A meaningful historic preservation success is taking shape at Veterans Park School, where Ridgefield Public Schools is moving forward with a thoughtful restoration of the school’s historic auditorium rather than a complete replacement of its original character-defining features.
Over the past year, the Ridgefield Historical Society has worked closely with school administrators and district leaders to advocate for the preservation of the auditorium’s historic materials, design integrity, and architectural significance. The Historical Society’s involvement included several meetings with school administration, consultation with preservation-minded design experts, and a detailed condition assessment of each chair in the auditorium to better understand what could be restored, repaired, and retained.
The Veterans Park School auditorium is an important part of Ridgefield’s educational and architectural history. Veterans Park School is also located within Ridgefield’s newly established East Ridge Historic District, a preservation initiative the Ridgefield Historical Society supported. The auditorium is Ridgefield’s only public Modernist building and reflects a significant period in mid-century design. Built in 1955 during a period when school buildings were carefully planned as civic spaces, the auditorium reflects the design intent of architect Willis Mills of Sherwood, Mills & Smith, and has served generations of Ridgefield students, families, teachers, and community members.
While the school must continue to meet contemporary educational, accessibility, safety, and performance standards, the Historical Society encouraged an approach that would allow the room to evolve without losing the historic qualities, particularly the period materials and design features that make the auditorium distinctive and significant. That advocacy helped inform the district’s preservation-focused plan.
Ridgefield Public Schools has contracted with Davis Furniture Company of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, a firm experienced in auditorium seating restoration, to restore the original seating. The work will retain the original seat wood and arm caps, clean and seal the wood, rebuild the mechanical functionality of the seats, restore pivots and hardware, and refinish the seating framework and aisle standards. The project will also incorporate ADA accommodations, restore the stage flooring, upgrade the performance sound system, and preserve the original mahogany wood-paneled walls while adding acoustical improvements where needed.
“This is exactly the kind of outcome we hope for when preservation advocates and public institutions work together,” said Tracy Seem, a member of the Ridgefield Historical Society Board of Directors. “Veterans Park School needs to serve today’s students, but it also carries an important part of Ridgefield’s history. Ridgefield Public Schools deserves great credit for listening, collaborating, and choosing a thoughtful intervention that preserves the spirit and integrity of the auditorium.”
The Historical Society also brought additional expertise into the conversation. Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows of BassamFellows, who led the restoration of the Schlumberger Administration Building, Philip Johnson’s first commercial building in Ridgefield, as well as the Willis Mills II House in New Canaan, joined discussions with school leaders to help explain the significance of the auditorium’s materials and the importance of retaining them wherever possible.
Following those conversations, the Historical Society provided recommendations to Superintendent Susie Da Silva and her team, including the engagement of Davis Furniture and an architectural firm with experience in historic restoration work.
Ridgefield Public Schools’ current plan reflects many of those recommendations. Rather than removing the original seating and historic finishes, the district is preserving and restoring them while making needed improvements for comfort, access, acoustics, safety, and performance. The work is expected to be completed during the summer break so the renovated auditorium can be returned to Veterans Park School before the start of the new school year.
“This project is a wonderful example of preservation in action,” said Stephen Bartkus, Executive Director of the Ridgefield Historical Society. “The Ridgefield Historical Society was proud to help document the auditorium’s historic features, assess the condition of the seating, and advocate for an approach that respects the building’s history while supporting the needs of the school community. We are grateful to Ridgefield Public Schools for recognizing that preservation and progress can work hand in hand.”
Town Historian Jack Sanders also emphasized the auditorium’s broad historical and civic significance.
“Cleves Auditorium at Veterans Park School is historic in many ways,” said Sanders. “It was warmly and comfortably designed by a talented, nationally recognized architect, its name honors one of 20th Century Ridgefield’s leading educators, Mabel Cleves, and it has been the scene of countless government and community gatherings, and Town Meeting votes, that have shaped Ridgefield. Thanks to the hard work of Tracy Seem and the sympathetic cooperation of the public schools, this wonderful venue will be preserved for future Ridgefielders, young and old, to enjoy and appreciate.”
For the Ridgefield Historical Society, the Veterans Park School auditorium project demonstrates the value of local preservation advocacy and reflects a broader mission to preserve and share all eras of Ridgefield’s history. By documenting historic resources, offering research and expertise, and working collaboratively with town and school partners, the Historical Society helps ensure that Ridgefield’s historic places continue to serve the community for generations to come.
As the restoration moves forward, Veterans Park School’s auditorium will remain what it has long been: a place where Ridgefield’s students gather, perform, learn, and make memories, now with its historic character preserved for the future.
For more information about the Ridgefield Historical Society, visit www.ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org.
