The Greek Revival house at 317 Main Street South in Woodbury was built in 1838 as the rectory for St. Paul’s Church across the street. Although more recently used for storage, the house attracted attention last December when it was decorated to become the Designer Showcase House for the Woman’s Club of Woodbury’s Annual Holiday House Tour.
Designed by architect Abram Skaats, the house at 281 Barnum Avenue in East Bridgeport was built in 1872 for Augustus Dupee, a tool maker. The two-story Colonial Revival colonnade that now dominates the front of the house was added around 1940.
Augustus Truesdell (1810-1872) was an architect builder in Rockville who was listed on the map of Rockville in the 1869 Atlas of Tolland County as “Architect and Sup’t of Building.” Trusesdell built his own house, which has a prominent three-story tower, at 132 Prospect Street in 1852.
Waterbury’s first City Hall, located on West Main Street and facing the Green, was destroyed by fire in 1912. The current City Hall, on Grand Street, was begun in July 1914 and opened in 1915. Called the Waterbury Municipal Building, it was unusual in its time for containing not just the mayor and city council, but the Police and Fire Departments as well. It was designed by the famous architect Cass Gilbert of New York, who won a design competition for the proposed structure in 1913. After winning the competition, Gilbert wanted to switch from his original plans for a brick and marble building to one with an all marble facade. Although this request was denied by the city, Gilbert had another opportunity when he designed the Chase Brass & Copper Company Building (across the street) for Henry S. Chase in 1917. The Chase family had also helped to fund the City Hall. In later years, the building‘s maintenance was neglected and it was officially condemned in 2006. Local citizens rallied to save the historic building from demolition. Rehabilitation plans were drawn up and voters approved a bond issue to fund the restoration work, which was carried out in 2009-2010. City Hall was rededicated on January 1, 2011.
The New Canaan Library was founded by volunteers in 1877 and received its first annual grant from the town in 1895. Housed for many years in a reading room on Elm Street, the library moved to a new building at 151 Main Street in 1913. Designed by Alfred H. Taylor of New York and New Canaan, the library is constructed of irregular fieldstone blocks. The building was expanded in 1937 and 1952 and the Lapham Wing was added in 1979. Due to increasing usage, the library is seeking to to replace its aging facilities.
Trinity Episcopal Church, on Main Street in Thomaston, was built in two sections in 1871 and 1880. Representing the transition from the Gothic Revival to the Stick style (with board-and-batten siding, decorative gable bargeboards and a pyramidal steeple) it was built to the designs of Richard M. Upjohn, architect of the Connecticut State Capitol Building. Trinity had begun as a mission of the Episcopal Church in Plymouth (founded in 1740) and became an independent parish in 1869. Since 1996, the church has been St. Peter’s-Trinity Church, formed through a merger of St. Peter’s Church, Plymouth and and Trinity Parish, Thomaston.
The house at 499 Washington Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1877 for attorney Goodwin Stoddard. The house’s Victorian design has been compromised by the large modern addition which hides most of the original front of the building below the roof-line. Formerly the Spadaccino Funeral Home, the building is now owned by the Bridgeport Apostolic Church. According to Volume 2 of the Encyclopedia of Connecticut Biography (1917):
Goodwin Stoddard, of Bridgeport, son of Joseph and Sophia (Buddington) Stoddard, was born in Bethany, New Haven county, Connecticut, April 2, 1847. His education was completed at the University of Albany, where he was graduated in 1867, and where also he pursued his professional studies. He was admitted to the bar in New York State and Connecticut in 1868. He began practice in 1868 and immediately engaged in the trial of causes in Fairfield and adjacent counties, where he became one of the most eminent lawyers of the Connecticut bar. He was connected with many of the important cases, and served an important and influential clientele. Mr. Stoddard died July 26, 1909.
Mr. Stoddard married, October 21, 1875, Julia E. Sanford, born October 20, 1855, daughter of Edwin G. and Emily Adeline Sanford, of Bridgeport. They were the parents of two sons, Sanford and Henry B.
You must be logged in to post a comment.