Sue Farwell wants cupola on her mixed-use building

By Jeff Kearns

It's back. The Lyndon Carriage House cupola, which has led as eventful a life as a cupola--or any architectural element--could live, is back in action.

Sue Farwell wants to put the cupola on top of her mixed-use building at 223 W. Main St., which is under construction. Farwell tried early last year to get approval to incorporate the cupola when the building was approved in February 1998, but the Planning Commission was wary, and Farwell agreed to eliminate the cupola.

Shortly thereafter, the cupola was placed on a band shell in Oak Meadow Park, where it sits today.

But in a March 1 letter to Mayor Jan Hutchins, Farwell reinstated her request to top her new building with the cupola, which was saved from demolition in 1969 by her late husband Jim Farwell. Farwell believes the cupola belongs on top of a building, where everyone can see it, instead of being hidden in the park.

The Los Gatos Community Foundation, however, isn't buying the proposal, and fired back with a March 11 letter to the mayor opposing Farwell's plan.

The foundation formed in 1995 for the purpose of restoring the cupola, which it did with a $50,000 grant from the county, is in the process of raising money to build a gazebo to be crowned with the cupola, but needs another $200,000. Farwell says she will pay back the grant money if she gets the cupola.

The Town Council considered the request at its March 15 meeting, and forwarded the proposal to the Parks Commission for a recommendation on what to do next, including figuring how much Farwell should pay the town for the cupola. Any changes to the Farwell Building must be approved by the Planning Commission.

Farwell says the building was designed to be compatible with the cupola, and that the roof will include structural supports to support the additional weight.

The reason she didn't press the issue last year, Farwell told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, is because the building itself was controversial enough, and she didn't want to endanger her application by complicating the matter. "It would have stopped us from doing the building at all."

Some councilmembers said they thought the cupola belonged downtown, but not on top of the new building because it would block views of the hillside. Linda Lubeck said she thought the cupola belonged downtown and said she favored putting it on top of the building. Hutchins and Randy Attaway said they were also in favor of having it downtown, but said it might be too imposing perched on top of the two-story building.

The building will be 35 feet tall without the cupola, and 54 feet with it. The cupola measures 8 feet square and 19 feet tall, of which 5 feet is the spire.

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