Greenwich Time- A small park next to the Dorothy Hamill Rink parking lot in Byram is being eyed as the location for an historic Colonial-era home.But a small playground located there would have to be nudged aside if the Thomas Lyon House was moved to Sherman Avenue, said Jo Conboy, chairman of the Greenwich Preservation Trust.
"There is a tiny, tiny playground with one or two slides that we would relocate and pay for; maybe we can even have it beside it (the house)," she said.
Lee Black, a local resident who regularly takes her 17-month-old son Dan to the enjoy the small parks jungle gym and handful of other amusements, doesn't want to see its character changed.
"I hate to see the little park go away, it is such a beautiful space," Black said Wednesday. "It's just a great playground for small children and it's nice to have in the neighborhood."
Black said she favors preserving the town's rich history, but is concerned about losing a park in a neighborhood that has many small children.
On Thursday, the trust received the town's backing to continue its efforts after the group appeared in front of the Board of Selectmen.
"It seems to me to make total sense," First Selectman Peter Tesei said about the move.
That selectmen's support does not mean approval has been granted to the trust to move the home. Trust board member Eric Brower said it helps the trust's fundraising efforts by showing that the group has the town's tentative support.
The park is located adjacent to the rink's parking lot and close to the McKinney Terrace senior housing complex. Close by, small American flags flutter next to about a dozen plaques to Byram residents who died in World War II. The plaques are located amid a grove of trees that stand next to the rear of the senior housing, formerly the Byram School.
On Wednesday morning, Byram resident Barbara Stella was walking her daughter's Jack Russell terriers Ginger and Lilly in the park.
"I don't think it is a very good idea because there are a lot of children playing here," she said, adding that placing the home there might leave it the target of vandalism.
"There are a lot of teenagers who hang around here at night," Stella said. "You find beer bottles in the morning here. It's pretty isolated especially after dark."
The trust wants to move the home because it is backed up against a hill and is wedged in by West Putnam Avenue and Byram Road, Conboy said.
Placing it in the park will give the house a commanding view of the Byram River valley, Conboy said.
"That has the most beautiful view. It's right on top of the hill," she said.
The Thomas Lyon House, believed to be one of the oldest structures in town, now sits at the bottom of that hill at 1 Byram Road at the intersection with West Putnam Avenue.
Not all area residents oppose the move.
"I think an historic building there would be better in this day and age," said Eugenie Menten, who lives on nearby McKinney Terrace.
She said "unsavory" characters walk through the area and believes the building may deter them.
The home's present location doesn't offer any convenient parking, said Conboy, as the only available spots are along Byram Road. She also believes it is not safe because of heavy traffic on West Putnam Avenue.
Conboy said the trust realizes that if it is successful in moving, members would also have to work around the schedule of activities at the rink because the parking lot fills quickly during events there.
All this is moot, of course, if the town, which owns the home, does not give the move final approval. And then there is the small matter of money.
Although no formal budget has been hammered out, Conboy estimates it would cost $200,000 to move the house, including site preparation, and another $300,000 to renovate it. The trust also plans to do studies on the move and its impact on the area.
Michael Bocchino, president of the Byram Neighborhood Association, said moving the house to the park makes sense.
"We feel that relocating up to the top of the hill is the best location," he said Thursday. "It provides ample parking, parking for buses, and it provides a safe, well-lit location for the home."
The house is "a lost treasure," in its current location on Byram Road and is easily overlooked, Bocchino said.
He said there still is room for a children's play area and suggested it could be updated if the house does move.
Brower told selectmen the house would schedule its open hours so it wouldn't conflict with sporting activities at the rink and a nearby baseball field.
The home is believed to have been built around 1695 by Thomas Lyon Jr., according to research the trust has, Conboy said.
The house originally was located on the north side of the Post Road, but was moved in 1927 to its current location due to road widening on West Putnam Avenue.
Julia Lyon Saunders, the last of seven generations of the family to own the home, gave it to the Rotary and Lions clubs to be used as a welcome and information center for the town.
It also was used as a rental property for many years.
In 1980, the Rotary Club ceded its interest to the Lions Club, which, in turn, handed it over to the town in 2007. The town continues to maintain the site.
The trust believes the land was given to Thomas Lyon Jr. by his father.
Once restored, Conboy believes it will draw Lyon descendants and other tourists to Byram and the rest of town.
"It's a wonderful asset to the own because it will bring people from all over," she said.
-- Staff Writer Frank MacEachern can be reached at frank.maceachern@scni.com or 203-625-4434.
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