[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE LATE CHARLES NEWTON ``NEWT'' SCHENCK FOR HIS INVALUABLE 
                     CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 17, 2015

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, community leaders and 
arts advocates from across the City of New Haven gathered to pay 
tribute to the late Charles Newton ``Newt'' Schenck and honor his 
legacy with the dedication of a plaque at the Audubon Arts Center in 
the heart of the City's Arts District. I am proud to take a moment 
today to stand and join the City and its arts community in honoring 
Newt for his outstanding contributions.
  Today, the City of New Haven enjoys a thriving, vibrant arts 
community with local theaters, symphonies, and music education 
organizations as well as art studios and performance spaces providing 
learning and entertainment opportunities for all ages. At the epicenter 
of it all is the Audubon Arts District--the culmination of Newt 
Schenck's visionary leadership to breathe new life into a once-
beleaguered area of downtown New Haven.
  An attorney at Wiggin & Dana, Newt served on the City's Development 
Commission and was a dedicated patron of the arts. He helped found the 
Long Wharf Theater and led the City's Arts Council for many years. Newt 
understood the importance of balancing revitalization with preservation 
and it was through this paradigm that he worked to formulate and 
implement a master plan for what would become the Audubon Arts 
District.
  For the better part of two decades, Newt worked to bring together the 
elements of his vision. He wanted the arts center to be a group of arts 
institutions that work together, where the whole is greater than its 
parts. He knew it should be mixed use with arts organizations, 
businesses, and residential housing. Older buildings would be preserved 
and re-purposed and commercial development would return money to the 
arts.
  Slowly but surely that vision became a reality. Today, Audubon is not 
only home to the Arts Council, but to Educational Center for the Arts, 
the Neighborhood Music School, the New Haven Ballet, and Creative Arts 
Workshop, as well as local businesses like Audubon Strings, the Foundry 
Music Company, the Silk Road Art Gallery, and Connecticut Public Radio. 
The plaza, which features beautiful sculptures designed by local 
artists, also has its own ``walk of fame'' with stars honoring New 
Haven arts leaders.
  The plaque, designed and installed by Westville sculptor Gar 
Waterman, is a special tribute to Newt's legacy. Below a beautiful 
relief of a tree, it reads: ``In honor of Charles Newton Schenck III, 
Attorney at Wiggin & Dana who, in collaboration with the City of New 
Haven, with vision and persistence led the Arts Council in its 
development of the Audubon Arts Center 1965 to 1990.''
  Charles Newton ``Newt'' Schenck, through his work with the Arts 
Council and the development of the Audubon Arts District, changed the 
face of our community and planted the seeds for the New Haven arts 
community that flourishes as a whole today. I am honored to join the 
City of New Haven and the New Haven Arts Council in paying tribute to 
his invaluable contributions to our community and in extending my 
heartfelt thanks to his wife, Ann, for sharing him with us for so many 
years. The Audubon Arts District is a haven for artists of all mediums, 
of all ages, and of all talents--a legacy that will inspire the beauty 
and magic of the arts for generations to come.

                          ____________________