Celanese House (1959)

The Celanese House, on Oenoeke Ridge Road in New Canaan, was commissioned by the the Celanese Corporation, a chemical manufacturer, as a showplace for their products. Built in 1959, the house was designed by Edward Durell Stone (corporation executives would only consider Stone or Frank Lloyd Wright for the commission). The house, screened by its distinctive latticework, is lit by twelve prominent pyramidal skylights. The building received national press attention when it was completed. After Celanease’s 1959 promotional campaign ended, this model house was sold as a private residence. In 1960, the house was purchased by Frederick Wilcox, an inventor. He died in 1996 and his wife, Velma Willcox, continued in residence until her death in 2005. Between 2006 and 2007, new owner Bruce Capra undertook an extensive restoration of the house, which was then put on the market.

Hanford-Silliman House (1764)

Stephen Hanford was a weaver and New Canaan’s first licensed tavern keeper. In 1764, he moved into a new house with his new wife, Jemima. The house was both his home and an “ordinary,” or inn and tavern. After his wife died in 1784, Hanford sold the house to Elisha Leeds, who gave it to his daughter Martha, and her husband, Joseph Silliman, as a wedding present. The Hanford-Silliman House remained in the Silliman family into the 1920s. Acquired by the New Canaan Historical Society in 1957, it now one of their museum properties.

Irwin House (1953)

The Irwin House is a mid-century Modern house, designed by Victor Christ-Janer and constructed by builder Robert Roles as a speculative house in 1953. Located on Wahackme Road in New Canaan, the house is named for its first owner, William A. Irwin, Jr., who purchased it in 1954. A fire in 1972 caused substantial damage to the house, but it was rebuilt following the original plans. Alterations were made in the 1980s to the house’s porches and balcony.

Gores Pavillion (1959)

In 1959, Landis Gores designed a pool house (referred to as a cabana) in New Canaan for Jane Irwin, daughter of IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, and her husband, John Nichol Irwin II, a lawyer and ambassador to France. Completed in 1960, the Irwin Pool House is a Modernist structure with a symmetrical cruciform-shaped plan. In 2005, the Irwin family sold their estate, including the Pool House, to the town for use as a park. The pool was removed and the Pool House, now known as the Gores Pavillion, is being restored. It will be used as a center for the arts, to be called The Gores Pavilion for the Arts at Irwin Park.

Richard and Geraldine Hodgson House (1951)

Across the street from Philip Johnson‘s own residence, the famous Glass House, is the home he designed, with Landis Gores, for Richard and Geraldine Hodgson. Richard Hodgson was an engineer who was important in developing America’s high-trch sector. When the house was built, he worked at Chromatic Television Laboratories and was later president and CEO of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation, where he established the Semiconductor Division. Since the Hodgson’s had difficulty getting a mortgage for a Modern house, it was built in two stages: the main house was built in 1950-1951 and the bedroom wing in 1956-1957.

Alice Ball House (1953)

 

 

New Canaan is famed for its mid-century modern houses, many designed by the group of architects called the Harvard Five, one whom, Philip Johnson, designed the Alice Ball House on Oenoke Road. This relatively small residence was built in 1953 as a one-story, two-bedroom home. Johnson was influenced by Mies van de Rohe‘s courtyard homes and his unbuilt Resor House. The minimalist Ball House was altered somewhat by later owners over the years. In recent years, the house that Johnson called his ‘little jewel’ was in danger of demolition, after the current owner’s plan to adapt it as a pool house for a much larger home on the property fell through. It was eventually decided to sell the house, which has remained on the market for several years.

2019 Update: Current plans are to join the house to a new home, called Wall House, designed by Postmodernist designer Reja Bakh.