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Branford
Revival
by Susan Tamulevich
Years ago, when I moved
away from Branford where I was born, I had some
ambivalent feelings about the place. While there was
still much for which I felt great affection, I had
witnessed the demise of many beloved town features.
There was the Sliney Stables out on West Main Street;
and the marshes which flourished along the road, east
past the High school, were filled in and “developed.”.
Properties were sold off to real estate developers and
converted into more and more condominiums; the stately,
yellow- brick Romanesque Catholic Church was devoured by
flames; and the downtown area and the village green
languished. Soon my worst fears about our town were
confirmed: we had earned the title of Condominium
Capital of the United States.
This past year I moved back, in part to
rescue a house that had been built for my great
grandparents in the 1930’s. But I also came back because
it appears that some of the destructive trends I had
seen in my youth are finally being addressed.
The most obvious evidence of our town’s new
self respect is the renovation of the downtown area and
along Main Street, to the west. This work, which was
done in the 1980’s provides a coherent, attractive
setting and makes evident Branford’s long history as an
industrial center. With its brick walks, reproduction
lighting and bench fixtures, and its careful
landscaping, the town’s center looks cared for. And
this, I learned is only a first step.
Other important initiatives were taken to
help ensure the preservation of our town’s past. First,
the Branford Historical Society leased and began to
restore the Nathaniel Hawthorne House, circa 1724, on
Main Street, both as a house museum and a center for the
Society. This was especially heartening as my forebears,
among the first settlers, lived in that house for more
than 100 years. Next, in 1986 citizens formed the
Architectural Preservation Trust, Inc. of Branford to
prepare a thorough study of the town. Its report
entitled: Branford CT: A Survey of Architectural and
Historical Resources, is the first step in having
structures of historical and architectural importance in
the town identified as such, in the hope that they will
be placed in the National Historic Register. Says a
member of the team that wrote the survey, “We wanted
people in town to be aware of what older buildings are
worth saving, as well as to put these buildings within
the context of the distinct neighborhoods that have
evolved in Branford.”
There are two other studies of Branford’s
historic architecture: Available Source Material o
nthe History of Branford CT, 1644-1800, by Dorothy
Barker Feld, gives detailed descriptions of, and
fascinating stories about, some of the town’s oldest
residences. The other survey, Photographs of Houses
in Branford, by H. Rossiter Snyder, is a two-volumed
set of photographs of the town, many of which were taken
1917, these two books give a good sense of what has been
lost to “progress.”
Of course the town of Branford is not a
museum. New buildings and new architecture give needed
life and texture to the community, while bringing in new
blood, new jobs, and new resources. The hope is that we
have learned to save the best of the old with the new.
Sadly, significant old buildings continue to be “picked
away.” For better or for worse, every new building has
its impact. Our 350th anniversary serves as a
reminder that the things we build today may very well be
around for a long time. Let’s hope that new buildings of
quality and sensitive renovations help to preserve the
essential character of town.
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