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

1 Library Road, Canterbury (1820)

The house at 1 Library Road in Canterbury Center was built around 1820. It has a front porch added around 1900. In the nineteenth century, it was the home of Charles R. Ray, a carpenter.

Albert S. Wells House (1903)

The impressive Colonial Revival house at 893 Clinton Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1903 for Albert S. Wells, general superintendent of the Bridgeport Malleable Iron Company. In 2010, Bridgeport’s Zoning Board of Appeals rejected a proposal to establish a group home for homeless women veterans in the Wells House. Local residents had been fighting to preserve the residential character of their neighborhood.

Phelps-Tiffany Tavern (1813)

The Phelps-Tiffany Tavern, at 432 East River Road in Riverton, was built in 1813 as a private residence by Pelatiah Ransom, Jr. and later served as a tavern. The Tavern’s Federal-style fanlight over the front door was later covered.

Erastus Brainerd, Jr. House (1852)

Front entry porch of the Erastus Brainerd, Jr. House in Portland

This is my 2,000 building post on Historic Buildings of Connecticut! Part of the purpose of this blog is to celebrate historic structures so that people won’t be inclined to tear them down. Sometimes, however, great buildings are not maintained and some are in danger of being destroyed. A case in point is the Erastus Brainerd, Jr. House, part of the campus of the former Elmcrest Hospital in Portland, which is slated for demolition. Erastus Brainerd Jr.‘s father established the Brainerd Quarry Company in Portland and owned the Hart/Jarvis House next door (also facing demolition) [see this pdf and this pdf]. The Brainerd House, built around 1852, is particularly notable because it was designed by the great New Haven architect Henry Austin. Pictured in the image above is the house’s grand front entry porch, which has fluted columns on floral urns with ogee arched decorative brackets supporting a balustraded roof. These houses should be saved! (Note this pdf and this pdf)

William J. Clark House (1860)

Built c. 1860-1865, the William J. Clark House is an Italianate-style residence in the Plantsville section of Southington. It originally stood on the southeast corner of Main and South Main Streets, but was later moved to 40 Cowles Street. William J. Clark established the Clark Brothers Bolt Company with his brothers Charles and Henry.

346 Main Street South, Woodbury (1753)

The house at 346 Main Street South in Woodbury was built between 1751 and 1757, with a larger addition dating to the 1760s. Cyrus Lee, the original owner, operated a tavern in the house and a subsequent owner, Captain Isaac Tomlinson, built an addition which served as an inn and tavern and had a second-floor ball room. Julia Marshall, the next owner, had a bar room on the premises. The use of the house for business purposes continued in the twentieth century and, from the 1940s, it housed antiques shops under several owners. The house has a large addition, with separate living quarters, built in 2000. Today the house is home to The joannajohn Collection.

Union and New Haven Trust Building (1927)

On the northeast corner of New Haven Green, at 205 Church Street, is the Union and New Haven Trust Building, built in 1927-1928. It was designed by Cross and Cross of New York to reflect the architecture of the three churches on the Green. The cupola mirrors that of United Church on the Green. The Union Trust Company moved its headquarters to Stamford in 1981, but a branch office was maintained on the ground floor of the building. After various acquisitions and mergers it is now a Wells Fargo branch. The above picture was taken when the building was undergoing restoration work.