Dear Editor,
The Glass House has asked Town for permission to operate in a way that allows it to fulfill its mission.
They want to maintain their structures and grounds, which are constantly in need of attention. They want to offer tours to New Canaan schoolchildren. They want to host VIP events to fund their work. Under current restrictions, none of this is really possible.
No more than 50 people are allowed on the Glass House’s 40 acres at any given time (staff included), with the exception of their one annual gala. If you can only have 50 people on the grounds, you can’t even host one classroom of elementary school students, much less hold a special event or dinner or tour that would bring in much needed dollars.
It’s important to remember that the Glass House is asking for permission to do its job for our benefit. Culture exists as a public benefit. The Glass House is part of the culture of New Canaan, the culture of architecture, the culture of art. What they are asking for is so reasonable, so consistent with what similar organizations do, that it’s hard to fathom the opposition, so it begs the question: Why does culture matter?
To some it’s a given that culture matters, but it appears we’ve taken much for granted. Here and everywhere culture is on the ropes; we shudder as ISIS wages cultural terrorism on Middle Eastern sites of antiquity, yet shrug off as business-as-usual the cultural crimes closer to home, such as the pending demolition of the 1735 house at 8 Ferris Hill.
To deny the Glass House the tame and logical bandwidth they’ve requested seems like saying “no” to that public benefit they bring, saying that we don’t value it, we wouldn’t feel impoverished without it, that it’s okay to strip away our cultural patrimony and literally erase the layers of our cultural identity until we’re left with, what?–lawns, parking lots, cavernous new residences, another bank and spa.
It’s bigger than the Glass House, bigger than 8 Ferris Hill, but we should start here–with these specific, local treasures–by doing the right thing and saying “yes” to culture.
Micaela Porta
New Canaan
Very well stated.
Don’t understand why we insist on not preserving history. Does the almighty dollars mean more? It seems as if destruction is the norm in this town.
E. J. Skinner