The Historical Society is once again participating in the Connecticut Office of Tourism’s ninth annual Connecticut Open House Day. The statewide event is designed to showcase Connecticut’s diverse offerings of history, art and tourism. You can act as a Connecticut cultural ambassador by inviting family and friends to see From Italy to America or tour Bush-Holley Historic Site. Admission will be free to everyone all day.

Spring is one of the loveliest times of the year in Greenwich. Wherever you look, the landscape is in bloom with a profusion of flowering trees, bushes and spring bulbs. It’s yet another reason to be proud of our beautiful community. In fact, we have found that one of the things that fans of the Greenwich Historical Society share is pride in this unique town. As citizens, we look for ways to support the people and institutions that make living here so special. One way you can help to maintain that quality of life is by making a gift to the Greenwich Historical Society’s Annual Fund Campaign.

Your gift supports a Greenwich institution that continually contributes to the beauty and vitality of the community with:

• The Library and Archives, which actively chronicles the life of our town for future generations.
• Education programs and exhibitions that allow people of all ages to better understand their connection with past citizens and events.
• Preservation initiatives that safeguard an architectural heritage that includes the National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House, the site of the Cos Cob art colony.

Annual Fund contributions from individuals make up the largest source of funding for the Greenwich Historical Society’s operations. Your gift of any size will help meet this year’s goal of $550,000. Please use the envelope in this newsletter to make a tax-deductible gift before June 30, 2013. You’ll be proud you did!

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Greenwich Historical Society's Landmark program, formerly known as "Signs of the Times." The program was created in 1987 to recognize, document and preserve the architectural heritage of Greenwich. Since then, the Historical Society has plaqued nearly 300 homes from Colonial to Post-modernist structures, both public and private. Participating homeowners receive a bronze plaque, documentation in the form of a title search and a narrative highlighting architectural details–and the sometimes-surprising history of previous occupants.

As part of the celebration to mark this milestone, Susan Nova, longtime real estate columnist for the Greenwich Time, will be partnering with the Historical Society to produce an article each month that will feature a historically significant home plaqued by the Historical Society.

In colorful narrative, Nova will examine the historical features of the homes, look at their transformation over time to suit the changing needs of their owners, relate tales of past owners, feature interviews with current homeowners and examine the experience of living in and preserving a historic home.

Overall, the series will trace the architectural heritage of Greenwich over time and explore the importance of these homes as part of our historic landscape. In telling the stories of these homes, the Historical Society hopes to generate a greater awareness of architectural preservation and to emphasize the vital part they play in continuing to tell the story of our unique community and its colorful past.

Read the articles >