Geoffrey Paul and `The Gris'

ESSEX, CONN. -- "Why would you buy a painting when you can buy the real thing?" That was an interesting answer to a very simple question, and one which opened the door of the famed Griswold Inn to new owners. "It was like a dream come true, we were buying a genuine part of history," Geoffrey Paul said of his now year-old purchase of this historic site.

And history is really what it is all about. Records show that in 1733, John Pratt, Jr, owned the piece of land where the Griswold Inn now stands and that property went through two more sales before Richard Hayden moved the inn there in 1801. Since 1776, the Griswold Inn had operated in a building near the shipyard. Richard Hayden had two brothers, John G. and Amasa, and each built a house on either side of the inn. Today, they are part of the Griswold complex.

Ownership of the inn changed a couple more times before it was sold to William and Victoria Winterer in 1972. Mr Winterer, an investment banker from New York, was the one who suggested the sale of the "Gris," as it is known, to young Mr Paul in the following manner.

It seems Geoffrey Paul was offered a Guy Wiggins painting of the Griswold Inn by a dealer and "my first thought was to show it to Bill Winterer," he recalls. The painting, "nice scale and color," did not stir much interest from Mr Winterer, but did result in that off-hand comment which seemed of little importance at the time. "It was about two months later when I talked to Bill again and we all began to take the idea seriously," Geoffrey said. Two years later, after meetings which "were friendly all the way with never an unpleasant time," Geoffrey Paul and his two brothers, Douglas and Gregory, were the new owners of the Griswold Inn and six other properties.

And what better purchase could be made by a family so well rooted in the town of Essex. Justus and Lillias Paul brought their family of six children up in this coastal town and today live in one of the early homes, which was recently purchased by their son, Geoffrey. Douglas, who was an executive in the telecommunications industry in Fairfield County and now oversees the operation of the Griswold Inn, with his wife and children are the only other members of the family living there full time. Greg, the third partner in the purchase, lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., where he is the chief operating officer of Castle Rock Entertainment, which he helped found. Castle Rock has since been sold to Ted Turner. The three girls in the family are all married and living in Maryland, New Jersey, and nearby Darien, Conn.

Several years ago the family established The Paul Foundation and recently purchased the Sunset Pond area of town. That 11-acre site not only includes the pond, but the Essex Machine Works. The property will continue to be leased to the Town of Essex for $1 per year for recreational use by the residents. It is the gateway to the town and is now protected from any development by the Paul family.

"We grew up in this wonderful town," Geoffrey said, recalling those early days when he and his brothers and sisters would run in and out of the Griswold Inn getting handfuls of popcorn from the machine in the tap room and stale bread to feed the ducks on the nearby Connecticut River. The popcorn is a Griswold tradition, which continues today, and the Paul family encourages youngsters to "stop by anytime for some" - and they do. "They come in for popcorn today, and soon those same young people will be coming for dinner with a date, and eventually we will see them with a family," Geoffrey said, recalling the pattern of his own family.

Geoffrey Paul's love of old buildings and antiques peaked with the purchase of the Griswold Inn. "We remember when Cub Scout Geoffrey Paul came into our antiques shop in Essex Center and began looking at things, which varied from a cigar store Indian to an Oriental screen," Philip McNemer and Milan Barnes of Hastings House Antiques recall. "He wanted to work, but more importantly he wanted to learn about everything," they said, "and we gave him a job at $1 per hour." Geoffrey continued to help out at Hastings House during his school years in Essex, and he was also a frequent visitor at some of the other antiques shops, including Robert Spencer, Francis Bealey and Jas. Elliott.

That dollar per hour launched Geoffrey on a financial course that has spiraled upwards ever since. As a student at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, he got his feet wet in the brokerage business, and they have never dried out. Taking advantage of an extra bedroom in his brother Greg's apartment, Geoffrey moved to Los Angeles and spent fourteen years with Merrill Lynch. He is presently a partner and senior vice president with Oppenheimer & Company, where he manages The Paul Group, overseeing a team of seven young people. "Los Angeles is a place where youth is viewed as being synonymous with energy, and I have a hard working group which manages funds for high monied people," he said of his work. "We provide experience, administration and research within a large framework to do business." His client list includes many well-known people in the entertainment field, mostly those who have been around for a bit and want to see their funds in stocks and bonds. "The younger ones, first generation wealth, usually seek out the high style of living and their good fortune is invested in large homes and fancy cars," he said.

While on the West Coast, where he spends an average of three weeks per month, he lives on the top floor of a high-rise condo on Wiltshire Boulevard with a combination of American and Continental furnishings. "It is a place to live, not really a home. Home is Essex," he said, reinforcing his concept of being bullish on small towns. And even with the best part of a summer month on Nantucket, he is most comfortable at the "Gris" and his newly renovated home at One Champlin Square.

"We had workmen around there for the best part of three years," Geoffrey said while speaking about his renovated home of 20-plus rooms. The home, once the largest in town, was built in 1818 by Captain Henry Champlin, who was married to Amelia Hayden. "I met Henry one day, and it was quite an experience," he said.

Before the Captain died in 1859, he built his own family burial ground and over the years the crypt began to come apart. Geoffrey happened by the site when repairs were being done and was invited by the worker to have a look inside.

"It was then I met Henry, and it was quite a thrill," he said.

Both the wooden casket and shelf had rotted, and Henry had slid into full view. A fragment of his black coat still covered a portion of his remains. apart. The only change Geoffrey made to the outside of the Champlin house was the addition of a large sun room, designed and built in England, neatly tucked on to the back of the house and looking out onto a well-designed and manicured terrace garden. Large cut stones, once the cellar floor, form a maze of walkways through the plants and lead to a pool, which fits neatly into a hillside.

