The final lecture of the 20-20 Series co-sponsored by The Oyster Bay Historical Society and the Friends of Raynham Hall took place on Tuesday, May 11. The subject, "Oyster Bay - Then and Now," was ably presented by Thomas Keuhhas, director of the Historical Society.

Mr. Kuehhas introduced the evening's topic by relating an incident that occurred while he worked with some members of the Doubleday Babcock Senior Center. When he asked several of them how Oyster Bay had changed over the past 50 years they all assured him that the town was the same now as it had been then.

After mentioning the dozen buildings that had been demolished in that period they agreed that the town had indeed changed. The insidious thing about these changes, occurring over a half century's time, is that they happen gradually. Lose a building here, a beach there, a movie theater or two and, while they are missed, the loss does not seem too severe.

If the loss of these items were announced as all happening at once the public would have been shocked and outraged. Many voices would have been raised in protest to such a monumental loss.

Using two slide projectors simultaneously he showed the same scenes separated by many years. In some cases the scenes had changed little over the years while in others it was impossible to relate the current view to the past.

Some buildings were changed as the result of an accidental event such as a fire. This was the case of the carriage and horseshoe works (on the corner of Bay Avenue) which had a fire in its second story leaving its ground floor intact. The building is still in use today, albeit as a one-story structure.

Especially fascinating was the Oyster Bay Bank building (20 Audrey Avenue) which had its front door entrance accessed by a flight of stone stairs from street level up to a level approximately one story above the street. By removing the ground floor the building was "lowered" to allow entrance from the sidewalk level thereby eliminating the stairs.

Thanking John Hammond for furnishing slides of how Oyster Bay looked during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, Mr. Kuehhas explained how he tried to take pictures of the same scene as it looked today. Not as easy as it first sounds as traffic is much heavier and swifter-moving now compared to T.R.'s days. Adding to the perils suffered by the photographer was the "right on red" hazard!

Starting the series of slides was the very same building we were in - that is to say the Masonic Matinecock Lodge, at 14 West Main Street. Originally built in 1901 as the Townsend building it was transferred to Andrew Snouder in 1911. finally becoming the Masonic Lodge in 1923. The building, while having been subjected to some changes, is still basically the same.

Next shown was the Ludlam store, as it was known when built in 1849, which is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) structures in town. Illustrating what was referred to as "adaptive reuse" the building today houses "Appliance World" on the corner of West Main and South Streets. While somewhat altered it is still recognizable when compared to the original.

Raynham Hall is an example of a building enlarged from its original structure by the addition of several architectural details to the Colonial House when the Victorian addition was constructed in 1851. When the town restored the buildings, during 1947-1953, they removed the beautiful bay windows, tower, skylight and other 1851 additions from the Colonial house. Such "restoration" would not have been contemplated in today's climate, he said.

Some of the other buildings shown were the original office of the Oyster Bay Guardian, at the present location of The Printery at 43 West Main Street, a century old (the paper not the building) this year; the old office of the Oyster Bay Pilot (founded in 1885) at 75 South Street; and the Octagon Hotel. Sadly the latter has fallen far from its former grandeur to an auto detailing establishment but at least its unique architectural style has been preserved and is still on view at the corner of West Main and Spring Streets.

There were many more slides, too many to be covered in a brief article; all interesting and all illuminated by Mr. Kuehhas's commentary. Occasionally Mr. Hammond would supply added information from his vast knowledge of the town and its history. It was fascinating to see how a structure could change over the years - sometimes by adding to it and other times by subtracting from it. The use a building was put to could change over time going from mercantile establishment to hotel to girl's school and back to mercantile enterprise.

The bandstand at Townsend Park is a complete reconstruction of the original which once stood in that same location. The cannon, now there, once guarded the Town Clerk's office before it was incorporated into the current Town Hall West building.

When the Oyster Bay Fire Company No.1 needed to enlarge their parking area the Wightman House was moved from its location, adjacent to the fire house, to its current home on Summit Street. Ironically, the Summit Street site was the former location of the Oyster Bay Hook & Ladder - the predecessor unit of today's Fire Company No. 1!

One comes away from an enjoyable presentation such as this with several impressions. Firstly, soundly constructed buildings are surprisingly malleable. They can be burned, have stories removed or added, or even be bodily moved from one location to another. The uses they are put to are many and varied from homes to offices to stores or manufacturing enterprises.

The second one is that the saddest destiny for a building is to have it torn down to make room for a parking lot. Several examples of this tragedy were shown: the Dr. Wicker Jackson House on South Street next to the American Legion Building; the Job Wright house which is now the parking lot of the DeRosa building - it was torn down to create the entrance to the town hall parking lot off South Street.

A unique structure, now threatened with this fate, is the Florio Building at 168-160 South Street. A town ordinance mandates a certain number of parking spaces tied to the number of rooms, said Mr. Kuehhas.

This law, alas, also applies to the Oyster Bay Manor though, as a matter of fact, few, if any, of their residents drive. To be in compliance with the law the Manor must raze the Florio building unless the law is changed or a variance from same is granted. Concerned citizens can write to town hall - the more the better. They (the government) do listen if you make your voices heard, said Tom Kuehhas. The phone number of the town board members is 624-6300.