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.

Simsbury Town Hall (1907)

The building which now serves as Simsbury’s third Town Hall was built in 1907 as Simsbury High School. The building’s design, by Edward Hapgood of Hartford, is believed to follow that of Homerton College, Cambridge University. When the high school, moved to a new building in the 1960s, the old building became Horace Belden Elementary School. It was renovated in 1993-1994 to become Simsbury Town Hall.

Governor Thomas M. Waller House (1846)

Next to the William Albertson House, on Vauxhall Street in New London, is a Greek Revival house built by Thomas Fitch in 1846. Fitch was a developer who laid out streets and sold house lots in the Post Hill area of New London. In 1862, Fitch sold his house to Hiram Willey, who served as mayor of New London from 1862 to 1865. Willey sold the property in 1875 to Thomas M. Waller, who also served as mayor (1873-1879) and later as Governor of Connecticut (1883-1884). While Waller owned the house, the front door facing Channing Street was moved to face Vauxhall Street. Further alterations (in the Colonial Revival style) were made to the house in 1913 by Waller’s son, Charles B. Waller.

Christ Church, New Haven (1898)

Christ Church in New Haven is an Episcopal Church founded in 1854 as a mission of Trinity Church. While Trinity Church is located in the center of town on New Haven Green, the first Christ Church was erected on the edge of town, in an area called Poverty Square near the almshouse and the town farm. Christ Church became a parish in 1856 and today continues the Anglo-Catholic worship and dedication to the city’s poor and dispossessed that have been hallmarks of the parish since its founding. The parish’s current Gothic church, at 84 Broadway, was built in 1898. It was designed by Henry Vaughan and the interior has intricate mahogany carvings by the Bavarian-born sculptor Johannes Kirchmayer. The church‘s stone tower is modeled on that of Magdalen College, Oxford. (more…)

District #1 School House, Bethlehem (1865)

On Main Street, across from the Green in Bethlehem, is the former District #1 Schoolhouse, also known as the Center School. One of nine district schools in town, it was built in 1865 (or perhaps in 1832?) and later, after the district schools were consolidated in 1914, served for many years as the town library. It was then used by the Episcopal Church for their summer fair and other events. The building was moved south to its present location in 1912 when Memorial Hall was built next door. Restored by the Old Bethlem Historical Society, the school is now a museum.