"We had the likes of a river running through the cellar," Geoffrey said, "and it was necessary to remove the stones and seal the basement to keep out the water." All of the stones have not been used and another pile of them is waiting for the next project, stacked neatly under an arbor covered by a massive wisteria tree next to a carriage house. "We have plans for the carriage house, and it will also be renovated," Geoffrey indicated, adding that "it will most likely become a guest cottage."

Fine craftsmanship and attention to detail abounds in the Champlin House. All of the woodwork is original and in good shape, the kitchen has been brought into the Twentieth Century, and French wallpaper covers the dining room as it did when the house was first occupied. A few of the walls had to be taken down to allow for the proper electric connections, a number of crumbled bricks were replaced in the fireplaces, and the lead pipe plumbing was updated.

"I have an early inventory and am gradually finding things which should be in the house," he said, adding that "this home was very high style for Essex at the time, with ten-foot high ceilings." One chamber has been dubbed the Phyfe Room, with much of the upholstered furniture in blue fabric and a collection of leather bound books line the finely crafted shelves in the library. A porch spans the width of the front of the house and from here one looks out toward Champlin Square and the streets, which lead to the center of town. A huge maple tree, estimated to be close to 250 years old, shades much of the northern side of the property. "It is unusual to find such a large tree in a town of shipbuilders," Geoffrey said, adding that he hopes he never sees the day the tree comes down.

With one challenge now behind him, the renovation of the house, he faces another in his search to fill out the original Champlin inventory as completely as possible. This search keeps him airborne much of the time, flying in from the West Coast to attend shows and auctions, as well as take in special courses and lectures. He has been able to buy back a few things from descendants and he has people in the antiques field working on his "wish" list.

"I go to lots of auctions and often buy things, but I really prefer a sound relationship with the dealer," he said. He speaks highly of Zeke Liverant, the well-known dealer in American furniture from Colchester, Conn., and through him, he has acquired several important pieces. A tall-case clock by Dudley Emerson, Lyme, Conn. - "The only one we know of" according to Mr Liverant - is in place near a mahogany chest-on-chest, circa 1795, which was in the family of Governor Roger Griswold. This piece was made in New London by Richard Fosdick and is topped by five finials. Another Connecticut piece is a flattop Queen Anne highboy by John Wheeler Geer, painted black and resting on ball and claw feet.

While he is most comfortable in the fields of American furniture and marine art, he has a fondness for samplers. "Needlework gives us history connected to people," he said, and added that he is proud of the Pratt family coat of arms which he acquired from Stephen and Carol Huber. That family is linked to the founding of Essex and, Geoffrey said, "If I had the energy of Betty Ring, I would know everything there is to learn about it and its maker." His study of samplers and history in general, however, once led his nephew to comment, "My uncle knows more dead people than anyone."

So while the search continues to properly appoint the Champlin House, such is not the problem with the other newly acquired property, The Griswold Inn. The "Gris" is chock-full of marine art and artifacts, a collection which has not seen any major additions over the past fifty years. With the Paul family now at the helm, that approach will undoubtedly change. In fact, Geoffrey recently bought a ship banner, 24 feet long and ten feet wide, which has presented a "hanging" problem as the walls are already heavy with drawings, paintings, broadsides, travel notices and schedules, ship models and all manner of objects pertaining to marine life.

"We have a very large and strong collection of Currier and Ives prints, as well as the largest collection of works by Jacobsen in private hands," Geoffrey said. The collection, valued in excess of one million dollars, is displayed in all parts of the inn and in a number of the other Paul-owned properties.

The "Gris" is said to be the oldest continuously run inn in America, having started in 1776. In 1801 Richard Hayden constructed a building on the south side of Main Street, one of the first three-story wooden buildings in Connecticut, where good food and board have been a staple ever since. The Tap Room, probably the most popular spot at the "Gris", was a former one-room schoolhouse in Essex, built in 1738 and moved to its present location behind the main building. Here a variety of drinks are prepared behind a handsome steamboat Gothic bar, and a large pot-bellied stove, originally in the Goodspeed Opera House, fills the center of the room.

"We always have a Christmas tree in the Tap Room," Geoffrey said, however, it takes on decorations as the seasons change. "We will hang it with hearts for Valentine's Day, Easter items in the spring, and we even acknowledge Groundhog's Day." There is never a night without some form of entertainment in this happy room, and it is not unusual for diners, guests of the inn, or just visitors to join in on the fun. It is the place to pick up the mike and sing, or just play the spoons. But whatever your pleasure, a round of applause is sure to follow.

As for the food, hearty American fare of excellent quality is on the menu. Douglas Paul said that menu changes happen about 20 times a year, often geared to seasonal dishes. And guests have no trouble feeling at home in any of the 28 rooms, each with private bath and telephone, but no television. For those who must watch a favorite program, a TV lounge is in one of the buildings next door to the inn. "We encourage people to bring their children, and some guests come on a regular basis because they can bring their dog," Doug mentioned. "In fact," he added, "we have one couple who insists on a certain room because their dog likes it."

"Nothing is going to change and those who know and love the `Gris' will find it the same under our ownership," Geoffrey said. "We are going to freshen up a few of the rooms, possibly move some of the art collection about, but we are not going to make it look like a museum. We want to keep it the heart and soul of the community, and we have a loyal staff doing just that."

And with Geoffrey Paul's passion for history, not just objects, which he likens to "Little vs Nicholson," only good things will happen at the "Gris." Oh, by the way, he never did buy that picture.