Deputy Director Christopher Wigren reflects on two years since his book was published and the continuing book talk “tour” during a pandemic.
In 2018 Preservation Connecticut (then called the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation) published Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places through Wesleyan University Press.
The book offers stories about 100 works of architecture that, taken together, begin to tell the story of how people in the state have created a built environment in which to live their lives. It also includes an overview relating Connecticut’s architectural and historical development. This material illustrates the wide variety of architecture in the state—including individual buildings, groups of buildings like campuses and neighborhoods, landscapes, engineering structures, and interiors—recounts some of the many stories embodied in Connecticut architecture; and supports PCT’s mission by helping to make the case for preserving historic architecture.
Once the book was published, I hit the road, giving talks about the book to groups around the state. In the ensuing two years I have spoken in more than 50 places and to more than 1,500 people. Most of the venues have been libraries, historical societies, or preservation organizations, but others included the Old State House, the State Historic Preservation Office’s annual conference, book fairs, private clubs, educational programs for seniors, and professional architecture and design groups.
The talks brought some perks for me. Some hosts offered me dinner. Some gave me a tour of a local landmark. Some presented me with a gift. At one event, an attendee disconcerted me by sitting in the center of the front row where he alternated between staring intently at me and scribbling intensely in his notebook. After the talk was over, he showed me the portrait he had drawn of me while I was speaking! It turned out he was a French architect visiting nearby relatives, and we had a pleasant chat, despite his uncertain English and my fragmentary French.
He was just one manifestation of the best perk of all—the opportunity to meet people who are fascinated and inspired by the built environment in all its richness and expressiveness. Architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners, and interior designers who create the places of Connecticut and beyond; clients and stewards of important architecture; wide-eyed teenaged prospective architects; neighborhood activists; historical society curators and board members; and knowledgeable and enthusiastic amateurs. Their energy and enthusiasm and appreciation are infectious and inspiring.
The Covid pandemic ended all in-person talks at the end of February. After a break, I’ve begun doing online Zoom talks. I miss the chance to interact with audience members, but have picked up some attendees from beyond Connecticut. One recent Zoom talk included listeners from Kentucky and Indiana, thanks to the host organization’s online publicity.
Almost always, someone asks which of the 100 places in the book is my favorite. I can only answer: The last one I visited. In that line, I always finish the talks, as I finish the book, with a quote from the historian Elizabeth Mills Brown, encouraging listeners to get out and see architecture on their own, and to protect it for future generations:
Architecture is for everyone, and there’s enough to go around if we’ll only learn to take care of it… Go out and keep your eyes open. Enjoy every bit of it…and, above all, guard it.
To learn about or buy Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places, visit preservationct.org/book. To schedule a Zoom talk, write Christopher Wigren at cwigren@preservationct.org.