Barnum-Thompson and Staples Buildings (1892)

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.

Holy Advent Episcopal Church (1876)

Before building a church, Anglicans in Clinton meet at the Academy Building for worship. They formed an Episcopal Society in 1873 and constructed Holy Advent Episcopal Church, at 81 East Main Street, in 1876. The first public worship in the church was on the first Sunday of Advent, 1876 and opening services were on April 18, 1877. The building was consecrated on July 8, 1880, after indebtedness for the church had been paid. The church was recently restored (pdf). The exterior, which had been covered with wood shingles and painted brown, was restored to its original board-and-batten siding, painted white.

Chi Psi Lodge, Wesleyan University (1927)

The Chi Psi fraternity established a chapter at Wesleyan in 1844. Their new fraternity house, built in 1904, was designed in the Colonial Revival style by Raymond F. Almirall, of Brooklyn, NY. It was destroyed in a fire in 1912 and was replaced by a new building, completed in 1927. Wesleyan acquired the property in the 1970s and it continued as a fraternity house until the University converted it into a residence hall around 2002. According to the University, “200 Church Street was established as housing for students who wish to build a safe, self-affirming, energetic, and close-knit community that focuses on social justice and diversity.”

Hills Academy (1832)

Hills Academy, at 22 Prospect Street in Essex, was built in 1832 on land donated by Joseph Hill. Funded by local businessmen, it served as a private school. It was run by a group of trustees until 1848, when it was leased to teacher Lucius Lyon, who constructed a seminary building next door for boarders. In the 1870s, the seminary building was sold and converted into a hotel, known initially as the Pettipaug House. It was later torn down. The Academy itself was sold to the town in 1903 and used intermittently as an elementary school until the 1930s, when it was leased to the The Improved Order of Red Men and became known as Red Men’s Hall. Saved from demolition in 1909, Hills Academy was purchased by the Essex Historical Society in 1954 and has since been used as a museum.

Steamboat Dock, Essex (1878)

The old Steamboat Dock in Essex was built in 1878 by Phoebe Hayden, widow of William S. Hayden. Originally a warehouse and general store, the building has been used for various purposes over the years. In 1944, it was acquired by the Lovell family, owners of the nearby Griswold Inn, who put a restaurant on the second floor. After they sold the building in 1962, it began to fall into disrepair, but was eventually saved and converted to become home to the Connecticut River Museum. The building’s roof was damaged by a fire in 2010. The museum has since been fully repaired and restored.