Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Colonial Revival

Old Y.W.C.A. Building, Bridgeport (1941)

The central portion of the building at 263/265 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport was built for the Y.W.C.A. in 1941, with rear wings added in 1959. The building replaced an earlier house on the site, built for Albert Bishop and torn down in 1936. The new building was designed by architect C.W. Walker to reflect the style characteristics of the Bishop House. It was built by the E & F Construction Company. When the picture above was taken a few years ago, the building was serving as the city’s Dwight D. Eisenhower Senior Center, which has since moved to a new address at 307 Golden Hill Street. The building is also home to the Downtown Cabaret Theatre.

Trinity Episcopal Church, Nichols (1965)

Trinity Episcopal Church, in the Nichols section of Trumbull, was organized in 1848. The original church was located at the corner of Huntington Turnpike and Jerusalem Hill Road. In 1939, the church was moved further north when the Merritt Parkway was constructed. The old church was replaced by the current one, at 1734 Huntington Turnpike, in 1965.

Alfred R. Wright House (1924)

The house at 134 Main Street in Centerbrook was built in 1924. It was the home of Alfred R. Wright, manufacturer of of bits and augers. The Wright family controlled the Connecticut Valley Manufacturing Company. Alfred R. Wright, born in 1888, retired as president of the company in 1956.

Nichols United Methodist Church (1981)

The Methodist Church in the historic village of Nichols in Trumbull began holding services in an old schoolhouse in 1828. A church building, facing Nichols Green, was dedicated on December 12, 1848. The building was enlarged and altered in 1905, 1960 and 1962. The current Nichols United Methodist Church, at 35 Shelton Road, replaced the earlier structure in 1981.

Robert Palmer, Jr. House (1907)

In 1850, Robert Palmer and his brother started a shipyard in Noank that would be continued until the death of Robert’s son, Robert Palmer, Jr. (1856-1914). The Palmer shipyard became the largest business enterprise in Noank. Robert Palmer, Jr. resided in the grand Colonial Revival-style house at 25 Church Street in Noank, built in 1907. His biography is related in Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Connecticut (1905):

Robert Palmer, Jr., was born Feb. 15, 1856, and he received his education in the schools at Noank and Mystic, and at Scholfield’s Business College, at Providence, R.I., finishing the latter at the age of twenty-one. He entered his father’s employ, and has thoroughly familiarized himself with every branch of the business. In 1877 he was admitted to partnership, the firm name being Robert Palmer & Son, which was afterward changed to Robert Palmer & Sons. On Dec. 10, 1897, when a stock company was formed, Mr. Palmer became the secretary and treasurer, and has proved himself a most important factor in the progress of the Palmer shipyard. He has shown himself a genius as a shipwright, and under his direction the Company has built several fast boats of unique design, which have carried off a number of regatta prizes.

The “Irma,” built in 1894, and owned by Fred Allen of Galveston, Texas, was one of the first of these prize winners, showing remarkable adaptability for racing in both the calm waters of the Bay, and the rough waters of the Gulf. She was thrice a prize winner, and became known as the “Queen of the Gulf.”

The “Novice,” built a year later, strictly of original design, a sail boat 27 feet long and 10 feet wide, proved a wonder, easily distancing all class boats, and taking the prize over all the noted boats and yachts in Southern waters. She was of the skimming dish type with an overhanging end, and a center-board.

The “Jennie,” a steam yacht 33 feet long, 8 feet beam, attracted much attention among yachtsmen along the Atlantic coast.

The “Gleam,” a 24-foot cat boat, but eligible to the 20-foot class, was built in 1895, and won three of a series of races at Bushby Point, July 11, 25, and 31, 1896.

In March, 1881, Mr. Palmer married Miss Elizabeth L. Murphy, of Noank, daughter of Charles and Nancy Murphy. Their only child, Bernard Ledyard, died March 5, 1885, aged two years and eleven months. Like his distinguished father, Robert Palmer, Jr., has long been an interested participant in the political life of his locality, a representative and influential member of the Republican party. The same high standard of citizenship that has so long characterized the Palmer family at Noank, is found in him. In 1886 he represented the town in the Connecticut Legislature, serving on the committee on Appropriations. He is a prominent member and liberal supporter of the Baptist Church.

Clark Memorial Library (1936)

A private library, called the Bethany Union Library, used to meet between 1798 and 1812 at the home of Capt. Isaac Judd. In 1930, residents of Bethany seeking to start a public library for the town, met at the home of Treat B. Johnson (1875-1947), a Yale chemistry professor and a descendant of two of the founding members of the original library. In 1936 a town library was finally erected at 538 Amity Road through the gift of Noyes Clark in memory of his parents.

Choate Rosemary Hall: Seymour St. John Chapel (1924)

On the campus of Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford is the Seymour St. John Chapel, built in 1924. Designed by noted collegiate and ecclesiastical architect Ralph Adams Cram, it was originally named St. Andrew Chapel. In 1998, it was renamed in honor of Rev. Seymour St. John (1912-2006), who served as the school’s headmaster from 1947 to 1973. Over a decade ago the Chapel underwent a major renovation. In addition to repairs and updates to the building, the clock tower’s 10-bell Meneely Bell Co. Chime was also extensively restored and reconnected to the Chapel’s original Seth Thomas clock.