The Tracy S. Lewis House is a historic house located in Beacon Falls, Connecticut. There is currently a debate over the town's decision to raze the house.[1]
The residence and carriage house are located on 1.5 acres in a prime residential neighborhood opposite a park. The house, grounds and neighborhood were part of a 1915 Olmsted Brothers Master Plan (jobs #6371 & 6222).[2] Lewis hired Olmsted Brothers because he envisioned a cohesive company town. Olmsted Brothers had ambitious plans for the Lewis home. Their 1916 landscape design shows curving planting areas framed by extensive lawns. Landscaping around the house no longer reflects the original Olmsted Landscaping Plan with only one tree remaining.
This area, known as "the Hill" section of Beacon Falls, contain various community buildings including the Town Hall, churches, and a school. In the 1860s the Home Woolen Company occupied this same area and owned the 200+ acre parcel of land, which included Main Street and the Hill section. In addition, land and tax records in Bethany identify that the Home Woolen Company owned “30 houses/buildings” and the Home Woolen Mill buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The house is located prominently on "the Hill" overlooking Main Street and is located on the site of one of the 30 houses mentioned above. Beers Atlas Maps of the 1860s show a building at the location of the house. This indicates that there was a structure there, does not conclusively prove that the current house is that ca. 1860's building, the basement stone foundation are considered 19th century period construction. In addition, the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company commissioned maps recorded in the Beacon Falls Land Record dated March 1916, that display two structures on the site. One is the House and a second structure that was an old barn that was moved and is now a home on neighboring property.
The House is a 2½-story building. The gabled roof is oriented parallel to the street with a full-width, shed-roofed dormer. One short, central chimney stack and one larger slightly off-center brick stack pierce the roof-line at the ridge are both falling apart. The roof is clad in asphalt shingles and has wide eaves and returns at the gable ends. The facade is 3/3 bays wide with a central entry. The portico for the entry has an arched roof (largely obscured by siding) and the supports have been replaced by wrought iron posts. The doorway is flanked by sidelights and features a paneled door topped by an elliptical fan light. Windows throughout are a mixture of 8/8 and 6/6 double-hung sash and appear to be replacements. A 2-story enclosed porch is located on the Southwest elevation. Attached to the porch is a porte-cochère supported by double columns set on brick piers. Windows on the porch are 1/1 double hung aluminum sash. The rear porch and entry area has wood columns that represent what the front may have looked like. The rear porch is completely enclosed in full-length aluminum windows, which most likely helped preserved these columns.
The exterior is covered in aluminum siding, which was installed ca. 1960. The interior of the house has thirteen rooms with plaster walls throughout. The foyer woodwork including wide moldings and staircase was replaced at one time.
From the foyer one may enter the staircase, a small hallway to the left or exit to the first floor porch. There is a dining room to the right of the foyer entrance with a brass servant call button still installed in the center of the floor. The living room is accessed via a set of French doors and contains a fireplace and separate exit to the first floor porch. The kitchen is connected to the dining room through a butler's pantry area and is also accessible from a narrow hallway with back servant stairway. Internal access to the basement is via the kitchen. There is a small bathroom off the narrow corridor towards the back of the house.
The second floor contains four bedrooms, a center hallway and a stairway to the servant's quarters on the third. The master bedroom has a dressing room with a fireplace and access to the second floor porch. The porch floor looks to be a tin roofing material. Each of the second floor bedrooms has wooden floors and a tiled bathroom. Two of the bathrooms are original to 1916. These bathrooms are designed using one inch white tile with blue tile accent, pedestal sink, and full bathtub. The other two bathrooms have four inch pink tile. All the bathrooms in the house, including the third floor, have the same style bathtub.
The third floor area contains five bedrooms, kitchen area, one bathroom, and center hallway. Rooms are smaller due to the roof angles that dissect each outer wall. The center hall appears less elaborate than the second floor hallway, but all woodwork is painted and may actually be of the same style and quality. The single bathroom is accessed through either of two bedrooms.
The Tracy Lewis House was placed on the CT State Register of Historic Places in November 3, 2010[3] as "a rare and intact example of an early 20th century high-end residence" ... and as being "part of a master plan", Olmsted Project # 6222.
In May 2010, the award winning Paul B. Bailey Architect Firm,[4] submitted their "Condition Assessment & Reuse Study for Tracy Lewis House". On page 10 of the report the statement:
was largely ignored by the appointed commission at the cost of $21,000.