Waveny Park (also known as Waveny House) is a park in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

. The park's centerpiece is "the castle" built in 1912 and surrounded by of fields, ponds and trails. The architect for the structure was

William Tubby William Bunker Tubby (21 August 1858 – 1944) was an American architect who was particularly notable for his work in New York City. Tubby was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 1875.Christopher G ...

. Landscape design for the original residence was by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2019.

The house was used for exterior shots for the fictional 'Cortlandt Manor' on the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'' for many years; exteriors of the estate were also used in the 2004 remake film ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...

''. The park is bordered by Farm Road to the North, the

Merritt Parkway The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County. ...

to the South, South Avenue to the East and Lapham Road to the West. Over the years, numerous additional town structures have been built on parts of the property including

New Canaan High School New Canaan High School is the only public high school in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 2017, it was ranked the best public high school in Connecticut, and one of the top 200 in the nation. New Canaan High School was ranked the 74th best STEM high s ...

, Waveny LifeCare Network, an aquatic center, two public water supply towers, as well as paddle tennis courts. To be able to use some of these facilities, a nominal annual fee is charged. The Parks recreations are enjoyed by many people from all around Fairfield County. Lewis Lapham, one of the founders of

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Indepe ...

and the man who built Waveny House, spent summers there with his family for many years. The Lapham family gave the Town of New Canaan most of the estate land in 1967 and sold Waveny House and its surrounding to the Town for $1,500,000. Actor

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

(Back to the Future, The Addams Family), born in Stamford, CT, lived in the Waveny mansion.

Pictures

Image:WavenyParkNewCanaanCt07252007.JPG, Waveny mansion in Waveny Park Waveny Park Entrance

References

External links

Waveny House page at Town of New Canaan website
{{coord, 41.122168, -73.49081, format=dms, name=Waveny Park, display=title Castles in Connecticut Parks in Fairfield County, Connecticut New Canaan, Connecticut Houses in New Canaan, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut