Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Gothic

Woodland School (1928)

Woodland School, located at 110 Long Hill Drive in East Hartford, was built in 1928 with an addition in 1949.

Southport Eastbound Railroad Station (1884)

The community of Southport in the town of Fairfield has two historic railroad stations (one eastbound and one westbound) on the New Haven Line of the Metro-North Railroad (originally a line of the the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad). The older of the two is the eastbound station, built in 1884 to replace an earlier railroad depot destroyed in a fire. It is typical of the brick stations that were built in Connecticut in the 1880s, but with more than usual attention to its decorative roof that reflects the High Victorian Gothic and Eastlake styles. No longer used as a station, the building is now home to Paci Restaurant. (more…)

Henry L. Stewart House (1865)

John Stewart and his son Henry L. Stewart were a storekeepers and shipbuilders in Middle Haddam. After John’s death in 1860, Henry erected a brick Gothic Revival house at 94 Moodus Road and turned to farming. the house took five years to build (1860-1865) because local builders were serving in the Civil War.

Calvary St. George’s Episcopal Church (1930)

Calvary St. George's Episcopal Church, Bridgeport

Calvary St. George is an Episcopal parish in Bridgeport. St. George’s Parish was organized in 1892 with a church, first known as St. John’s West End Chapel, at the corner of Clinton and Beechwood Avenues. The current church was built in 1930 at the same location, 755 Clinton Avenue. Calvary Episcopal Church, once located at North Avenue and Wells Street, later at 510 Summit Street, merged with St. George’s in 2005.

St. Francis of Assisi Church, South Windsor (1942)

St. Francis of Assisi Parish in South Windsor was established on September 17, 1941. Early parish Masses were held at the town hall auditorium on Main Street before a new church was built on 2.2 acres on Ellington Road that werepurchased from Elizabeth A. Nevers. The new church was dedicated on November 29, 1942. The church was renovated in 2006.

Grace Church Rectory, Windsor (1865)

Built c. 1865 as the Rectory (priest’s residence) of Grace Episcopal Church, the building at 301 Broad Street in Windsor is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style with such features as decorative bargeboards.

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Guilford (1814)

Meeting House Hill in North Guilford is noted for the impressive view of its two early-nineteenth-century churches: the North Guilford Congregational Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church. The latter, located at 129 Ledge Hill Road, was built in 1812-1814 in the Federal style. The church was originally founded by members who had left the North Congregational Church in 1747, building their first small meeting house south of the hill in 1754. By 1812 they had developed a solid relationship with their neighboring church, which donated land for them to to build a new church on Meeting House Hill. The top section of the original steeple was removed and replaced with a belfry in 1843. The interior was remodeled and the chancel, sacristy, and vestry were added in 1870. Around the same time, Gothic arches were added to the windows as well. The belfry was repaired after being struck by lightning in 1890. Originally standing on large stones, the church did not acquire a permanent foundation until the 1950s. A rear addition added in 1972.