New Canaan -- Celanese House

Celanese House was designed in 1958-59 by Edward Durell Stone as a commission from the Celanese Corporation of America. New Canaan contractor Theodore (Ted) de Freyne Hobbs had acquired the property in 1957 as a development venture and he bore all of the construction costs except for the architect's fee. Celanese furnished the materials free or at cost for publicity rights and national press coverage resulted following the home's completion (the property was sold to Frederick and Velma Willcox in 1960). The landscape architect for the project was James Fanning. Interior spaces opened to terraces screened by latticework to provide privacy. Surrounded by trees, a lawn at the rear of the property featured curving flagstone and fieldstone stairs and fieldstone walls. The terraces provided ample outdoor living space and featured hanging plants as well as more formally placed shrubs and other design features.

Persons and firms associated with the site include James Fanning (landscape architect,1959); Edward Durell Stone (architect, 1958-1959); Theodore de Freyne Hobbs (contractor, 1958-1959); Frederick and Velma Willcox (former owners, 1960-2005); and Celanese Corporation of America (corporate sponsor, 1958-1959).