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Donna and Ben Rosen spent more than two decades as stewards of The Falls, a nationally significant modernist residence in Kent designed by architect Charles Gwathmey. The 40-acre estate, now listed for sale for $6.5 million, was adapted for aging in place while preserving its architectural integrity.
Michael Bowman
“As soon as we saw it, we said, ‘This is it,’” Donna Rosen recalled. “We hadn’t even gone inside.”
Today, after more than two decades as caretakers of one of Connecticut’s most architecturally significant modernist homes, the Rosens have listed the property for sale and are preparing to pass that stewardship to a new owner.
Known as “The Falls,” the 40-plus-acre estate at 23 Mauwee Brook Road has been on the market for about a year and is currently listed for $6.5 million through William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty. But the story behind the planned sale extends far beyond a real estate transaction.
Designed in 1981 by acclaimed modernist architect Charles Gwathmey, the residence is considered an important example of the architect’s sculptural approach to design, integrating dramatic geometric forms with the surrounding landscape.
Gwathmey, whose notable projects included the renovation and expansion of New York City’s Guggenheim Museum, also designed homes for prominent clients including filmmaker Steven Spielberg and comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
For the Rosens, however, the property was never simply a house.
“We always felt like we were stewards of the home,” Donna Rosen said.
That philosophy shaped everything they did during their ownership, from preserving Gwathmey’s architectural vision while improving accessibility to allow for aging in place, creating expansive gardens, trails and outdoor gathering spaces that transformed the property into what family and friends affectionately came to call “Camp Rosen.”
The estate sits amid protected Litchfield Hills views and includes a natural waterfall, stream, walking trails, tennis court, pool, spa and an eight-acre landscape designed by noted landscape architect Deborah Nevins. A sculpture by acclaimed artist Elyn Zimmerman overlooks the falls and will remain with the property.
Inside the home, the architecture allows for a 180-degree view of the property. Michael Bowman
A house unlike any other
When the Rosens purchased the home from its original owners in 2002, modernist architecture was not widely sought after in Litchfield County.
“People were more interested in Colonial-style houses than a modernist house,” Rosen recalled.
Over time, their appreciation for the design only deepened.
“The more we lived there, the more we got to appreciate the brilliance of the architecture,” said Rosen, a former art gallery owner and trustee for the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.“It was sharp. It was tight. It was crisp.”
She described the experience of living in the house as being “like we lived in a birdcage,” surrounded by views of the landscape through expansive walls of glass.
Designing
for the future
As the couple grew older and faced their own health challenges, they also began thinking about how the house might evolve to meet future needs.
They turned to architect Michael Arad, internationally known for designing the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
According to Donna Rosen, Arad quickly recognized that inserting an elevator would compromise the original design.
“You can’t without destroying this atrium,” she recalled him saying.
Instead, Arad designed an accessible first-floor addition and circulation plan that allowed the couple to remain in the home without sacrificing the essence of Gwathmey’s vision.
Kathryn Clair, senior global real estate advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Washington, Connecticut, described the result as exceptionally successful.
She called the property “a rare example” of how a significant architectural work can be adapted for aging in place without compromising its character.
“It really is a one-off,” Clair said. “You don’t find houses like this one very often.”
The same care that guided the architectural additions also shaped the grounds.
When working with landscape architect Deborah Nevins, Rosen said she rejected the idea of formal European gardens.
“I wanted Connecticut gardens,” said Rosen.
The couple transformed former pastureland and overgrown areas into sweeping wildflower meadows, walking trails and outdoor gathering spaces.
“What came up was one of the most magnificent wildflower meadows,” Rosen said.
From Camp Rosen
to KentPresents
The extensive estate eventually became a gathering place for family, friends and community members, earning the nickname “Camp Rosen.”
At the same time, the Rosens became deeply involved in Kent civic life and philanthropic endeavors. Among their most visible contributions was KentPresents, a four-year ideas festival that brought nationally recognized figures in diplomacy, science, journalism, politics and the arts to the Northwest Corner while raising money for local nonprofits.
“It was an incredible experience,” Rosen recalled of the weekend-long presentations that drew renowned guest speakers.
Unlike many conferences, KentPresents encouraged speakers to mingle with attendees throughout the event.
“People would come up to me and say, ‘I sat with Henry Kissinger,’ or ‘I sat with Bill Burns,’” Rosen recalled.
The interactions transformed what might have been a traditional speaker series into something far more personal.
“It was one of the most memorable experiences,” Rosen said. “It was a wonderful swath of talented, wonderful people, and I loved being a part of it.”
Although the festival continued to gain momentum, the demands of organizing it became increasingly difficult for the Rosens.
“Even though we were gaining momentum, it just became too much for Ben and me due to health issues,” Rosen said. “Then COVID hit, and we knew we had made the right decisions about how we wanted to live.”
Ben Rosen, who is Chair Emeritus of the board of Trustees at the California Institute of Technology, later suffered a major stroke, reinforcing the value of the accessibility improvements the couple had thoughtfully planned years earlier.
Passing the torch
The Rosens’ affection for Kent remains undiminished. “We love that village,” Rosen said, noting that it will be missed.
Rosen recalled that the move north from New York actually came at the suggestion of a friend, the late composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
“It was a miserable experience in the Hamptons,” she said with a laugh. “Stephen said, ‘Come to Connecticut. You don’t need to be in the Hamptons.’”
Rosen reflected on the many people over the decades who helped preserve and care for The Falls. Some are descendants of craftspeople who worked on the original construction and who remained connected to the property across generations.
“The pride they have is so great,” she said. “They became our friends.”
Her hope for the future is simple.
“My hope is that whoever buys The Falls will treasure it and become the new stewards of the property,” Rosen said.
“It’s a totally magical place,” Rosen said.
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Filmmaker Imogen Pranger screens her documentary and leads a ‘mail art’ workshop at the Hunt Library July 2.
Patrick L. Sullivan
“It’s a system of shared art works using the postal system,” she explained. No two pieces of mail art look the same, which makes defining it difficult. It can appear as decorated postcards, envelopes and small pieces of cardstock. The postal markings and stamps are considered part of the art.
Pranger, who graduated with a film degree from Oberlin College in 2024, said she was introduced to mail art as a freshman while working at the Clarence Ward Art Library at the college.
As a student employee, Pranger said then-librarian Barbara Prior asked her to create an organizational system for the library’s donated mail art collection, primarily works by artists Reid Wood and Harley Francis.
Both artists had donated or sold their collections to the library, which included thousands of individual pieces, each small enough to to be sent through the mail.
Patrick L. Sullivan
There is no typical piece of mail art. The pieces must be small and flat enough to go through the postal system, and there must be room for stamps. The only real commonality is the highly idiosyncratic and individualized nature of the pieces.
Pranger said mail art emerged in the 1960s and had its heyday in the 1980s. The rise of the internet in the 1990s saw a decrease as artists shifted to digital formats that could be shared with a single mouse click.
But mail art has rebounded in recent years. Pranger said it’s part of a more general interest among visual artists in using older technology, such as film cameras, typewriters and mimeograph machines.
The fun of mail art, she said, is joining “an international network of mail art. If you send stuff out, you’ll get stuff back.”
Pranger said she developed a friendship with the mail carrier whose route covered her home in Oberlin.
“He’d say ‘What is this crazy stuff you keep getting?’ and I explained it.”
“Mail Myself to You” is available for viewing at the David M. Hunt Library as part of the video collection overseen by Falls Village filmmaker Yonah Sadeh, who met Pranger in film school in Prague.
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