The Academy, Clinton (1801)

The Academy Hall building in Clinton was built in 1801 by twenty men of the town for use as a school to prepare local students for college. The teacher lived upstairs and taught in classrooms downstairs. The Academy later passed to town ownership and continued as a school and was used for a time for town meetings. The building was remodeled in the Italianate style later in the nineteenth century. Later leased to the local Grange, the Academy is now used by the Clinton Parks and Recreation Department. (more…)

Shannon Building, Norwich (1910)

In 1909, a massive fire destroyed the original Shannon Building in downtown Norwich. It was a large commercial and apartment building, built in 1892 by a local Irish businessman and real estate developer named James B. “Big Jim” Shannon. It was rebuilt the following year as a fireproof structure. In 1988-1989, the Shannon Building was restored by the Norwich Savings Society, the owners of the building. (more…)

Roger Sherman Place (1775)

The house at 247 Main Street South in Woodbury was built circa 1775 and is known as the Roger Sherman Place. This Woodbury Roger Sherman is not the famous Roger Sherman, but probably a relative. The house looks to have been much altered in the Greek Revival style in later years.

Update (8-9-2015): The 1775 portion of the house is actually the ell and the main section was built later, probably c. 1820, when the property was transferred from Matthew Minor, Jr. to Rev. Samuel R. Andrew, pastor of the First Congregational Church from 1817 to 1846.

Infinity Hall (1883)

The building now known as Infinity Hall in Norfolk opened in 1883 as the Norfolk Village Hall. It was designed by an unknown architect, but is similar to buildings in the shingle style by noted architect Stanford White. The building originally served as a cultural center and contained an opera house, general store, barbershop, saloon and several town offices. The theater closed in the 1940s and various retail businesses continued on the first floor until the building was closed in 1994. In 1998, playwrights and theater producers Maura Cavanaugh and Richard Smithies purchased and restored the building as the Greenwoods Theater, which closed in 2007 due to financial difficulties. It opened again under new owners as Infinity Hall, a performing arts theater and restaurant.