Paul Robeson House (1903)

The Colonial Revival house at 1221 Enfield Street in Enfield was built in 1903. It is known for its association with Paul Robeson, whose family owned it from 1940 to 1953. At that time, Robeson was at the height of his popularity as a singer and actor, famed for his roles in The Emperor Jones (which was the first feature sound film starring an African American) Show Boat, and Othello. Robeson was also a political activist for civil rights and a communist who suffered ostracism and persecution for his beliefs.

Robinson-Andrews House (1840)

Happy Halloween!!!The Robinson-Andrews House, at 202 Main Street in Durham, stands on a lot that had originally been intended for public use and for support of the ministry. The First Ecclesiastical Society of Durham leased the land to Asahel Strong in 1826 for 999 years (essentially a way of selling it). In 1838, Strong conveyed the land to Henry Robinson, a farmer, who built his house around 1840. The property was sold to Dr. Chauncey Andrews in 1844 and it was later owned by the Tibbals family, who may have made the later Victorian-era additions to the Greek Revival house.

Citizens & Manufacturers Bank (1922)

Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., designed the bank building at 18 Leavenworth Street in Waterbury. It was constructed in 1922 as the Citizens & Manufacturers Bank, which was formed from the merging of two banks: the Citizens’ Bank, which was established in 1853 and became a national bank in 1865, and the Manufacturers’ National Bank, established in 1880. The bank later merged again in 1959 to form the Colonial Bank and Trust Company. The structure is now part of the bank building at 81 West Main Street, which today is a branch of Sovereign Bank.

St. Rose of Lima Church, Meriden (1859)

Meriden’s first Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated in 1843 or 1844 for the community’s growing Irish community. St. Rose of Lima became a parish in 1851. A new parish church, built on Center Street, was dedicated on July 31, 1859. The church‘s front facade once had a single steeple. It was later removed and replaced by the current facade, which has two matching towers. The church was formally consecrated in 1926. Since 1998, the parish has been staffed by by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception Province of St. Francis of Assisi.