Contentment Island

The Smith House is a work of contemporary architecture designed by Richard Meier, a well-known architect born in 1934 who led the avant-garde modern architecture movement of the 1960s. The Smith House was planned starting in 1965 and completed in 1967 in Darien, Connecticut, and overlooks the Long Island Sound from the Connecticut coast. The 2,800 square-foot home has been featured in numerous books and has won various prestigious awards.The back of the Smith House, which faces the water, has an open façade with three levels of glass enclosure, providing sweeping, waterfront views. "There is a formal layering, giving a sense of progression, as one moves across the site from the entrance road down to the shore, and the 'line of progression' determines the major site axis," Meier has written. "Perpendicular to this axis, the intersecting planes in the house respond to the rhythms of the slope, trees, rock outcroppings, and the shoreline." Shortly after the house was built, Fred and Carole Smith divorced. When Carole remarried, Meier was hired to expand the house. A 300 square-foot expansion was added to the master suite. The house was owned by the Smith’s sons, Chuck Smith & Hobie Smith. In 2022, the sons sold the house privately to Thomas Majewski, a longstanding resident of the neighborhood. To give some context to the architect, Richard Meier was born in 1934, and was one of the five leading avant-garde architects in the 1960s, along with Charles Gwathmey, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, and John Hejduk. The Fred I. Smith House was one of Meier’s first largely-recognized works and was part of a series of single-family homes that mark a first-step in Meier’s work. It won numerous prizes shortly following its construction. In 1968, one year after it was constructed, it won the AIA National Honor Award, the AIA New England Award, the AIANY Award, and the AIA National Award. Later, in 2000, it received yet another award, the Twenty-five Year Award from the American Institute of Architects.

Tokeneke is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It comprises the southeast part of the town, occupying several peninsulas and islands that extend into Long Island Sound, between the Goodwives River to the west and the Fivemile River to the east. It is bordered to the north by Darien Downtown and to the east by the city of Norwalk. Tokeneke was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 Census, Tokeneke has a population of 2,794.

Ziegler's Cove is a sheltered haven located on the north shore of Long Island Sound at Darien, Connecticut. Its coordinates are 41.05112°N 73.47128°W / 41.05112; -73.47128 The cove is protected to the south by Hay Island (a small peninsula), to the west by Coon Point and Long Neck Point and Great Island to the north. There are also two islands within the cove, Neds Island and smaller, rockier Pine Island. The shoreline of the cove is a mixture of steep granite bluffs, marsh, and coarse sand beaches. The shoreline is privately owned. There is no public access to the shore.

The Five Mile River Landing Historic District encompasses a predominantly 19th-century residential area in the Rowayton section of Norwalk, Connecticut. It extends along Rowayton Street from Witch Lane to Pennoyer Street, and includes all of the properties on the latter as well. The area was a major local center of the shipping industry in the 19th century. The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Rowayton is an affluent coastal village in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut, roughly 40 miles (64 km) from New York City. The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Association, the Historical Society, the Rowayton Library, a Gardeners Club, and a Parents Exchange. Rowayton annually plays host to a Shakespearean production at Pinkney Park, produced by Shakespeare on the Sound, and also has an active community of artists, many of whom are associated with the Rowayton Arts Center. The Rowayton station on the New Haven line of the Metro-North Railroad is located within the community, as is an elementary school, a public beach and the Rowayton Public Library.

Hay Island is a small peninsula located off the Darien, Connecticut, shore of Long Island Sound. Its north shore is located on Ziegler's Cove. A small road connects the island with Long Neck Point Road. There are two structures on Hay Island. One was the home of the late William Ziegler III, a founder of the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

Rock Ledge is a historic estate on Highland Avenue in the Rowayton section of Norwalk, Connecticut. It was built in 1911-13 featuring Tudor Revival and Jacobethan Revival architecture. Edward Moeller designed the 1911 lodge, and Tracy Walker the 1913 main house, after the 1911 house burned down. The mansion belonged to a U.S. Steel executive. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Rowayton station is a commuter rail station on the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, located in the Rowayton neighborhood of Norwalk, Connecticut. Nineteenth-century artist and humanitarian Vincent Colyer helped to get the original station built.The station has two high-level side platforms, each six cars long, serving the outer tracks of the four-track Northeast Corridor.: 20 

Darien ( dair-ee-AN) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any non-college town in Connecticut, a high rate of marriage, and high number of average children per household. Darien is also one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S.Situated on Long Island Sound between the cities of Stamford and Norwalk, the town has relatively few office buildings. Many residents commute to Manhattan, with two Metro-North railroad stations - Noroton Heights and Darien - linking the town to Grand Central Terminal. For recreation, the town boasts eleven parks, two public beaches, the private Tokeneke beach club, three country clubs including the first organized golf club in Connecticut, a riding & racquet club, the public Darien Boat Club, and Noroton Yacht Club.

Darien Downtown is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Darien, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It represents the built-up center of town around the intersections of U.S. Route 1 (Boston Post Road), Connecticut Route 124 (Mansfield Avenue), and Connecticut Route 136 (Tokeneke Road). Interstate 95 passes through the southern part of the CDP, with access from Exit 11 (Route 1) and Exit 12 (Route 136). It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census.

The Boston Post Road Historic District encompasses a cross-section of residential architectural styles representative of much of the history of Darien, Connecticut. Centered on the junction of Boston Post Road (United States Route 1) and Brookdale Road, the district also includes two civic landmarks: the town hall and the Greek Revival First Congregational Church. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Darien station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, located in Darien, Connecticut. A small station house is located on the north side of the tracks (New York City-bound side). The station is wheelchair accessible, with elevators at the east end, near the Boston Post Road. The station is located downtown at the intersection of the Post Road (U.S. Route 1, the town's main thoroughfare) and West Avenue. A small bus-stop shelter is located on the Boston Post Road at the southeast corner of the station (near the New Haven-bound tracks) for buses going along the Post Road into Stamford. Across the Post Road, buses can be boarded for trips into Norwalk. In the small parking lot around the station house, a Connecticut Transit Stamford bus on Bus Route 42 takes passengers along West Avenue and Glenbrook Road into the Glenbrook section of Stamford. Taxis regularly wait for passengers in the small parking lot adjacent to the New Haven-bound tracks. Entrances and exits to Interstate 95 are on Tokeneke Road (exit 12) and the Boston Post Road (exit 11).