Mead Park Mystery: The Colonnade

It looks to be something out of ancient Greece or Rome or even the Old South rather than New Canaan. The colonnade that sits amid the Mead Park tennis courts on a perch overlooking Mead Pond serves no other function these days than as a picturesque background for pre-prom or family photos. A relic of some bygone era, many patrons of the park pass it by every day, oblivious to its significance. So what exactly was it for? The history of the colonnade dates back to the Great Depression, which according to the New Canaan Historical Society’s publication Landmarks of New Canaan, was actually a period of substantial growth for Mead Park.