Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Houses

Armstrong-McDonald House (1860)

At 27 Leavenworth Street in Waterbury is a house built in the early 1860s and much altered over the years. Known as the Armstrong/McDonald House, it has an Italianate form, but the exterior details are Georgian Revival. In about 1897, the house became the headquarters of the Young Women’s Friendly League (called the Waterbury Institute of Craft and Industry after 1908), which aided young working women. The organization began in 1889 and was incorporated in 1893. A large brick Georgian Revival building (31 Leavenworth Street) was constructed in 1900 as a rear addition to the house. This was the Young Women’s Friendly League Assembly Hall, also known as Leavenworth Hall.

Capt. Giles Harris House (1844)

The upcoming issue of Connecticut Explored magazine has a picture of the building at the southwest corner of Bank and Golden Streets in New London. It was built in 1844 as the home of Captain Giles Harris and had a grocery store on the ground floor. It was built on the site of an earlier house, constructed in the later 1700s, which had been the home of Dr. Samuel Brown and his wife Sarah. When she passed away in 1794, the house was sold to Daniel Deshon and in 1844 to Capt. Harris. A number of businesses existed in the building over the years. From 1919 to 1985, the building was home to a restaurant, known after 1931 as the Hygienic Restaurant, a popular 24 hour eatery. After the restaurant closed, the building remained vacant until it was threatened with demolition in 1996. Saved by preservationists and the local arts community, the building was restored to become Hygienic Art, Inc., a center of the fine arts community. An adjacent lot was acquired in 2001 and developed into the Hygienic Sculpture Gardens and Outdoor Theater Art Park.

William W. White House (1853)

The William W. White House is an Italianate-style residence with a cupola, built in 1853 at 239 Bradley Street in New Haven. It has a later Colonial Revival front entry and an uncomplementary side addition.

Luther House (1870)

At 27 High Street in New Haven is a bow front residence that was originally a double house. Built around 1870, it is now Luther House at Yale, which provides a place of spiritual retreat for students.

Charles Webb House (1930)

With a resemblance to many of its neighbors on North Street in Litchfield, the Charles Webb House (at no. 102) is a colonial Revival home built in 1929-1930, with additional work done in 1989.

Chloe Munger House (1828)

Chloe Munger House, Guilford

The house at 35 Sate Street in Guilford was built in 1828 on land given by Miles Munger to his unmarried sister Chloe Munger. After her death in 1842, it was occupied by the Mungers’ daughter Emmeline and her husband, Franklin Phelps, who served as Guilford’s postmaster (1856-1861 and 1865-1869). For a time, the house housed the Visiting Nurse Association. It has a wing added in 2002.

Woodworth-Leahy House (1890)

At 28 Channing Street in New London is a large house that is transitional from the Stick Style to the Queen Anne style. It also has an Eastlake-style porch and different types of siding for each floor. It was built in 1890 by the Bishop Brothers, a firm of contractors and builders. One of the partners was Henry Bishop, whose daughter Mary married Nathan A. Woodworth, who ran a paper manufacturing company. They were the house‘s first residents. The house was later (by 1901) the home of John B. Leahy, of J.B. Leahy & Company, wholesale liquor dealers at 36 Bank Street.