Historic Buildings of Connecticut - Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

New Video: Three Colonial Houses That Once Stood on Main Street, Hartford

This video is about three colonial houses that once stood on Main Street in Hartford that were all torn down over 100 years ago: the Joseph Whiting House (built in the 1600s and torn down in 1914), the Governor Joseph Talcott House (built c. 1725 and torn down in 1900), and the Col. Samuel Talcott House (built in 1770 and torn down in 1898). These demolitions have interesting stories attached to them: the Whiting House had become a saloon which stayed in business even while the house was torn down around it and a new 6-story building was constructed in its place; the Joseph Talcott House was subject to years of legal wrangling between the property owners and the city that wanted to eliminate it; and numerous Revolutionary War relics were discovered during the demolition of the Samuel Talcott house. At the end of the video I also read a bonus newspaper story about a police carriage pursuit out to West Hartford in the year 1901.

New Video: Lost Mansions of Washington Street, Hartford, Connecticut’s “Governors’ Row”

New Video: Building Travelers Tower

My latest video is about Travelers Tower which was built in 4 stages between 1906 and 1927. The tower was built on the site of several older structures, including the Universalist Church and a house designed by Henry Austin. Two buildings that once housed the Aetna Insurance companies were later demolished to create the plaza just south of Travelers Tower.

Old Main, WCSU (1905)

In 1903, Danbury native Alexander White donated three acres of land for the newly established Danbury Normal School (now Western Connecticut State University). The following year construction on the building on campus known as Old Main began (it was completed in 1905). Designed by the Boston architectural firm of Hartwell, Richardson & Driver, it is the oldest building on the university’s midtown campus and houses numerous administrative offices, such as the Registrar, Cashier and Admissions.

Fairfield Hall, WCSU (1917)

Fairfield Hall, on the campus of Western Connecticut State University, is a residence hall built in 1917. The cupola atop the colonial revival-style building was featured on the university’s old logo, before a rebranding in 2018. Fairfield Hall was WCSU’s first residence hall and originally accommodated 84 students, all women. The building was renovated in 1957 with 46 units being added. It was renovated again in 2008 and is now a coed dorm for first year students.

New Video: An 1849 View of Hartford

This is an 1849 lithograph entitled “View of Hartford, CT from the Deaf and Dumb Asylum.” It looks eastward from Asylum Hill. There are 12 churches in the view, only 3 of which are still standing today.

New Video: Lost Buildings of Trinity College

The campus of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut is famous for its Gothic Revival architecture. But long before the college moved to its current campus in the 1870s, it was located downtown, on a now lost campus on the hill where the state capitol building stands today. In this video I talk about the lost Greek Revival-style buildings of Trinity’s original campus, as well as three buildings that have been lost from the current campus.

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