Samuel E. Amidon House (1888)

The house at 290 Prospect Street in Willimantic was built in 1888 for Samuel E. Amidon, a successful grocery store owner. After Amidon’s death, the house had other owners. In 1984 it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich. Called Newman Hall, it is now the Catholic Office of Campus Ministry for members of the Eastern Connecticut State University community. According to the Commemorative Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham Counties (1903):

Samuel E. Amidon was born July 24, 1844, at Sturbridge, Mass., and was but a child when his parents removed to Ashford, Conn., and located on the old Amidon homestead. (more…)

Drescher’s Cafe (1904)

For my 50th post for Waterbury, Historic Buildings of Connecticut features a local landmark. In 1894, J. Alfred Drescher, an immigrant from Zurich, Switzerland, and Frederick Keil, who came from Mannheim, Germany, purchased “Miller’s Saloon,” which had opened in 1868. Frederick Keil had previously married the daughter of the previous owner, Charlie Miller. When Drescher and Keil retired in 1912, Drescher’s son Alfred, who had married Frederick Keil’s daighter, ran the business under the name Drescher and Keck with his partner, Michael Keck. After Keck died in 1944, the restaurant was known as Drescher’s and was run by the family until 1957. It has since continued in business with other owners. In 1982, an urban renewal project threatened the Drescher building, built in 1903-1904. The building was saved when it was moved from its old location on Harrison Alley to its current address at 25 Leavenworth Street.

Thomaston Public Library (1901)

In 1880, the Laura Andrews Free Library and Benevolent Association was established in Thomaston with a gift from Seth E. Thomas, Jr. of New York in memory of his mother. A town library was established in 1898 and the Laura Andrews Free Library Association (as the Association had been renamed in 1882) loaned its library collection to the town. A building for the town library, designed by Griggs and Hunt, was constructed in 1900-1901 on land offered by Randall T. Andrews, a Thomas relative, worker at the Seth Thomas clock factory and an incorporator of the Laura Andrews Free Library Association. In 1906, Andrew Carnegie donated $1,700 to pay off the debt on the library building. In 1971, a new library building was constructed next to the old one. In the 1980s, the original Laura Andrews Library building was renovated as a children’s wing and connected to the 1971 structure.

Gerhard F. Drouve House (1914)

The house at 2137 North Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1914 by Gerhard F. Drouve. As described in the History of Bridgeport and Vicinity, Volume 1 (1917):

The G. Drouve Company, 40 Tulip Street, are manufacturers of the Anti-Pluvius puttyless skylights. The firm was incorporated in May, 1896. The officers of this concern are: G. F. Drouve, president and treasurer; William V. Dee, secretary.

Drouve also manufactured various devices, including a “Straight-Push” sash operator and the Lovell Window and Shutter Operating Device.

St. Anne-Immaculate Conception Church (1926)

In October 1888, French Canadian Catholics in Hartford gathered to plan for their own ethnic parish in the city. St. Anne parish was established the following year. A wooden church was built in 1892-1893 on the corner of Park and Putnam Streets. A new church later replaced it, dedicated by Bishop John J. Nilan on July 11, 1926. The yellow brick Neo-Classical Revival church with asymmetrical towers was designed by Henry F. Ludorf, who also designed the Polish National Home in Hartford. In 2000, St. Anne parish merged with Immaculate Conception parish.