Theodore Dwight Woolsey

A statue of longtime Yale President Theodore Dwight Woolsey sits at a prominent location in Yale Old Campus.  Woolsey graduated as valedictorian of the Yale Class of 1820 and later served as a professor of Greek from 1831 to 1846.

Woolsey's uncle Timothy Dwight had been Yale's President from 1795 to 1817.  Woolsey was elected President in 1846 and served until 1871.  Another Dwight relative followed.  During his 25 years as president, Yale advanced in wealth and influence and two new departments, the Scientific School and the School of Fine Arts, were begun.

Sterling Memorial Library

In the heart of Yale's central campus, Sterling Memorial Library is the university’s largest library and one of its most iconic buildings.  It is built in the Collegiate Gothic style to resemble a European cathedral. 

Completed in 1930, it houses more than 2.5 million volumes, with a focus on humanities and area studies.  Designed by architect James Gamble Rogers (Yale Class of 1889) and later named for its benefactor, John William Sterling (Yale Class of 1864), 

The main entrance, known as the Nave, has a 60-foot ceiling, cloisters, clerestory windows, side chapels, and a circulation desk altar.  

Stained glass windows throughout the building—3,300 in all—were designed by artist G. Owen Bonawit. 

One of the grand spaces in Sterling Memorial Library is the Starr Main Reference Room.  It features medieval-style stained-glass windows, hand-carved details, and a wood-coffered ceiling.

One of the portraits in the Nave is of Edward Alexander Bouchet, a physicist and educator.  Boucher was the first African American graduate of Yale College and the first African American awarded a Ph.D. in the United States.

"King" William Lanson

William Lanson was a Freeman in New Haven in the first half of the 19th century. He was a master builder, widely respected for his leadership.  This 2020 statue stands at the foot of two of Yale's newest residential colleges.

With others he founded the Temple Street Church. He led a petition campaign to the Connecticut General Assembly for the vote for Freemen.   The slogan was "no taxation without representation."

 

In 1825, Lanson was elected Black Governor of the State of Connecticut, extending assistance to the impoverished Black community. He was then hired to build the New Haven section of the Farmington Canal, which would allow New Haven products to be sent by sail to Massachusetts.

He built and owned a hotel that served as a refuge for runaway slaves and traveling Black workers.  He owned several properties that he rented out to White and Black families.  This brought down the wrath of New Haven authorities, who constantly harassed him with false charges, and penalized and imprisoned him, seizing his properties.  William Lanson ended up impoverished and died in the alms house.

Memorial Day Parade

I like parades.  Monday's Memorial Day parade in Ridgefield was fun. 

Ridgefield has a Colonial tavern.  Some folks from the tavern rode in a truck and posed in period garb.

The Lions Club had a lion atop a truck.

We got an enthusiastic greeting from one of the granddaughters riding with the swim team.

Nine girls.  Nine expressions.

One serious young man held his sign, "Happy Soldiers Day, Memorial Day! ♡Thomas."

Senator Richard Blumenthal walked with Ridgefield first selectman, Rudy Marconi.  The governor also walked, but I didn't spot him until he was past.

I loved the idea of a grandson accompanying the Pipe Major.

The blaring from many fire trucks made for a noisy parade.

College Hill Buildings

 I walked around the Brown University campus last Saturday.  

This complicated building is near the bottom of College Hill.  It is part of the Rhode Island School of Design or "RISD," pronounced RIZ-dee.

As I walked around, I frequently thought either "Man, I don't remember this building" from my long distant days on College Hill or "Wow, this one has been wonderfully restored, hasn't it"

This Richardsonian Romanesque building was two or three blocks east of the campus when I was there.  But, the campus has moved east as it has grown, and this one is now the headquarters of the Division of Applied Mathematics, Brownspeak for "studying computers."

Fleur de Lys Studio

 This striking building is near the bottom of the challenging climb up to the top of College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island.  It is an architectural monument to the American Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1880s.  Its half-timbered main facade was built in 1885 with elaborate Art Nouveau stucco sections between the timbers.

The Fleur de Lys Building is a dedicated studio building owned by the Providence Art Club for the use of its members.   It is on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Fleur de Lys was purpose built as artists' studios and was never a domicile of any kind. 

Originally owned by Sydney Burleigh, it was deeded to the Art Club at the time of his death.  

Typically six artists have studios in the building.

The Graduate

 I was in Providence yesterday for an event honoring a legendary professor who has served the university for 65 -- yes, 65! -- years.  That gave me time to walk around and see things I hadn't seen recently as well as new things and old things I had never noticed when I was there.

Walking past the Economics building where I spent many hours, a graduate and her mother were taking pictures.  I volunteered to take some photos on her phone and then asked if I could take one on mine.  She just picked up her doctorate in Economics and is moving to teach at University College Dublin.

