Woodward House (1740)

On the northwest corner of Bethlehem Green is a saltbox house built in 1740 by Samuel Church. In 1797, his daughter Betsy Church married David Bird and the house became known as the Bird Tavern. According to The History of the Descendants of Elder John Strong, of Northampton, Mass. (1871), by Benjamin W. Dwight, their son, Joshua Bird, was “for 30 years a woolen manufacturer at Bethlehem (1820-50), and for 20 years past (1850-70) a farmer there, a deacon in Ihe Cong. Ch. for 25 years (1845-70), a state senator (in 1859).” He also helped fugitive slaves and his house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The house also served as the town’s post office. James W. Flynn, who purchased the house around 1900, served as postmaster and town clerk in the early twentieth century. Flynn and his wife Mary later shared the house with their foster child, Mary E. Toman. She married Charles Woodward, the son of a local farmer, and the couple inherited the house. It later passed to other owners, but in recent years was restored to become a restaurant called the Woodward House.

Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, Bridgeport (1937)

In the 1890s, a group of Slavic immigrants, who had settled in Bridgeport, sought to leave the Greek Catholic Church (affiliated with Rome) and join the Orthodox Church in America. After meetings with Fr Alexis Toth (canonized in 1994 as St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre) and Bishop Nicholas of San Francisco, Holy Ghost Orthodox Parish was established in 1894. The church was dedicated on Palm Sunday, 1895, with Fr Toth celebrating the first Divine Liturgy. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia donated six bells to the church. They had been cast in honor of his coronation in 1896. Upon arrival in New York, the bells were held up in customs for payment of a large import duty, but a special bill was passed by Congress and signed by President McKinley allowing the bells to enter the United States duty free. The parish grew and a new church was built at 1510 E. Main St and dedicated on Palm Sunday, 1937. It was rededicated in 1981, with the sealing of the relics of St. Herman of Alaska, brought by His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Sitka, Alaska, replacing the missing relics of St. Barbara.

Hotel Barnum (1928)

The striking 14-story Art Deco building at 140 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport was built in 1928 as the Hotel Beach. Named for Francis E. Beach, the local merchant who owned the land on which it was constructed, the name was changed within a year to the Hotel Barnum, named after P. T. Barnum. The hotel has an interesting terraced profile and is an Art Deco design, with eclectic elements, including English brickwork, Egyptian detailing and an Italian palazzo front. The building was designed by the firm of Thomas, Martin and Fitzpatrick and was lauded in the press upon its construction for bringing a “cosmopolitan” style to the city. In later years it was a residential hotel and then became an apartment building known as the Barnum House.

Morris W. Bacon House (1870)

Morris W. Bacon was a noted New London businessman, philanthrophist and sportsman, known for his racing horses and fine yachts. At one time he owned a property on upper State Street with a house and a barn for his thoroughbreds. In 1895, he sold the property to Frank Munsey, who built the Mohican Hotel on the land. Morris had another house on Channing Street, facing Granite Street. Probably built around 1870, the house was pictured in the 1901 book, Picturesque New London and its Environs.

Chester Bragaw House (1908)

The Chester, or Elias, Bragaw House is a brick mansion at the corner of Broad and Williams Streets in New London. Built in 1908 in the style of the Second Renaissance Revival (1890s-1920s), the house (183 Williams Street) was designed by James P. Duffy. A fire destroyed the interior of the building in 1980, which was restored and is now used for apartments (note, in the picture above, how the window openings of the house were made smaller to accommodate smaller standard-sized window panes).