A degree 30 years in the making

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

There’s a new doctor in town.  Not a general practitioner, but tireless Norfolk Historical Society Curator Ann Havemeyer, who received her Ph.D. from Yale University at their graduation ceremony on May 21. Her 250-page dissertation, “An Architect of Place and the Village Beautiful: Alfredo Taylor in Norfolk, Connecticut” was submitted in March, and unanimously recommended for publishing. 

After majoring in History of Art at Yale in 1975, Havemeyer went to work for the Hartford Architecture Conservancy, which was attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to rejuvenate the city through adaptive re-use projects of historical buildings. She put in her best effort there until 1978, when she began doctorate work at Yale. Four years later, she received a Master of Philosophy and was, as they say in the world of academia, A.B.D. (All But Dissertation).

Havemeyer moved to Norfolk in 1982 with her husband, Tom Strumolo, to raise their rapidly growing family (the couple’s five children were born between 1980 and 1988). She intended to write her dissertation on the evolution of architecturally noteworthy Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven while the kids were young. That plan proceeded smoothly until the birth of her third child, Peter, in 1984, “the tipping point”.

But Havemeyer soon found another outlet for her love of history and architecture in work with the Norfolk Historical Society. She joined its board of directors in the late 1980s and received a grant in 1995 which enabled her to catalogue the museum’s entire collection, a project that took her over a decade to complete. Havemeyer’s mark on the museum is colossal, completing numerous projects over a 20-year span. Perhaps the most consequential project for her though was the book on Alfredo Taylor that she co-wrote with Robert Dance in 2005, as it inspired her to further research Taylor’s life and work.

“I felt like there was more to the story,” Havemeyer said. “And I wanted to uncover it.” She was convinced that a further exploration of the relationship between Taylor and his partner, Julian Levi, would prove fruitful. Invigorated by the publishing of three books in four years (she wrote two more books, “The Magnificent Battells” with Dance in 2006 and “Picturing Norfolk” with Dance and Barry Webber in 2008), Havemeyer went back to the History of Art department at Yale, and asked if she could pick up where she left off, or at least some variation on her original thesis. The department was incredibly supportive. “I’m so thankful that I waited,” Havemeyer said. “I can’t even imagine having done all this without a computer.”

After months of researching Taylor and Levi at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Columbia University, Havemeyer realized that Taylor was infinitely more interesting than his partner. As she writes in her abstract, “Choosing an alternate path to that of his high-profile Beaux-Arts contemporaries, Taylor developed a symbiotic relationship with Norfolk and formulated a philosophy of architecture that sought to capture and express the essence of the town.” From this philosophy, the idea for Havemeyer’s new thesis was born.

Her dissertation analyzes the town’s identity in the early 1900s. Norfolk had recently undergone a dramatic socioeconomic change when Taylor first arrived in 1901. Hundreds of immigrants had moved here in the mid to late 1800s, most to work on the farms near Doolittle Lake and on the construction of the railroad. “The heathen barbarian” as they were referred to by the town pastor in 1859, drew the concern of Norfolk’s cultural elite, namely the Battell and Eldridge families.  These families believed that through a reimagining of the town’s village green they could create a moral environment and impart the importance of a rich culture in arts and education on the burgeoning immigrant populations. 

“The significance of the Village Beautiful,” Havemeyer said, “lies in the belief that a beautiful, orderly environment would nurture moral behavior.” The realization of this concept began with architecture. The Battells and Eldridges focused their efforts on building around the Village Green, and then Taylor took the same vision and applied it to the town center, creating the Royal Arcanum building, the Shepard building (the hardware store that was destroyed by fire) and the remodeled Catholic church.

That vision for Norfolk was later compromised by what Taylor’s clients wanted, which after World War I was the Colonial Revival style. Havemeyer asserts that the architect’s best work surely came when he was left alone with his creation. Drawing on the Norfolk landscape for his true signature style, using extensive stone work and integrating the homes into the landscape, resulted in such masterpieces as the Childs’ sport house, the Doolittle camps and the Downs Shelter. Taylor’s application of a Village Beautiful ideal throughout Norfolk not only enhanced the town’s aesthetic, but truly shaped its identity.   

Havemeyer is currently looking into options for publishing her dissertation, as well as adjunct teaching positions. As for the Historical Society, she’s not giving up on that undertaking just yet. Havemeyer hopes to complete an architectural survey of every house in Norfolk at some point in the future, so when you thank her for that rich history of your home, be sure to call her, “Dr. Havemeyer”.