The Travelers Tower (1919)

The first part of the Travelers Building was constructed in 1906 as the headquarters of the Travelers Property Casualty Corporation, founded in Hartford in 1864. The company, now part of The Travelers Companies, has had many firsts in the history of insurance, including the first automobile, commercial airline and space travel policies. The first section of the Travelers building to be built, in 1906, was the Renaissance Revival-style structure facing Main Street in Hartford. The building began to expand southwards in 1912, with the 527-foot tower, featuring classical influences, being completed in 1919, at which time it was the tallest building in New England and the seventh tallest in the world. The architect was Donn Barber of New York. In 1963, after the removal of some adjacent buildings between the tower and the Wadsworth Atheneum, a new grand entrance plaza was created facing south. More recently, the building has become a nesting site for Peregrine Falcons. A camera was set up to study them, which is also available to the public online. Visitors can go to the top of the Travelers Tower in the Summer.

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UCONN School of Law (1926)

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Originally the campus of the Hartford Seminary, the Collegiate Gothic-style buildings of the University of Connecticut’s School of Law are located along Fern Street and Girard Avenue in Hartford. The land was purchased by the Seminary in 1913 and the original buildings were constructed in 1922-1926, designed by the firm of Allen & Collens, architects of New York’s Riverside Church. In 1978, the state authorized $6 million for the Law School, founded in 1921, to purchase and renovate the campus. The Seminary moved to a new adjacent building and the Law School occupied the old campus in 1984. In 1996 a new library was constructed on the campus, which has recently been revealed to have significant structural problems.

Ahern Funeral Home (1855)

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The house at 180 Farmington Avenue in Hartford which now serves as the Ahern Funeral Home, was built around 1855. It represents the transition from the Greek Revival style (with its cubical shape and three bay front) to the Italianate style (with its overhanging roof and elaborately detailed portico). The one story addition was added in the later nineteenth century. The Ahern Funeral Home, Inc. was founded in 1886 and acquired the house in 1934.

Jonathan Camp House (1911)

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The Jonathan Camp House, at 1430 Asylum Avenue in Hartford, may look familiar to those interested in American history. It is a virtual replica of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, in Virginia, but features some grand additions to its model, including a much fancier entry with a semicircular fanlight and side lights, as well as an elaborate balustrade along the roof. Mount Vernon also influenced the design of other Colonial Revival style houses, like the Hill-Stead, but this house, designed by Edward T. Hapgood and built in 1911, follows the first president’s home very closely, with some early twentieth century aggrandizement.