A state historic committee has given new ammunition to Mary Findlay in her battle to save the old building at Mead Park.
The Connecticut Historic Preservation Council voted unanimously Wednesday to place the 110-year-old building off Richmond Hill Road on the state's Register of Historic Places.
The ruling, which came at the committee's monthly meeting in Hartford, is just what Findaly was hoping to hear as she and other concerned residents, try to spare the structure from the wrecking ball. Town officials want to raze the building to create more space at the park. Findlay and others who want to save the building say it is a brick barn.
"We're all very pleased that it's recognized in the way we have recognized it," said Findlay, who is also the leader of the New Canaan Preservation Alliance. "It's a very useful vernacular building that has significance at the state level and certainly at the local level."
Findlay said the designation makes the building, now used by the town's public works department for storage, available for grants to pay for upkeep and renovation. Findlay wants to create a nonprofit group to apply for such funds and oversee its renovation.
First Selectman Jeb Walker, who was in Hartford to oppose the preservation alliance's application, was disappointed by the Historic Preservation Council's vote. He also disagrees with the efforts of Findlay and others to circumvent the votes of the New Canaan Historical Society and the town Historic Review Committee, which both said the building had no significant historic value.
Walker said the town would address any environmental concerns at the building, noting that the state historic council's vote has "no bearing whatsoever on whether the building comes down or not." Those plans, he said, have been in place for about six years.
An earlier version of this article misstated the date of the Historic Preservation Council's vote. It also incorrectly stated the role of the New Canaan Preservation Alliance. Mary Findlay was acting as an individual. The alliance had no role in the effort to gain historic designation for the building.
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