2023 Spring Speaker Series | Re-Imagining Religious Architecture: Fairfield County’s Modern Houses of Worship

Architecturally conservative New England began departing from traditional forms of religious expression after World War II during unprecedented nationwide booms in babies, suburbs and new houses of worship. This illustrated lecture examines how architects and congregations adapted new building technologies, symbolic abstraction and modern aesthetics to re-shape houses of worship in Fairfield County.

Wes Haynes is the Executive Director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy. He is a Stamford resident whose forty-year career in architectural preservation includes senior staff positions at the CT Trust for Historic Preservation (now Preservation Connecticut), New York Landmarks Conservancy, Preservation League of NYS, and New Jersey Historic Trust.

About the 2023 Spring Speaker Series: Modernism in Fairfield County

Join the Fairfield Museum and History Center for the 2023 Spring Speaker Series, exploring the architectural and design history of Fairfield County in the twentieth century. Learn about the mid-century modern movement directly from architects, scholars, and historic preservation professionals.

Additional Lectures in the Series:

March 30 | Mid-century Modern Architecture in New Canaan and the Dawn of Post-Modernism | William D. Earls, AIA

April 20 | Fairfield County: The Modern Context | Christopher Wigren

Registration is required. $15 per talk | $35 for the series, $30 for Members

Image: Exterior of United Church of Rowayton, Norwalk designed by architect Joseph Salerno. Photo: Carol Highsmith. Courtesy of Library of Congress.