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Board of Finance to Consider $50,000 Allen’s Clam House Demolition Request

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The Westport Board of Finance will consider a $50,000 appropriation at its Feb. 4 meeting to demolish the former Allen’s Clam House restaurant on Hillspoint Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a design for a scaled-down restaurant on the now town-owned property in November. It said it was not in harmony with the neighborhood. WestportNow.com file photo

One thought on “Board of Finance to Consider $50,000 Allen’s Clam House Demolition Request”

  1. Long before actor Darren McGavin put up 2 1/2 stories on his Old Mill home; long before more than one story existed on any Old Mill property; long before most of the homes across the street were built—Captain Allen’s clam house existed. That was the neighborhood.

    The Uccellini family expanded it a bit, but it was still Allen’s Clam House—a recognizable feature of the town of Westport. Long before we had a Town logo designed by Miggs B, pen and ink sketches appeared nationally as a symbol of Westport, Allen’s Clam House was a recognizable as the Minuteman.

    While it is legal for the powers-that-be to abandon this use, and it might even be necessary to destroy the building—it just isn’t right.

    It is especially wrong to say that Allen’s Clam House is not in harmony with the neighborhood. It was, for almost a hundred years the symbol of the neighborhood. How many present Westporters, who moved here between 1960 and 1990, had their first meal at Allen’s—after commenting about the nice little beach neighborhood.

    Pretty soon the only thing left of the quaint New England Town atmosphere of Westport will be found in pictures at the Historical Society.

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