Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Newington

Olympia Diner (1950)

This month’s issue of Connecticut Explored (the magazine formerly known as the Hog River Journal) has an article on the architecture of the Berlin Turnpike, written by Mary M. Donohue. According to the article, the Olympia Diner, on the Turnpike in in Newington, was built around 1950. It was one of many diners made by the Jerry O’Mahoney Company in the 1950s. Diners of the period retained many aspects of the earlier art deco style. The Olympia Diner continues to operate as a popular restaurant and historic landmark.

Willard Homestead (1732)

The homestead of the Willard family in Newington is at 372 Willard Avenue. Built in 1732, it is one of the oldest houses in Newington and has its original double door. In the twentieth century, when the house was home to the First Selectman, James C. Gilbert (served 1922 to 1939), it operated as the town office, with Gilbert conducting town business in what was known as the Borning Room!

Henry Laurens Kellogg House (1875)

Henry Laurens Kellogg of Newington gained wealth running a satinet factory, which made uniform fabric during the Civil War. Admiring the architecture he saw while visiting Italy, Kellogg returned home and built his house in 1875 in the style of an Italian villa. The factory, which later burned down, stood between his house and Piper Brook. Once hidden by a row of poplar trees in front, the Kellogg House has a commanding presence on Willard Avenue where Stoddard Avenue ends. The house is now subdivided into condominium units.

David Lowry Robbins House (1876)

The David Lowry Robbins house is an Italianate building with a Portland brownstone foundation, located on East Robbins Avenue in Newington and constructed in 1875 to 1876. The kitchen wing of the house is part of an earlier home on the site, built by Thomas Robbins around 1730. D. L. Robbins was on the committee which planned the incorporation of Newington in 1871. In the 1920s, the property was used as a prison farm for the Hartford County Jail, on Seyms Street in Hartford. In 1966, the house was remodeled to contain four apartments.

Deming-Young House (1784)

In 1784, Thomas Deming built a farmhouse on land in Newington (then still a part of Wethersfield) that had been in the Deming family since 1671. Thomas and his brother, Daniel, who had answered the Lexington Alarm during the revolutionary War, were both shoemakers. Thomas was also a founder and officer of Christ Church (Episcopal), organized in 1797 in what is now Newington. Another brother, Elizur Deming, also attended the church, and its business meetings and services were held in his house until a church building was completed. This may have been the same house built by Thomas Deming. The property was purchased by Fred Young in 1918 and was later inherited by his son, who died in 1990. In 1998, the Town of Newington purchased the Deming-Young Farm to prevent the house from being torn down and the land subdivided. The Deming-Young Farm Foundation was founded in 2001 to restore the house. The plan for the future is to make it a learning center focused on eighteenth century farm life.

Dr. Joshua Belden House (1722)

The Dr. Joshua Belden House, constructed in 1722, is located on Main Street in Newington. A center-chimney colonial house, it was updated in the Greek Revival style, with columns and pediment on the facade. Records show that Dr. Belden had two “bound” children, or indentured servants, in his household.

Lucy Robbins Welles Library (1939)

The Lucy Robbins Welles Library, on Cedar Street in Newington, was dedicated in 1939. It was built on the site of the General Roger Welles House, which had burned down in 1855. That homestead had housed an early town library and had been the childhood home of Edwin Welles, who married Lucy Robbins in 1853. The couple moved into the Italianate house across the street, where they lived for over fifty years. In 1919, their daughters, Fanny A. Welles and Mary Welles Eddy, gave funds and land to build a library in honor of their mother. The town later bought some adjoining land and the library was then constructed. The original structure was designed to resemble a colonial house. The library has been expanded since that time with later additions.