LHD boundaries as described are approximate and subject to change. Consult the LHD Study Report on file with the relevant local district commission or municipal authority to verify district boundaries and whether a specific property, particularly one in proximity of a boundary line, is within the district. Also note that LHD boundaries may differ from those of State or National Register Districts.
This Colonial Revival country house features an L-shaped plan with its primary ridge parallel to the street facade. Two large stone chimneys penetrate the ridge, one at the south end and the other to the north of the entrance. The house sits on a terrace below the line of the roof giving prominence to its roof, with its boxed cornice resting on a classical frieze. The entry portico features round Doric columns and pilasters supporting a frieze and cornice with large modillioned brackets. At the rear of the house, a covered terrace (recently enclosed) features paired, round Doric columns at the corners with four individual columns along its length. Its location at the rear of the house reflects the integration of the outdoors with the indoors inherent in country houses. The house exemplifies early-twentieth century country homes and provides a well-maintained record of the late work of its architect, Edward T. Hapgood. The Beach house was used as a summer home until after the Second World War when Dr. and Mrs. Beach's son[2]
The Beach House stands today as a reminder of a time when affluent city-dwellers sough out places in the Connecticut hills to build summer houses where they could escape for a time the congestion of rapidly growing American cities. [2]
[1] Property information retrieved from the town of Fairfield website http://www.vernon-ct.gov/.
[2]Report of the Vernon Historic Properties Study Committee, 2000, SHPO Library, Hartford.
Assessor and GIS information retrieved from the website http://gis.vernon-ct.gov/newviewer/.
[3] Additional information retrieved from Historic barns of Connecticut, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/9153.
[SR]Thrall Farm, Historic Resource Inventory, Attached with the Study Committee report, SHPO Library, Hartford.