John S. Monagan Federal Building (1931)

On Grand Street in Waterbury is a white marble Art Deco post office, built in 1931-1932. The building was designed by George Oakley Totten. The facade of the Post Office features eleven relief panels illustrating the history of communication and transportation. In 1971, the building was renamed the John S. Monagan Federal Building and expanded in the rear to accommodate the District Federal Court and several federal agencies. (more…)

Allen Building, Torrington (1930)

The Allen Building in Torrington is an Art Deco commercial structure, occupying a prominent location, at the corner of Main and East Main Streets in the city’s downtown. The building, designed by Torrington architect William E. Hunt (who designed other art deco buildings in Torrington), was constructed in two sections. First came the north part, on Main Street, in 1930. It was built next door to the Allen House, a wood-frame hotel erected in the nineteenth century. After the hotel was damaged in a 1934 fire, it was demolished and replaced, in 1935, by an extension of the Allen Building that wraps around the corner of East Main Street.

Sedgwick Middle School (1931)

Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford (one of three now in the town) was opened in 1931 as a combination junior high school (in the west wing) and elementary school (in the east wing). In 1956, the elementary school moved out and Sedgwick became exclusively a junior high (called a middle school from 1979). A rear wing was added in 1989-1990, the library was expanded in 2001 and another wing constructed in 2003. The school was named for William Thompson Sedgwick. Born in West Hartford in 1855, Sedgwick, a bacteriologist and educator, was an authority on public health who taught biology at M.I.T. from 1883 until his death in 1921.

Hotel Barnum (1928)

The striking 14-story Art Deco building at 140 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1928 as the Hotel Beach. Named for Francis E. Beach, the local merchant who owned the land on which it was constructed, the name was changed within a year to the Hotel Barnum, named after P. T. Barnum. The hotel has an interesting terraced profile and is an Art Deco design, with eclectic elements, including English brickwork, Egyptian detailing and an Italian palazzo front. The building was designed by the firm of Thomas, Martin and Fitzpatrick and was lauded in the press upon its construction for bringing a “cosmopolitan” style to the city. In later years it was a residential hotel and then became an apartment building known as the Barnum House.

Agudas Achim Synagogue, Hebron (1940)

This past winter, Connecticut Explored magazine featured an article about the state’s rural synagogues. One of these is Agudas Achim (United Brethren) Synagogue, at 10 Church Street in Hebron, a brick Art Deco building. The congregation had been meeting in private homes for many years, but began planning to build a synagogue in the late 1930s. A leading member of Hebron’s Jewish community, Ira Charles Turshen, offered to design and build the new synagogue. In 1924, Turshen, who was born in the province of Minsk in Russia, had bought a grain business and store in Amston, a village in Hebron. When his grain mill burned down in 1927, he rebuilt it himself using brick. The new building featured his signature trademark, a circular window. In building Agudas Achim, Turshen wanted to construct a building which would last for generations. He was willing to make up the difference for cost overruns and used recycled bricks on the synagogue’s rear and side walls. Turshen made the Star of David stained glass window on the front facade himself. The synagogue was completed in 1940 and officially dedicated in the following year.