Mattatuck Museum (1986)

Mattatuck Museum

The Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury was first established in 1877 as the Mattatuck Historical Society. Initially dedicated to preserving the history of Waterbury and its surrounding towns, the Museum‘s mission later expanded its focus to include the work of Connecticut artists. From 1912 to 1987, the Museum was located in the John Kendrick House on West Main Street. It then moved into a former Masonic Temple, located at 160 West Main Street. Built in 1912, the steel-framed Temple, with a facade of brick and limestone, was designed by Waterbury architect W.E. Griggs. The Museum’s new home comprised two distinct structures, meeting at a right angle: the West Main Street building and the Park Place auditorium building. Located between the two wings of this “L” was a former service station (144 West Main Street), built c. 1930, that had a modern retail front added in 1966. This structure was replaced, in 1986, by the Museum’s new entrance and courtyard garden, designed by renowned architect César Pelli, who also renovated the interior of the 1912 building. The materials of the new addition match the brick and limestone of the original building, while the new main entrance has a copper crown, indicating the Museum’s public function. (more…)

Frank B. Noble House (1904)

Frank B. Noble House

The house (pdf) at 191 Woodruff Avenue in Watertown is thought to have been designed by Griggs and Hunt of Waterbury. The house was built for Frank B. Noble, corporate secretary of the Chase Brass and Copper Company in Waterbury. According to an obituary that appeared in Metal Industry, Vol. 18, No. 11 (November, 1920)

Frank B. Noble, who died at his home in Watertown on July 2, 1920, was, up to the time of his death, secretary of the Chase companies for a number of years. He was 55 years old and his connection with the Chase companies extended over a period of 35 years. He had been a resident of Watertown all his life, attending the public schools there. Later he studied at the Waterbury High School.

Mr. Noble always took an active interest in his native town, and was usually foremost in all projects having for their object the betterment of his birthplace. He was president of the Watertown library, treasurer of the Episcopal church, trustee of the cemetery association and a member of the Civic Improvement League. He is survived by two daughters and a son, all of Watertown.

His family lived in the house until 1924. It was then the home of Waterbury attorney, John H. Cassidy and his family until 1963.

The Marjorie Hayden House (1908)

Architect Wilfred Griggs designed the house at 70 Pine Street in Waterbury, which was built in 1908 for Margery (or Marjorie) Hayden. Her father was the inventor Hiram Hayden. When his house next door burned down, Margery and her sister Rose donated the land to the City of Waterbury to become Hayden Homestead Park. Margery Hayden bequeathed her own home to Waterbury Child Guidance Clinic in 1974.

Another house on the same street designed by Griggs is at at 175 Pine Street. It was built around 1901 for his brother, David C. Griggs. According to the History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Vol. III (1918):

In the acquirement of his education David C. Griggs attended Miss Pritchard’s private school, the public schools of Waterbury and the Sheffield Scientific School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1892. His early business experience came to him through eight months’ service with the Berlin Iron & Bridge Company and in February, 1893, he became identified with the Waterbury Farrel Foundry & Machine Company, in which he worked his way upward through the various positions of the engineering department. In 1899 he was made a director of the company and was chosen to his present position as secretary in 1902.

David C. Griggs and his wife, Helen Trowbridge Williams, moved into the house in 1904. They lived there until their deaths (David in 1958 and Helen in 1966). The house’s current occupant is architect John J. D’Amico.

The Paul Hamilton House (1916)

Wilfred Griggs designed the Colonial Revival house at 98 Woodlawn Terrace in Waterbury for Paul D. Hamilton. Built in 1916, the house’s side porch was added around 1950. As described in the History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Vol. 3 (1918), “Paul D. Hamilton, president and treasurer of the Hamilton Hardware Corporation, is thus widely known as one of the leading and representative business men of Waterbury, where his entire life has been passed and where he has so directed his efforts as to win not only success but the high and merited regard of his fellowmen.”

Thomas Neary Memorial Building (1911)

The Thomas Neary Memorial Building is one of the many impressive buildings constructed in the center of Naugatuck at the turn of the nineteenth century, a period of development sponsored by John H. Whittemore. Located on the corner of Church and Maple Streets, the Neary Building is a business block of offices and shops which anchors a row of commercial buildings on Church Street, south of Naugatuck Green. Completed sometime between 1906 to 1911, the heavily ornamented Neo-Classical Revival structure was designed by the Waterbury firm of Griggs & Hunt (Wilfred Griggs designed many similarly impressive buildings in Waterbury). It was built through the efforts of William J. Neary, a lawyer, in honor of his father, Thomas J. Neary, a businessman who owned and operated a wholesale and liquor business on Water Street.

Elton Hotel (1904)

The Elton Hotel, at Prospect and West Main Streets on the Green (Video link) in Waterbury, was for many years the city’s grandest hotel and a social and businesses center. Built in 1904 and designed by Wilfred Griggs in the style of the French Renaissance, the Elton Hotel featured luxurious amenities, including several restaurants and ballrooms. The hotel was constructed on the site of the colonial-era Scoville Homestead, which was torn down to make way for the new building. The Elton Hotel‘s first manager, Almon C. Judd, developed what became known as the “Ideal Tour,” an automobile route through New England, starting at the Elton and stopping at various hotels and resorts. Over the years, many celebrated people stopped by or stayed at the Hotel Elton. John F. Kennedy made a campaign speech in 1960 from the hotel balcony and the humorist, James Thurber, wrote the story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” (pdf) which features a Waterbury hotel lobby, at the Elton. Today the building serves as an assisted-living facility.

Odd Fellows Hall, Waterbury (1895)

Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized in Waterbury in 1845. The Lodge met in various rented halls until 1895, when the Odd Fellows Hall was completed and dedicated on North Main Street. Plans for the building were drawn up by Wilfred E. Griggs, a member of the order who designed many prominent buildings in Waterbury. As described in The Town and City of Waterbury, Vol. 3 (1896),

The hall occupies the ground formerly occupied by the Second Congregational church (the side and rear walls having been left standing), and also the space which lay between it and the street. The new building fronting on the street is forty-three and a half feet deep and six stories high, and contains the Odd Fellows’ parlors and about forty offices. The rear portion is partly three and partly two stories high, and contains the lodge room, various working rooms and the banquet hall. The building is in the Venetian Gothic style, in this respect standing alone among Waterbury edifices. The first two stories are built of Potsdam red sandstone, the stories above of “old gold” Pompeian brick, trimmed with speckled terra cotta. The building is provided with an elevator, is heated throughout with steam, and is more nearly fire-proof than any other office building in Waterbury.

In 1948, the building was sold to the Grieve, Bisset & Holland Department Store. The building‘s original front entrance and decorative roofline crown were later removed.