff, who also happens to be Westport's chief elected official, pushes for changes that would provide some protection for Modern houses.
For more on the issue, see The Destruction of Paul Rudolph's Micheels House in the right hand column.
posted by Tom Andersen at 11:59 AM
1 Comments:
Right, a historical structure ordinance is needed in order to fix everything, either with a voluntary program or an outright historical district or at least some guidance.
Lacking that, a person does enjoy some definite property rights for whatever they buy. As long as one follows all the existing regulations, deeds, covenants, and ordinances, one can do anything they want.
Resignedly, my task lately was to drive through my community and take a photograph of all the old wonders, including not a few Modernist houses. I know that many will be lost. The principle of buying old houses to knock them down and build something bigger and uglier is called "Californication."
/Sammie
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