The Mechanics Savings Bank of Winsted was established in 1875. A new Beaux Arts/Neo-Classical Revival building (pdf), designed by the firm Hoggson Brothers of New York, was constructed for the bank at 86 Main Street in 1929. The bank became Northwest Bank for Savings in 1979 and Northwest Community Bank in 1996.
(more…)
In 1867, Congregational services began to be held in East Bridgeport in the Bethesda Mission Chapel on East Washington Street. A church was formally organized the following year and in 1870-1871, Park Street Congregational Church was built at the corner of Park and Barnum Streets, fronting Washington Park. The Gothic Revival building was designed by architect Abram Skaats. The church‘s membership peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, but declined after World War II. In 1988, Park Street Congregational Church merged with Trinity United Church of Christ of Trumbull to form Unity Hill United Church of Christ, located at 364 White Plains Road in Trumbull. The former Park Street Congregational Church is now Calvary Temple Christian Center.
The house at 66 Marina Park Circle in Bridgeport is a Shingle-style cottage built in 1892 for Charles B. Read. It was acquired by the University of Bridgeport in 1947 and served as Linden Hall, a women’s dormitory. The above picture shows the side of the house. Charles Barnum Read (1858-1912) was the son of David M. Read and Helen Augusta Barnum, the daughter of P.T. Barnum‘s half-brother, Philo Fairchild Barnum. According to Men of Mark in Connecticut, Volume 4 (1908):
Mr. Read has from his earliest years been closely identified with the social and civic life of Bridgeport, having resided there his entire life. He attended the public schools, and graduated from the high school in 1877, going from there into the mercantile house of his father where he occupied a position in the financial department and became thoroughly acquainted with the details of the business. In 1884 The D. M. Read Company was founded, and he became associated with his father, David M. Read, and his brother, David Farnum Read, in that corporation. […] He is a lover of horses, an automobilst, and greatly enjoys different forms of sport, but perhaps finds his greatest relaxation in golf and squash. He is a member of the vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, and is always interested in any movement which may arise for furthering the interests of Bridgeport in social or municipal affairs.
Charles B. Read died on July 4, 1912 at his country home in Greenfield Hill in Fairfield. The water supply to his house was pumped in by a gas engine, 100 feet away. There was a break in the gas pipe and the gardener, John Ruhl, went to investigate. When he did not return, his wife went to find him and shrieked when she found his body. They were both overcome by the gas, as was Read, who suffocated while trying to bring the two bodies out himself.
On State Street in Bridgeport are two connected Queen Anne-style buildings constructed in 1892. The Barnum-Thompson Building, at 177-181 State Street, and the Staples Building, at 189 State Street, were designed by George Longstaff. This was the last structure contracted by P.T. Barnum before his death in 1891. A section of the building facing Court Street (now Markle Court) was razed for a parking lot by People’s Savings Bank in 1941. A recent tenant, for a decade at 177 State Street, was Playhouse on the Green.
The 3-unit row houses at 526–534 East Washington Street, facing Washington Park, in East Bridgeport, were built in 1882 to designs by Palliser & Palliser.
The William & Stephen Conger House, at 616-618 Kossuth Street in Bridgeport, was built in 1854 for two coach trimmers. The house was remodeled in 1864 by John Barr. Renovated in the 1980s, the Conger House eventually became vacant again for a decade, suffering neglect, vandalism and exposure to the elements. In 2007 the house was rehabilitated by the Mutual Housing Association Of Southwestern CT with Catholic Charities to provide housing with services for 16 formerly homeless individuals with special needs.
Torrington Savings Bank was established in 1868 and for many years was located in the Granite Block, which once stood on Main Street. Their current building, at 129 Main Street, was built in 1938. It was designed by Torrington architect Carl Victor Johnson, who also designed the Torrington City Hall (1936) across the street.
You must be logged in to post a comment.