Gothic

Levi Lincoln Felt House (1879)

The Levi Lincoln Felt House, on Jefferson Street in Hartford, was built in 1879 and is transitional in architectural style between the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne. The chimney has a High Victorian Gothic element in its polychromatic terra-cotta tiles. Felt was born in New York City in 1849 and later settled in Hartford, working after 1864 for the Travelers Insurance Company and becoming its cashier/comptroller. Felt was also interested in his family’s genealogy, conceiving and doing preliminary work for The Felt Genealogy (1893) and joining the Connecticut Historical Society.

Stratford Shoal Lighthouse (1877)

Stratford Shoal Light marks a dangerous reef located in the middle of Long Island Sound. It was first marked for navigation by a pair of spar buoys in 1820. A lightship was placed there in 1838, but it frequently drifted off its station. Stratford Shoal Lighthouse, constructed on a small, unincorporated, man-made island, was completed in 1877 to replace the lightship. Automated in 1970, it is still an active aid to navigation. Also known as Middle Light, the lighthouse is halfway between Port Jefferson, New York and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Although the State of New York ceded the territory on which the lighthouse was built, it is classified as a Connecticut lighthouse on official maps. The lighthouse can be seen distantly from the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry. (more…)

Patricelli ’92 Theater (1868)

Wesleyan University‘s Patricelli ’92 Theater was originally called Rich Hall and was built in 1868 as the college library. It was designed by Henry Austin and David Russell Brown. In 1928, Olin Library opened and Rich Hall was converted to become a theater, funded by a donation from the class of 1892. The theater was renovated in 2003 with a gift from Robert Patricelli (’61) in honor of Leonard J. Patricelli (’29). Wesleyan’s student-run theater, Second Stage, is based in the theater.

Moses Bradley House (1875)

Around 1875, Moses Bradley built a house near the Congregational Church facing Cheshire Green. It replaced an earlier Colonial-era house on the site, which had been built by the silversmith Eliakim Hitchcock, father of Rufus Hitchcock. The Bradley House has been altered over the years, but still has distinctive Gothic Revival decorated bargeboards.

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse (1886)

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, a 49-foot cast-iron tower, first activated in 1886, is located at Fenwick Point, near Old Saybrook. Commonly known as the “Outer Light,” it assists the earlier Lynde Point Light, which is located a mile-and-a-half away, in marking the mouth of the Connecticut River. Saybrook Breakwater Light was built on a large sand bar at the harbor entrance and the interior was lined with brick to provide insulation. It was equipped 1,000-pound fog bell in 1889, but this was replaced with a smaller one after residents objected to the noise. The light was automated in 1959. An image of the lighthouse is also featured on the state’s popular “Preserve the Sound” license plate. In 2007, the Federal Government announced that he lighthouse would be sold under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, although the planned sale is currently on hold. The Coast Guard will continue to maintain the light, while the eventual new private owners will maintain the historic structure. Edit: There is HABS info on this building.

Johnson Carriage House (1872)

Located behind the Amos Baldwin House (now occupied by the Johnson family) in Cheshire is an old barn which has been converted into a garage. The Gothic Revival (or Carpenter Gothic) style barn has a cupola and a gable over the hay loft with stick bracing and board and batten siding. The barn, or carriage house, was possibly built when the Baldwin-Johnson House was remodeled in 1872.

Old Yale University Art Gallery (1927)

Historic Buildings of Connecticut’s fiftieth entry for New Haven is the old Yale University Art Gallery building, designed by Egerton Swartwout a Yale graduate, in a Gothic style called “Tuscan Romanesque.” Built along Chapel Street in 1927, the Art Gallery is connected to the earlier Street Hall (1864), across High Street, by a distinctive bridge. Swatwout planned a further extension of the building, but this original plan was not completed; instead the museum was expanded in 1953 with the construction of the modern-style new Art Gallery building, designed by Louis I. Kahn. Until recently, the bridge over High Street contained faculty offices, but it will soon be renovated, in the continuation of a Gallery plan which has already resulted in the restoration of the Kahn building. This work will expand the Art Gallery across the bridge and into Street Hall. (more…)