St. Mary's Church

 

While I was in Stamford, Connecticut, I passed this beautiful Catholic church.  I had to stop for a moment.  

The bright light against the facade and the rich blue skies showed the church perfectly.  Unfortunately, I was in a hurry so I couldn't take the time to go inside.

Chelsea Piers Connecticut

 I was in Stamford, Connecticut, recently to watch a granddaughter in a swimming meet.  It was held at Chelsea Piers Connecticut, a simply massive sports facility.  CPC has a huge indoor Olympic swimming pool, two hockey rinks, a soccer field, a climbing wall, multiple gymnastic facilities, etc., etc.

Macedonia Church

 Macedonia Church occupies a prominent location on West Avenue in Norwalk.  It is a large and striking yellow brick and white marble building.  Originally a Methodist church, it was built in 1897 - 1898.  The building had, unfortunately, been largely neglected with little or no preventive maintenance for decades.

In 2013 - 2014 the Norwalk Preservation Trust took steps to raise awareness about the building's condition.  In 2014 Macedonia Church bought the building and has since then worked to raise the funds to restore it.  Macedonia Church is a nondenominational congregation led by Black evangelical preachers.

One stained glass window was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany.  Another bears the likeness of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  Unfortunately, the church was closed when I passed by, so I was unable to get inside to see them.

Episcopal Church

The Wilton Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a developer's plan to convert an abandoned Episcopal church into ten residential units.

It is an attractive old structure on a promontory above U.S. Route 7.  The units are planned to be homes ranging from three to five bedrooms and between roughly 1,900 and 3,600 square feet.

I am glad that the church will be redeveloped into useful residences.  Too often old structures like this abandoned church are just torn down.

Mental Health Awareness Month

 This field of green and white pinwheels is on a grass plot at the front of the Wilton library.  The 290 green pinwheels represent the number of calls in 2025 to the Wilton mental health crisis line. 

The 435 white pinwheels represent the 3 in 5 Wilton residents thought to be suffering from mental health challenges who did not reach out for help.  Wow!

Danica

 Danica is Connecticut's urban and community forestry coordinator.  She came to Ridgefield last Saturday to talk with the Ridgefield Tree Committee and other interested residents about the health of urban trees in Connecticut and ways to improve tree health.

Danica has a Ph.D. from Yale's School of the Environment.  She has previously worked in rural Maine, and big cities like Philadelphia and Manhattan.  Now she has statewide responsibilities in Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Ridgefield is one of 23 Tree Cities in Connecticut.  From Danica's perspective, tree health is as much about people as trees.  People planting the right trees, pruning them wisely, watering them when needed, etc.  And, more governmental and private investment in tree research is needed.   

South Norwalk Murals

 Norwalk is a city on the Connecticut shoreline.  

A restaurant along Water Street in South Norwalk has an old, worn mural honoring the kind of sailing ship that once used Norwalk as its home harbor.

Across the street a newer mural celebrates the Sheffield Island Lighthouse.  

Today's post is linked to Monday Murals.

A sailing ship is moored around the corner.  It offers cruises to Sheffield Island, one of several small islands off Norwalk that constitute the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.

Wilton Congregational Church

In 1726, the Connecticut General Assembly granted 31 inhabitants of Norwalk the right to establish Wilton Parish.  The first meeting house was built on Wolfpit Road. Ten years later, the congregation outgrew that building and built a larger one at the corner of Danbury Road and Sharp Hill.

The sanctuary on Ridgefield Road -- shown above -- was the third meeting house built by the Wilton congregation, in 1790. It is the oldest meeting house in Fairfield County that’s still in use as a church. 

By the front doors, the church proudly displays banners for 1726 and 2026 to celebrate the 300 years the congregation has served Wilton.

Ridgefield Theater Barn

For sixty years, the Ridgefield Theater Barn has been home to live theatrical performances.  It produces comedies, dramas, and musicals with performers cast through open auditions. The cast and crew comprise both amateurs and professionals. 

Two years ago it underwent a $2.7 million renovation and expansion that transformed the Barn into a multi-use performing arts space.  Now, the venue features a Main Stage, a Black Box Theater, a recording studio space, and flexible community areas for holding multiple simultaneous events.

Colorful

 

I always turn my head when I pass this colorful house in Lewisboro, New York, right across the state line from Ridgefield, Connecticut.  It looks even better this year.  I think it has been freshly painted.

Abandoned and Falling Apart

 

Some factories near the center of Georgetown have been closed for decades.  They show how changes in market conditions, along with time, weather and vandals can destroy an abandoned structure.

Georgetown School of the Arts

 

Georgetown School of the Arts is a facility that houses art classes for kids and adults.