Waveny Park - Carriage Barn Arts Center (677, 681 South Avenue (Rte 124), New Canaan ())

Barn Record New Canaan

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Building Name (Common)

Waveny Park - Carriage Barn Arts Center

Building Name (Historic)

Waveny House - Waveny Park

Address

677 South Avenue (Rte 124), New Canaan

Typology

Carriage House

Overview

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

n/a

Field Notes

Waveny House is a Town of New Canaan municipal building located in the beautiful Waveny Town Park and managed through the New Canaan Recreation Department. Waveny House, a large Tudor mansion, was constructed in 1912 for the Lewis Lapham family and was purchased by the Town of New Canaan in 1967. The first floor of Waveny House consists of the grand hall, library, sitting room, dining room, breakfast room, billiard room, a patio overlooking the beautiful grounds, and a complete commercial kitchen. Waveny House is a popular site for weddings and receptions, social events and cultural activities. The beautiful grounds and open air patio compliment the early 1900's period dated wood paneled walls and ceilings, tudor style leaded glass windows, marble fireplaces, hand stenciled muraled walls, and wide plank wooden floors. Take a tour down the flagstone walkways through the gardens and fish pond to discover the beautiful Walled Garden. Waveny House was constructed in 1912 for the Lewis Lapham family and sits majestically overlooking three hundred acres of Connecticut countryside. The House was designed by W. B. Tubbs of Greenwich. The gardens and grounds were laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., of Boston, a well-known landscape architect. Mrs. Lapham named Waveny House after Waveny River in England where Lapham ancestors had once lived. http://www.newcanaan.info/content/9492/9224/675/1526.aspx Carriage Barn Arts Center, 681 South Avenue, New Canaan CT 06840 http://carriagebarn.org/ In 1896, Thomas Hall put together ten tracts of land and transformed them into a summer estate of 280 acres. Calling his land “Prospect Farm,” Mr. Hall constructed a large home and several other buildings, including a power plant and a stable. He also built the stone gateposts that still guard the entrance on Lapham Road. According to the Historical Society, “Thomas Hall erected a Power Plant north and east from the main house…here were the electric generators to light the houses and barns, the boilers that supplied steam for heating, and a pump to boost the water pressure… Except on special occasions, Frank Pearson, the engineer, would momentarily dim the lights at 9:00 p.m., warning everyone that bedtime was half an hour away, and at 9:30 the power went off.” In 1904, Lewis H. Lapham bought the property and added 170 acres. Mrs. Lapham named it “Waveny Farm,” after Waveny River in England. It was at first strictly a summer home with extensive farming. On April 11, 1912 ground was broken for the mansion now known as “Waveny House.” The Lapham family made the property available for purchase by the Town of New Canaan in 1967, for future use by its residents. In the early 1980s, the Town Players renovated the power plant and called it The Powerhouse. www.tpnc.org/‎

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