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Lapham Community Center and Senior Center of New Canaan, Inc. |
Waveny Park New Canaan, CT Tel: 203-594-3620 Fax: 203-594-3628 |
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| OUR HISTORY |
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Lapham Community Center is located in Waveny Park, the original Lapham estate, in a building that was called the "Bungalow." Built in 1915 as a summer home for Jack Lapham and his family, it was used every summer from 1916 until just before the start of World War II.
Lewis Lapham, one of the founders of Texaco and the man who built Waveny House, spent summers there with his family for many years. The Lapham family gave the Town of New Canaan most of the estate land in 1967 and sold Waveny House and its surrounding 300 acres to the Town for $1,500,000. Following the sale of the estate to the Town of New Canaan in 1967, the bungalow was rented out to private individuals on a yearly basis. In 1993, the Board of the Senior Center of New Canaan, Inc. began a search for a permanent home. After much study, they selected the bungalow as a suitable site in terms of location and size. A proposal to use the existing building was approved by Town officials with the stipulation that funds for the project be raised privately. While the building remains Town property, the Center is operated under the Parks and Recreation Commission. The project received financial support from a wide variety of sources. About 1,100 individual and group donors contributed over $750,000. In addition, others lent non-financial support through labor and donations of items, such as cabinets and shrubbery. Elise Lapham, daughter-in-law of the original owner, started the fund-raising with a significant financial challenge to the community. Improvements made to convert the existing house into a community center included electrical, heating and plumbing upgrades to meet building code requirements. Central air conditioning, a commercial kitchen and a handicapped-accessible bathroom were installed. Off-site construction included the addition of 57 parking spaces; 17 more spaces were later added behind the house as need developed. A greenhouse was constructed about a year after the Center opened. The Lapham Community Center officially opened in September 1996. Mrs. Elise Lapham spoke at the dedication as did Town Council Chairman William Bach, Senior Center Board President Penny Young and Recreation Commission Chairman Bob Nielsen. The decision to name the building the Lapham Community Center after a family who had given much to the Town was made by the Senior Center Board. By the summer of 2002 Lapham Center had outgrown its current space (ask about those pesky lotteries to take classes!) and another initiative began to enlarge the current building to more adequately house all the programs and services that were being provided. A fundraising committee headed by Ralph DiDomenico got to work in the fall of 2003 to raise $2.3 million after the Town pledged a matching $1.5 million. George and Carol Bauer challenged the committee by matching dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000 by November 1, 2003. This committee did the full match on time. A small cities grant rounded out the private fundraising so with money in hand, the renovation and addition began. Jim Beall and his Building Committee began meeting architects, engineers, Town boards and commissions, building inspectors, and potential builders and AP Construction broke ground in late summer of 2004. An expanded kitchen was constructed; the dining room doubled in size; and at the east end of the building and entirely new building was erected to house lecture, exercise, computer, and game rooms. The large lecture hall was named the Douglass Room after a substantial donation was given by local residents, Helen and Don Douglass. Programs moved to Waveny House, the Carriage Barn, Schoolhouse Apartments, and the Historical Society during construction. The "road show" returned to the Center in the fall of 2005 as the construction neared completion. |
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