Property website: www.191perryavenue.com
For more information contact Barbara Gronseth at:
203 966 2633 x 219 or bgronseth@wpsir.com
This property is listed by New Canaan CT Real Estate firm William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty
Silvermine, a well kept secret, should be on a list of the best places to live in the United States because of its beauty, proximity to New York, cultural opportunities, and warm friendly neighborhood. For over 100 years it has served as summer, weekend, and year round dwelling place for artists, writers and musicians - an art colony of sorts.
There is no address for Silvermine - the Brigadoon of Connecticut. Its esoteric boundaries encircle the juncture of New Canaan, Norwalk, and Wilton and nestle in the mists of The Silvermine River valley. Sixteen forged iron signs, one located at each approach, proudly herald the visitors entrance with the declaration "This is Silvermine" .
This charming country house with an art studio near the Falls in the backwoods of the Norwalk section of Silvermine, began life as a barn in 1840. It is best described as a unique contemporary antique. Because The Hyatt-Guthrie Barn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places it is eligible for tax credits. In a community of artists, including the current owner, a cartoonist and illustrator, the Hyatt-Guthrie Barn offers a unique live work opportunity.
In 1919, Charles Shackleton, a Cleveland industrialist and artist, and a member of the Knocker's Club, which morphed into the Silvermine Guild Arts Center one block up the street in New Canaan, purchased the barn to add to his summer home and picturesque acreage on the river. He used the barn for his studio. It has appealed to artists and writers ever since. In 1926, Dorothy Lockwood O'Dell, a New York artist, followed the then current practice of converting old outbuildings into homes. O'Dell made two additions to the core barn (1) a vaulted art studio with a huge north window, and (2) a spacious porch that wrapped around two sides of her country house.
Architect Richard Bergmann, who began his career with Eliot Noyes. one of the Harvard Five, renovated the whole structure in 1967. using an entire second barn to articulate his vision. Bergmann lived in the historic barn for seven years. He converted O'Dell's studio into his dining room and added a third floor with a vaulted ceiling and another huge north window to replace the old art studio. Bergmann also added a solarium, glassed on five of it's six sides, which, has served as a garden room, a breakfast room, and an additional art studio.
Today the structure is punctuated with multiple skylights. Special features include a large beamed, wood paneled computer room with a wall of bookshelves, a wet bar and a seasonal view of the Falls. Previous owners used this room as a family room or library. A second office, upstairs, could serve as a possible bedroom - which it once was. With modifications the house can be converted back to three bedrooms. As is, it makes an ideal condo alternative.
The Hyatt-Guthrie Barn perfect for a weekend house - or for a year round home with an easy New York City commute and convenient run to its museums and theatres. The Silvermine Guild Arts Center and The Silvermine Market (a restaurant) are only one block up the street in New Canaan. Views of the river and a partial view of The Silvermine Falls provide enjoyment six months of the year. The present owner reflects that perhaps the best feature of The Hyatt Guthrie Barn is the warm friendly neighborhood and the people who live there.
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Francis Bacon A Terrible Beautyby FeenishProductions26,103 views
A very nice house with wonderful views. Love the studio and wrap around porch. And Silvermine is a special community!
waldo2010ish 4 months ago