4800 Congress Street

4800 Congress Street was built in the mid-1960s for composer Richard Rodgers and author Dorothy Rodgers. Working with architect John Stonehill, Dorothy helped shape a modern country house around the couple’s daily routines and entertaining. Its open plan, extensive glass and pool terrace connected the principal rooms with the outdoor setting.

Dorothy’s interest in practical domestic design predated this project. In the 1930s she had operated Repairs, Inc., a home-decorating and repair business. She turned the experience of creating the Fairfield house into The House in My Head, published in 1967. Alongside the account of planning and building, the book included menus and recipes, treating entertaining as part of the home’s design.

The grounds also received professional attention. The Fairfield Museum and History Center preserves Alice Orme Smith’s garden work for this address, dated 1966, including plans for a cutting garden, croquet lawn, entrance road, and patio and pool areas. The residence has since been renovated and expanded.

Research note: The Fairfield Museum and History Center’s collection guide establishes the garden commission, but the original drawings were not examined and individual landscape features’ survival remains unconfirmed. The Town of Fairfield Assessor labels the house Colonial, while architectural reporting describes it as modern. The Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office uses the name Fair Meadows Estate, but the underlying survey was not independently reviewed and no formal historic designation was verified.