Architectural Eden: Spotlight on New Canaan, Conn.

Hilary Lewis was appointed chief curator and creative director at The Glass House, the eminent architect Philip Johnson’s 1949 residence in New Canaan, Connecticut, in 2017. But she first visited the iconic house as a Harvard graduate student in 1992, when she met Johnson and began working with him on numerous projects (including two books on his work) until his death in 2005. Hilary Lewis (Photo: Robin Hill) Over the years, Lewis has become one of New Canaan’s greatest champions. “It’s a small place, but it has an outstanding influence in terms of architecture, art, and design,” she says. Johnson was enamored of the area’s landscape, with its rolling hills and old stone walls. But this upscale town on Connecticut’s Gold Coast is “so much more than a pretty suburb,” Lewis assures. Thanks in part to the fact that it “has always attracted figures in art, architecture, and design,” you’ll find a rich diversity of cultural offerings and creative spirits here. —Catherine Bindman MODERN CLASSICS New Canaan has long earned praise for its architecture, thanks to Johnson and his contemporaries. Johnson was one of a group of architectural students— including Eliot Noyes, John Johansen, and Landis Gores—who followed their professor Marcel Breuer to New Canaan in the late 1940s. Breuer had studied at the Bauhaus under Walter Gropius and later joined his mentor on the faculty of the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. The “Harvard Five” designed nearly 100 houses in the area in European modernist style; 80 still exist. The Glass House (Photo: Peter AronOtto) The most famous is The Glass House ( 199 Elm St., 203.594.9884 ), open to the public since 2007. Set on 49 acres with 14 structures, it includes two galleries for Johnson’s collection of postwar American art. The New Canaan Museum & Historical Society ( 13 Oenoke Ridge Rd., 203.966.1776 ) operates eight historic buildings in the area, including the 18th- century Hanford-Silliman House and the 1960 Gores Pavilion , and offers a Modern House Day Tour. Downtown New Canaan.(Photo: Corinne Parker) NATURE’S WAYS New Canaan offers many beautiful spots to enjoy the great outdoors. Among Lewis’s favorites is Grace Farms ( 365 Lukes Wood Rd., 203.920.1702 ), a nonprofit cultural center on 80 acres of woodlands and meadows. It provides art classes, nature studies, exhibitions, and lectures. Its remarkable glass-enclosed structure, designed by the Tokyo-based firm SANAA, was completed in 2016. The 300 acres of fields and trails at Waveny Park ( 677 South Ave., 203.594.3100 ), developed by the Olmstead Brothers between 1911 and 1917, now feature sports facilities, the Powerhouse Performing Arts Center, and the Carriage Barn Arts Center. The New Canaan Nature Center ( 144 Oenoke Ridge, 203.966.9577 ), an arboretum and botanical garden, offers programs for visitors of all ages. Sole. LUNCH, LADIES Elm Restaurant ( 73 Elm St., 203.920.4994 ) has a “farm- to-table vibe” and “a heck of a hamburger.” Lewis also likes the Italian eatery Sole ( 105 Elm St., 203.972.8887 ) for its chicken Milanese and South End ( 36 Pine St., 203.966.5200 ) for its “great roasted Brussels sprouts.” All are within walking distance of The Glass House and the Metro-North station. New Canaan is an easy train ride to Grand Central (just over an hour) and other Shoreline towns, which you can explore for a day, Lewis says. “It’s one of the great locations for midcentury modern architecture and a beautiful old town with traditional 18th- and 19th- century structures.” Explore your next move in Connecticut.