Historic Buildings of Connecticut

Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Torrington

Torrington Library (1901)

A history of the Torrington Library is provided in Vol. 1 of William J. Pape’s History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley (1918):

The Torrington Library was founded on October 22, 1864, by a group of what were then Wolcottville residents, each supplying a quantity of books. It was known as the Wolcottville Library Association. Early in 1865 the library and reading room were opened to the public. During its first fifteen years it occupied rooms in the Granite Block. In 1880 it was removed to larger quarters, in the Wetmore Building, on the corner of Church and Prospect streets, subsequently called the Library Building. In 1881 it became known as the Torrington Library Association, and in 1899 it was officially incorporated as the “Torrington Library.”
The library owes its present equipment to two Torrington benefactors, Lauren Wetmore and Elisha Turner. The former, who died in 1890, gave to the public for “the establishment of a free public library and reading room,” the income from the Wetmore Building and personal property to the value of $20,000. Elisha Turner, in 1899, gave the site and present magnificent library structure to Torrington. Mr. Turner died in 1900 and willed a total, including his previous gift, of $100,000 to the association.
The dedication took place in 1901. The building is of white marble in a simple treatment of the Neo-Greek style of architecture.

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Described as “Connecticut’s Most Beautiful Theatre” when it opened in 1931, the Warner Theatre in Torrington was a movie palace built by Warner Brothers Studios. It was designed by Thomas W Lamb, an architect who specialized in designing theaters. Sold by Warner Brothers in the 1950s, the Warner suffered from damage in the 1955 Flood and years of neglect. Faced with demolition in 1982, a concerned group of citizens formed the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts to raise money and save the theatre. Like the Garde Theatre in New London, the Warner Theatre has been restored as a performing arts center.

Brick Academy, Torrington (1835)

The Brick Academy in Torrington is an old school building, constructed around 1835. It was probably moved at some point to its current location on George Street, if it is the same Brick Academy as described in the History of Torrington (1878), by Rev. Samuel Orcutt. According to that book, the Brick Academy, “a three story building in Wolcottville south of the bridge on Main street, was built as a Union meeting house and academy, and was used for both purposes quite a number of years. It has been occupied as a manufactory, a store, and a Masonic Hall.” Today the building is a private home.

Torrington National Bank (1917)

The first building constructed to serve as a bank in Torrington was built in 1917 for the Torrington National Bank at 236 Prospect Street. The Bank was founded in 1899 and in 1930 it became the Torrington National Bank and Trust.

Torrington Armory (1910)

Architect Charles S. Palmer designed the Torrington Armory, built in November 1910 and opened in February of the following year as a training location for Torrington’s National Guard unit. The Armory, which was used as Torrington High School’s gym from 1926 to 1964, has been operated as a facility for the public by the Torrington Parks and Recreation Department since 1994.

Allen G. Brady House (1867)

Allen G. Brady, who operated a cotton mill in Torrington, served as a major in the Seventeenth Connecticut Regiment in the Civil War. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Brady took command of the Regiment after the death of Lt. Col. Douglas Fowler during the fighting at Barlow’s Knoll on July 1, 1863. The following day, Brady was wounded in the shoulder. After the War, Brady had a house built on Prospect Street in Torrington, which was at that time a residential area. He later moved to North Carolina to run a rebuilt cotton mill. The Gleeson Mortuary has used the house since 1927.

James Carson House (1880)

Along with the Hotchkiss-Fyler House (1897), another house on the Fyler-Hotchkiss Estate is the Carson House, an Italianate residence. It was built in 1880 for James Carson, treasurer and partner of the Turner and Seymour Manufacturing Company and head of the Torrington Manufacturing Company. It was built on land that Carson had acquired from Orasmus R. Fyler. In 1892, he sold the property back to Fyler. Carson, suffering from Bright’s Disease, had suddenly retired. A few months later, after consulting a doctor in New York, Carson went missing from the train on which he had been returning home to Torrington. After the Fyler’s acquired his house, they rented it out to various tenants. Along with the rest of the estate, the Carson House was bequeathed by Gertrude Fyler Hotchkiss to the Torrington Historical Society. In 1975, the interior of the house was adapted to become museum exhibition space for the Society.