​Built in 1848 by Charles L. Raymond along Five Mile River in the heart of Rowayton, Winthrop House was known as Fairview Hotel (1890 and 1900), Colonial Inn (1926), Pleasant Inn (1930), and Rowayton Inn (1935). It was also used as a private residence in the early 20th century. By 2004, it was a single-room occupancy hotel, with stucco covering the 19th-century clapboard exterior. The developer’s original plan was to completely demolish the building. Instead, it was converted into three luxury condominiums and restored to its rightful place as a landmark beside Rowayton’s Pinkney Park.

Norwalk Preservation Trust worked with the developer (Andrew Glazer), the Rowayton Historical Society, the Rowayton Community Association, and the Norwalk Planning and Zoning Office to do a full renovation of the existing facade of this splendid summer Italianate hotel to its original 19th-century glory. As NPT President Tod Bryant said when the renovation plans were approved in 2005, “The most important thing here was the willingness of Mr. Glazer to listen, to change his plans, and to evolve it to the point that we reached today, where it truly is preservation. This is a really wonderful example of how preservationists and developers can work together.”

The Hour, Winthrop House plan approved (April 2005)