Please join us for a discussion on The Merritt Parkway: History and Future of a National Treasure.
We’ll learn about the origin, construction and impact of this historic road that changed the design of American roads and life in Fairfield County, the challenges it faces, and what needs to be done to ensure its future as a safe and beautiful drive.
— an announcement from Darien Library
The talk will take place from 7 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 16 in the Community Room of Darien Library.
About the Presenter
Photo from Darien Library
Wes Haynes, executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy
Wes Haynes is executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, a non-profit, member-supported organization committed to the protection and stewardship of Connecticut’s largest and most heavily used cultural resource, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a federally designated Scenic Byway.
A native of Stamford, Wes’ long career in historic preservation has included senior staff positions with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Preservation League of New York State, and New Jersey Historic Trust.
Photo from Library of Congress
Merritt Parkway to New Haven, 1941. No guardrails, young trees, no visible traffic lane lines, same beautiful bridges.
He has worked on the planning and implementing restorations of New York’s Central Park, the New York State Capitol in Albany, and Adirondack Great Camps and directed a recently completed survey of 1,500 historic mills for the CT Trust.
Wes has taught historic preservation at the Parsons School of Design in New York, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and the Brooklyn High School for the Arts, and currently serves as a volunteer preservation advisor to the Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses in Bridgeport, Stamford’s First Presbyterian Church and the New Canaan Preservation Alliance.
Photo from ConnDOT
ConnDOT has been cutting back on the trees and limbs overhanging the Merritt Parkway and has long been replacing the kind of guardrails seen here.