Hotels

Mohican Hotel (1896)

Frank Munsey, publisher of Munsey’s Magazine, built what was originally called the Munsey Building at 281 State Street in New London in 1896. In an attempt to avoid problems with unions in New York, Munsey housed his magazine publishing operation in the building, but after just six months, a strike by workers led Munsey to shut down the production in New London and convert the building to other uses. It opened as the Mohican Hotel in 1898 and would become one of the finest hotels in Connecticut. Architect William B. Tuthill, designer of New York’s Carnegie Hall (1891), utilized the same, and at that time still new, technique of steel-skeleton framing to create the tall building. In 1916, Munsey added two floors and a roof garden. In the 1980s, the building was converted into housing for the elderly.

Champion House Hotel (1782)

In the nineteenth century, East Haddam‘s Upper Landing was home to a fashionable hotel known as the Champion House. The original brick hotel was built in 1782 for Samuel Phillips Lord and it was later purchased by Noah Buckley. The Federal-style building was later Victorianized and enlarged in 1839, 1858, and 1880. Today, it is the Champion House Apartments.

Valley House (1868)

The Valley House in Collinsville (in Canton) was built in 1868 as a hotel by the Collins Company. Shops once occupied the ground floor. Today, the building has been converted into condominiums. The Second Empire style was very popular at the time of the hotel’s construction.

Union Hotel, now Miss Porter’s School "Main" (1830)

The Union Hotel was built in 1830 on Main Street in Farmington to serve those who were expected to utilize the nearby Farmington Canal. Two years after the canal failed in 1848, the vacant building was rented by Sarah Porter for her new school for girls. It continues as the “Main” building of Miss Porter’s School. (more…)