Preservation Award Winner: Spotted Horse

Among the nine winners of the Westport Historic District Commission 2012 Preservation Awards to be presented in a Town Hall ceremony at 7 p.m. on Monday, is the house at 26 Church Lane now occupied by the Spotted Horse restaurant. The HDC said the award is being given in recognition of its “adaptive reuse, a notable example of how diligent collaboration between property owners and town review entities can result in a successful outcome for all parties involved, most particularly, for the people of Westport.” This historic house, c. 1808, was originally sited on the corner of Post Road East and Church Lane, where the Westport Bank and Trust building, now Patagonia, currently stands.  It served as a prominent feature in the town center as depicted in many paintings of early Westport.  In 1924, when the bank building was constructed, the house was moved further east to its current site. In recent years, commercial development pressure threatened the destruction of the house. However, after extensive discussions with the HDC/ARB Joint Committee, the owners decided that the most appropriate redevelopment of this property was to find a way to renovate and adaptively reuse this historic house as part of a larger project that includes the building that now houses Urban Outfitters. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com