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.
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.
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.
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
Now available on YouTube: I participated in an America 250 panel that focused on the development of West Hartford. I presented a slide show focused on connections between Hartford and West Hartford. There is much content in this video about historic buildings and also the effects of restrictive zoning. https://youtu.be/OfvDdnXWjNg?si=NuPJf91HYwcH9pDx
My latest LIVE in-person presentation is about the Heublein Family, their Hartford liquor and food business that became known around the country, their downtown hotel and, of course, their famous Tower! It’s at the South Windsor Senior Center on Thursday, April 23 at 10:00 AM!
Please come to my next IN PERSON presentation about the Cheney Mansions of Manchester, Connecticut at the South Windsor CT Senior Center, 1:00 PM, Friday, March 27!
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