Revealed: Privet Comes Down in Front of South Avenue Landmark, Former ‘Brooks Sanatorium’

New Canaanites traveling South Avenue in recent days may have noticed that one of the main residential drag’s most prominent homes has become a bit more conspicuous to passersby. The owners of the 1897-built, stucco Colonial at 299 South Ave. decided to remove a row of privets out front and show off the historic home they’ve spent more than four years restoring and reviving. The bushes were “on the thin side, required a lot of maintenance, blocking the house yet not providing much privacy,” Meg Marciano, who has owned the New Canaan landmark with her husband Lance since 2011, said when asked recently about the very noticeable change to the front lawn. “So we are throwing privacy to the wind, at least until the plantings mature,” said Marciano, a 1990 New Canaan High School graduate.