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

Judd & Root Building (1883)

Henry C. Judd and Judson H. Root were successful wool merchants in the later nineteenth century. The firm of Judd & Root, formed in 1869, built an office building at 179 Allyn Street in Hartford in 1883. The architects were Francis H. Kimball and Thomas Wisedell, who also designed the Goodwin Building in Hartford. Unlike that earlier Queen Anne structure, the Judd & Root Building was constructed in the Romanesque Revival style, although both buildings feature terra-cotta decoration on the upper floors. The Judd & Root Building also has a brick Renaissance Revival-style arcade on the first floor, where retail shops were located. It became known as Professional Building in the 1920s, when the ground floor housed a pharmacy and a surgical supply company and over 50 physicians and surgeons had offices above. The building was restored around 2001. (more…)

St. Paul’s Church Rectory, Woodbury (1838)

The Greek Revival house at 317 Main Street South in Woodbury was built in 1838 as the rectory for St. Paul’s Church across the street. Although more recently used for storage, the house attracted attention last December when it was decorated to become the Designer Showcase House for the Woman’s Club of Woodbury’s Annual Holiday House Tour.

Augustus Dupee House (1872)

Designed by architect Abram Skaats, the house at 281 Barnum Avenue in East Bridgeport was built in 1872 for Augustus Dupee, a tool maker. The two-story Colonial Revival colonnade that now dominates the front of the house was added around 1940.

Augustus Truesdell House (1852)

Augustus Truesdell (1810-1872) was an architect builder in Rockville who was listed on the map of Rockville in the 1869 Atlas of Tolland County as “Architect and Sup’t of Building.” Trusesdell built his own house, which has a prominent three-story tower, at 132 Prospect Street in 1852.

Waterbury City Hall (1915)

Waterbury’s first City Hall, located on West Main Street and facing the Green, was destroyed by fire in 1912. The current City Hall, on Grand Street, was begun in July 1914 and opened in 1915. Called the Waterbury Municipal Building, it was unusual in its time for containing not just the mayor and city council, but the Police and Fire Departments as well. It was designed by the famous architect Cass Gilbert of New York, who won a design competition for the proposed structure in 1913. After winning the competition, Gilbert wanted to switch from his original plans for a brick and marble building to one with an all marble facade. Although this request was denied by the city, Gilbert had another opportunity when he designed the Chase Brass & Copper Company Building (across the street) for Henry S. Chase in 1917. The Chase family had also helped to fund the City Hall. In later years, the building‘s maintenance was neglected and it was officially condemned in 2006. Local citizens rallied to save the historic building from demolition. Rehabilitation plans were drawn up and voters approved a bond issue to fund the restoration work, which was carried out in 2009-2010. City Hall was rededicated on January 1, 2011.

New Canaan Library (1913)

The New Canaan Library was founded by volunteers in 1877 and received its first annual grant from the town in 1895. Housed for many years in a reading room on Elm Street, the library moved to a new building at 151 Main Street in 1913. Designed by Alfred H. Taylor of New York and New Canaan, the library is constructed of irregular fieldstone blocks. The building was expanded in 1937 and 1952 and the Lapham Wing was added in 1979. Due to increasing usage, the library is seeking to to replace its aging facilities.

St. Peter’s-Trinity Church, Thomaston (1871)

Trinity Episcopal Church, on Main Street in Thomaston, was built in two sections in 1871 and 1880. Representing the transition from the Gothic Revival to the Stick style (with board-and-batten siding, decorative gable bargeboards and a pyramidal steeple) it was built to the designs of Richard M. Upjohn, architect of the Connecticut State Capitol Building. Trinity had begun as a mission of the Episcopal Church in Plymouth (founded in 1740) and became an independent parish in 1869. Since 1996, the church has been St. Peter’s-Trinity Church, formed through a merger of St. Peter’s Church, Plymouth and and Trinity Parish, Thomaston.