Stonington Free Library (1900)

The Stonington Free Library Association first met in 1887 and, the following year, established a library in Stonington Borough, located initially in a house on the corner of Main and Church Streets. Outgrowing this space, a new library building was constructed in Wadawanuck Park, on land donated for the purpose by the heirs of Samuel Denison. Opened in 1900, the new library was designed by Clinton and Russell of New York. The Stonington Free Library was expanded to the north in 1956 and again in 1990, with the addition of the Wimpfheimer Wing.

Olin Memorial Library (1928)

Rich Hall, dedicated in 1868, served as Wesleyan University‘s library until Olin Memorial Library was built in 1928. Henry Bacon, who was serving as Wesleyan’s advisory architect, made preliminary sketches for the new library in 1923, less than a year after the dedication of his most famous building, the Lincoln Memorial. Bacon died in 1924 and his ideas were passed on to the firm of McKim, Mead & White. The Library was built in 1925-1927 and dedicated in 1928. The following year, the street just south of Olin Library was moved further south to make room for a large front lawn. In anticipation of the need for future expansion of the Library, the north facade of the building, facing Andrus Field, was left unadorned and had a wall that could be easily removed. The anticipated rear expansion of the library stack area occurred in 1938. Another expansion was constructed in 1983-1986, with a modern addition cleverly designed by the firm of Perry, Dean, Rogers & Partners of Boston to wrap around and enclose the earlier expansion of 1938.

Howard Whittemore Memorial Library (1894)

The Howard Whittemore Memorial Library, on Church Street in Naugatuck, was built in 1894 as part of the grand beautification plan of industrialist and philanthropist John Howard Whittemore for his adopted home town. The Library, named in honor of a son who had died young, was one of the first of the many structures that Whittemore, influenced by the “City Beautiful” movement, commissioned for Naugatuck Center. Designed by McKim, Mead & White and utilizing the same plan as the firm’s Walker Art Gallery at Bowdoin College, the Neo-Classical Revival library is constructed of pink granite, with buff terra-cotta panels above the windows and in the pediment above the front entrance. The frieze running around the buildings is incised with names of famous authors. The Library has a modern addition to the rear.

Holmes Building (1904)

Located along a row of commercial buildings, across from the post office on Grand Street in Waterbury, is the Holmes Building, constructed in 1903-1904. It was one of many structures built in the area after the devastating Waterbury Fire of 1902. The building was home to C.L. Holmes & Company, which became Holmes and Burr in 1905. As described in the History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, vol 3 (1918), “The building is a three story structure with sixty foot frontage on Grand street, the upper stories being used for offices, while a part of the lower story is occupied by the Waterbury Trust Company. The firm of Holmes & Bull conducts a general brokerage business, handling investment securities, and they have an extensive clientage.” The Waterbury Trust Company, established in 1907 with C.L. Holmes as its president, eventually gave its name to the entire building. The Elks Club occupied rooms in the building until the Lodge constructed the a new Home in 1910. The WBRY radio studios were also in the building in the early 1940s.

Savings Bank of Ansonia (1900)

The Savings Bank of Ansonia was chartered in 1862 and initially shared a building with the Ansonia National Bank. A new building was constructed at 117 Main Street in 1900. The Neoclassical structure, which displays the dates 1862 and 1900, has been restored by Beacon Preservation, Inc. and now houses offices and Obsidium Antiques.

The building witnessed a dramatic scene on the night of September 16, 1915. The bank’s Treasurer, former Ansonia mayor, Franklin Burton, had been arrested for embezzling $38,000 and the bank’s affairs had been taken over by the State Bank Commissioner. A crowd of 5,000 people, fearing for their deposits, gathered and threatened to break in the doors of the closed bank. Threats were made of lynching Burton, who was still inside the building. The entire police force was called out but were unable to quell the developing riot. Firemen were ordered to turn their hoses on the mob, but this was prevented because hundreds of people seized the hose and took it away from them. Officials feared for Burton’s safety and he was taken from the building through a back window. Police clubs and fists were used freely and after two hours the police regained control and the crowed melted away. The next day, disorder was avoided and depositors were admitted to the bank one-by-one, where they were paid in full by William A. Nelson, one of the bank’s directors. According to the Bank Commissioner’s Report for 1915, “Rumors of trouble at the bank started a run which would have been quite serious but for the energy of Mr. William A. Nelson,” to whom great credit was due for “acting so promptly and effectively thus putting the affairs of this institution in its present good condition.”

Union League Club of New Haven (1902)

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The site on Chapel Street in New Haven which is now the home of the Union League Cafe has a notable history and has seen many changes over the years. It the eighteenth century, it was the site of Roger Sherman‘s house. Sherman, who served as New Haven’s first mayor and as representative and senator in Congress, was the only person to sign all four of the great state papers of the United States: the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. In 1860, an Italianate house was built here designed by Henry Austin for Gaius Fenn Warner, head of G. F. Warner & Co., manufacturers of malleable iron. Peter Carll moved to the house in 1874 and in 1880 built an opera theatre, later called the Hyperion Theater, at the back of the house. This theater was demolished in 1998, having been vacant for more than two decades. During the demolition, a second-floor projection booth in the building collapsed, raining down slabs of concrete, bricks and steel and spreading a thick cloud of smoke over Chapel Street. The house itself served as the home of the Union League Club of New Haven, a private civic and social club, from the 1880s to the 1940s. In 1902, the current Beaux Arts addition, designed by New Haven architect Richard Williams, was built on the front of the building, creating a striking facade on Chapel Street. Although vacant for a time, the structure, known today as the Sherman Building, is now home to the Union League Cafe, a French restaurant. Adjacent to the building is Sherman’s Alley, originally a grassy area, which is now home to retail outlets.

Mohican Hotel (1896)

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Frank Munsey, publisher of Munsey’s Magazine, built what was originally called the Munsey Building at 281 State Street in New London in 1896. In an attempt to avoid problems with unions in New York, Munsey housed his magazine publishing operation in the building, but after just six months, a strike by workers led Munsey to shut down the production in New London and convert the building to other uses. It opened as the Mohican Hotel in 1898 and would become one of the finest hotels in Connecticut. Architect William B. Tuthill, designer of New York’s Carnegie Hall (1891), utilized the same, and at that time still new, technique of steel-skeleton framing to create the tall building. In 1916, Munsey added two floors and a roof garden. In the 1980s, the building was converted into housing for the elderly.