The Visionary of the Ridge:

Barry Blau and the Living Landscape

As a pioneer of direct-mail advertising, Barry Blau (1928–2017) knew how to capture the imagination. In 1964, he brought that creative vision to Westport when he purchased a property built by celebrated Broadway scenic designer Ralph Alswang.

Over the next fifty years, Blau transformed the two-acre wooded ridge into an ambitious, living architectural landscape. Rejecting traditional suburban lawns, he hand-cultivated nine distinct "garden rooms"—weaving native White Oaks with structural European parterres, stone paths, and a tranquil Zen garden. This deliberate design frames and amplifies Alswang's "Carpenter Modern" architecture, seamlessly blending indoor theatrical design with the outdoor natural world.

Just a Glimpse
into the Gardens…