Lewtan Building (1860)

Today is the Fifth Anniversary of Historic Buildings of Connecticut!

At 28 High Street in Hartford is the Gothic and Romanesque Revival Batterson Block, now called the Lewtan Building. It was closely linked to a much larger Batterson Building, now lost, that stood next door and was later the Garde Hotel. It was built around 1860 by James G. Batterson, who ran a quarrying business called the New England Granite Company. Batterson, who is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, founded Travelers Insurance Company in 1863.

Torrington Chamber of Commerce Building (1916)

James E. Mallette came to Torrington as a stable boy and ended up becoming a leading real estate developer and financier. In 1916, he built the structure at 56-66 Main Street (next to the Warner Theatre) for the Chamber of Commerce, of which he was president. Today, the building is home to the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, which has restored and expanded the building, adding a new facade on the first floor.

Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (1926)

Thirty years before building their International Style complex in Bloomfied in 1957, the Connecticut General Life Insurance Company was headquartered in a Renaissance Revival-style building at 55 Elm Street in Hartford. Built in 1926 and designed by James Gamble Rogers, the building was inspired by the Medici-Riccardi Palace in Florence, Italy. Owned by other insurance companies after 1958, the building now houses state offices.

109-121 Allyn Street, Hartford (1895)

The building (built around 1895) at 109-121 Allyn Street in Hartford is currently home to the Palace night club and Aladdin Halal restaurant. A historic photograph at Connecticut History Online shows the same building in about 1895 when it was the Capitol City Carriage and Harness Repository. The company was established in 1895 by George W. Pomeroy and the building is referred to as “Pom[e]roy’s New Building.” The first two floors have been greatly altered since then, but the rest of the building is still recognizable from the historic photograph. (more…)

Southern New England Telephone Company Building, Hartford (1931)

Facing Bushnell Park at 55 Jewell (now 55 Trumbull) Street in Hartford is the Southern New England Telephone Company Building, built in 1930-1931. The Art Deco structure, designed by R.W. Foote, emphasizes linear compositions with geometrical ornamentation. The building was expanded in 1953 with the addition of the upper six floors, an enlargement that had been planned for in the original design. SNET relocated in the 1970s and the building was leased to other tenants, eventually becoming wholly vacant. In recent years, it has been converted into apartments and is known as “55 On the Park.”