The church at 24-26 Liberty Street in Danbury was erected in 1908. It was originally the Swedish Emanuel Congregational Church and is now the New Bethel Church of God in Christ.
New Bethel Church of God in Christ (1908)
Fine Arts Theater (1916)
The Fine Arts Theater in Westport was built in 1916 by business partners Morris Epstein and Robert Joselovsky (Joseloff) next to the old Town Hall on the site where Petrie’s Ice Cream Parlor had stood until 1910. It began as a single screen movie theater, with a second screen being added later. Known as Fine Arts 1 & 2, they were later joined by Fine Arts 3 (located to the rear) and Fine Arts 4 (located down the road). The building‘s Colonial Revival facade was added during a renovation in 1940. The theater closed in 1999 and the building was remodeled as a retail space, first a branch of Restoration Hardware and now a Barnes & Noble.
Mildred C. Mallory Building (1963)
Designed to fit in with the many historical nineteenth-century buildings at Mystic Seaport, the museum’s MIldred C. Mallory Building was erected in 1963 using stone from a house in the Fort Rachel area of Mystic that had been destroyed in the 1938 hurricane. Serving as Mystic Seaport’s members’ lounge and membership office, the building named for Mildred C. Mallory (1897-1961) as a memorial to honor her efforts for the museum’s membership program. The first floor is covered with granite ashlar and the second floor with clapboards.
(more…)Capt. John E. Williams House (1861)
The hip-roofed house at 19 Gravel Street in Mystic was built in 1861 by Capt. John E. Williams. His earlier house on the site, built in 1844, was moved to make way for the new house. Capt. Williams was known for being the captain of the clipper ship Andrew Jackson, which was called the “Fastest Ship in the World.” Built by the firm of Irons & Grinnell in Mystic, the ship made a famous run in 1859–1860 around Cape Horn from New York City to San Francisco, which was performed in 89 days and 4 hours. The only other square-rigged ship to perform an 89-day run driving from New York City to California was the Flying Cloud, an extreme clipper which did so twice (in 1851 and 1854), the faster of these times being 89 days and 8 hours. Many consider this to be the record passage, because it was for a completed voyage, anchor to anchor, while the Andrew Jackson‘s time was pilot to pilot as the ship had to spend the night waiting for a pilot boat and did not actually tie up at a San Francisco wharf until the next day.
(more…)Winsted Y.M.C.A. (1916)
The Y.M.C.A. branch in Winsted was first organized in 1887. The opening of the Y.M.C.A. building at 480 Main Street in Winstead was described in the Hartford Courant newspaper on September 3, 1916:
After being two years without the use of a building when the old fashioned dwelling house used for a quarter of a century had outlived its usefulness, the Winsted Young Men’s Christian Association Monday will, open for public inspection the beautiful new structure made possible by the gift of $30,000 in the will of the late Rufus E. Holmes, and a fund of approximately $50,000 raised in a whirlwind campaign among Winsted citizens. […]
The new building is of gray tapestry brick with artificial stone trimmings, of Colonial design, and represents an outlay of $75,000. It Is three stories high, and in appointments is second to none in the state for a town the size of Winchester. The lobby and office are located so that supervision is at all times assured, and is within easy reach of members. The boys and men’s social rooms are apart. The men’s room is fitted with one billiard and three pool tables, and the boys have two tables in their section. The reading rooms are well located and are well supplied with attractive reading materials.
The gymnasium is in reality a separate building, closely connected to the swimming pool. It Is 62 by 48 feet, with a gallery for spectators, and is equipped with the latest Narragansett Machine Company‘s apparatus. The swimming pool Is a little larger than the standard size and will prove one of the greatest attractions in the building, filling a long felt want in the town. […]
Three regulation bowling alleys furnished by the Brunswick-Collendar-Balke Company have been installed in the basement, and a better bowling room is not to be found in this section of the state. The dormitories are located on the third floor, and are sixteen in number, many of than having been engaged before work was started in the construction of the building.
On the second floor is the kitchen and serving room with gas range, china, linen and silverware belonging to the Women’s Auxiliary of the Y.M.C.A. and adjoining is a ladles’ rest room, parlor, lavatory and toilet. On the same floor is the assembly room which may be subdivided into three classrooms by folding doors, and may be used as a banquet room and for entertainments. A moving picture booth has been provided and an up to date machine bought. […]
Plans for the new building were provided by Louis E. Jallade of New York and the construction was under the personal supervision of Morris J. Sullivan of his office. The general contract was awarded to Frank W. Fuller of Torrington, and the superintendent was Frank H. Maher of Winsted, who died while the building was nearing completion. The Hutton Brothers Company of Winsted had the plumbing contract and the E. A. Perkins Company of Torrington did the electrical work.
As mentioned in the article, the gymnasium was in a separate attached building. It was later moved across the street and became the Manchester Feed Mill, but was lost in the 1955 flood.
(more…)Jonathan Warner House (1703)
The earliest part of the house at 613 Main Street in Portland was constructed in 1703 for Jonathan Warner. It was one room over one room with an end chimney (a style typical of Rhode Island). The house was enlarged over the years. Behind the northwest part was a section built in 1764 by sea captain Ithamar Pelton (1744-1806). The south part of the house was added in 1912 by William Gildersleeve.
Main House, Rectory School (1795)
Now comprising part of the “Main House” on the campus of the Rectory School in Pomfret is a house erected circa 1795 for Thomas Grosvenor (1744-1825), a lawyer who served in the Revolutionary War. Wounded in his right hand at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Grosvenor ended the was as a Lieutenant Colonel. The house was remodeled and greatly enlarged in about 1885 by Thomas Skelton Harrison, a Philadelphia industrialist. In 1925, Rev. Frank H. Bigelow and his wife, founders of the Rectory School in 1920, acquired the Harrison estate to become the school’s campus. In the ensuing years they erected a complex of wood-framed colonial revival buildings on the estate, which has been the school’s campus ever since.
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