New Video: Lost Houses of Prospect Street, Hartford

My latest video is about the west side of Prospect Street in Hartford (between Central Row and Atheneum Street) where a row of historic houses came to be replaced by the expansion of Travelers in the twentieth century. Some of these houses were the residences of prominent figures like the original publisher of the Hartford Courant, the founder of one of Hartford’s oldest law firms, the man who inspired a historic library and museum in a small Connecticut Town, and more! Also, the stable where George Washington kept his horse in 1780! The houses later became the homes of several important social clubs!

Thomas Hooker’s Now Lost House in Hartford

The lost homestead of Rev. Thomas Hooker, founder of Hartford, once stood on Arch Street (pictured above in an illustration from John Warner Barber’s Connecticut Historical Collections, published in 1836, by which time the house was already demolished). The property was later the site of the Phoenix Iron Works, which played a vital role in the city’s rise to be a center of precision manufacturing. Read about this fascinating story in my latest Substack post.

Lost Historic Hartford Home was House of Notable Clubs

My latest Substack post is about a historic house that stood right on the site of Travelers Tower in Hartford. It went from being a private home in the nineteenth century to serving as the home of social clubs for two decades before it was torn down. The clubs were: The Colonial Club (which was there from when it was organized in 1895 until it merged with the Hartford Club in 1901), the Touro Club (a Jewish club that was there from 1901 until Travelers Insurance bought the house in 1914), and a brief tenure of the Travelers Club (1915-1916) before the house was torn down.

https://open.substack.com/pub/oldhartford/p/lost-historic-home-was-house-of-notable?r=4j8x6h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

From Ball Bearings to Vodka and Steak Sauce: a lost Hartford Factory Complex

My latest Substack post is about a factory complex in Hartford that grew from 1916 until it was finally demolished in 1997. Originally built by a Swedish company to make ball bearings, it was later greatly expanded by G. F. Heublein & Bro., the famous liquor and food company that brought Smirnoff Vodka and A.1. Steak Sauce to America. A cineplex built on the site recently closed and the property is again slated for redevelopment.

The Henry L. Ellsworth House: From Historic Home to Insurance HQ

Contrast of the Henry L. Elsworth House before and after it was vastly enlarged by Travelers Insurance Company.

My latest Substack post is about a house that was built in the early 1820s by Henry L, Ellsworth (son of Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth). It stood on Prospect Street and from 1872 to 1907 was the headquarters of Travelers Insurance. It was torn down in 1931 to make way for the art deco Hartford Steam Boiler building. The image above contrasts the house before and after it was vastly enlarged by Travelers.
https://open.substack.com/pub/oldhartford/p/from-historic-home-to-insurance-hq?r=4j8x6h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true