Warner Theatre (1931)

Described as “Connecticut’s Most Beautiful Theatre” when it opened in 1931, the Warner Theatre in Torrington was a movie palace built by Warner Brothers Studios. It was designed by Thomas W Lamb, an architect who specialized in designing theaters. Sold by Warner Brothers in the 1950s, the Warner suffered from damage in the 1955 Flood and years of neglect. Faced with demolition in 1982, a concerned group of citizens formed the non-profit Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts to raise money and save the theatre. Like the Garde Theatre in New London, the Warner Theatre has been restored as a performing arts center.

Garde Arts Center (1926)

This weekend we’ll be looking at three surviving Connecticut movie palaces, now restored as theatres. First up is the Garde Theatre in New London, which opened in 1926. It was one of six new movie palaces being built at the time in Connecticut and Massachusetts by Arthur Friend, a New York movie studio attorney and early partner of Cecil B. DeMille, and was nemed for Walter Garde, a pominent businessman. The Art Deco building, the work of architect Arland Johnson, featured a lavish Moorish and Egyptian Revival interior, typical of the movie palaces of the time that sought to create an exotic atmosphere. The Garde‘s early Vaudeville performances were eventually completely supplanted by motion pictures and the theater was owned by Warner Brothers from 1929 to 1978. Since 1985, the building has been the Garde Arts Center and has been extensively restored and and adapted as a theatre for the performing arts.

Waterbury National Bank (1921)

At the intersection of Field and Grand Streets in Waterbury is the former Waterbury National Bank Building, now the headquarters for Junior Achievement of Southwestern New England. Built in 1919-1922, the building is one of several notable structures along Grand Street designed by Cass Gilbert. The Chase family had a long association with the Waterbury National Bank, which was founded in 1848 and was Waterbury’s first bank. Augustus Savin Chase, who became the Bank‘s Cashier in 1852 and President in 1865, controlled it until his death in 1896. The Bank’s original building was located at Grand and Bank Streets, giving the latter thoroughfare its name. Henry S. Chase intended the new bank building to be part of his plan for an impressive Waterbury municipal center. Henry died in 1918 and his brother Irving Chase assumed management of construction, utilizing Cass Gilbert, the same architect who had designed the Chase Brass and Copper Company’s headquarters, also located on Grand Street.

Fisk Hall (1904)

One of Wesleyan University‘s most impressive buildings is Fisk Hall, built in 1904. Named for Willbur Fisk, Wesleyan’s first president, Fisk Hall was designed by Cady, Berg and See of New York in the Romanesque style and is constucted of Portland brownstone. On February 21, 1969, Fisk Hall was the location of a takover by African-American students challenging the University’s administration. In addition to classrooms and offices, Fisk Hall housed the campus store and post office from 1974 to 1984. Today, it contains most of Wesleyan’s foreign language departments.

Turel Whittemore Tavern (1778)

Located across from where Pearl Street splits from South Main Street, on a high bluff above the Naugatuck River, is a structure that was perhaps built as early as 1740. It was acquired around 1778 by E. Turel Whittemore and served as a tavern. At that point, the building was only one story high. The second story was added in 1867 by Martin Castle, who dismantled the building’s old chimney and used the stones to constructed the terraced wall in front of the property. On the northwest corner of the old tavern was a barroom, where in 1780 a group of Torries planned the robbery of the home of the Patriot, Capt. Ebenezer Dayton, which was located in Bethany. This infamous incident led to the dramatic kidnapping, in nearby Oxford, of the Patriot boy, Chauncey Judd, a 16-year-old member of the Oxford militia, who ran into the fleeing robbers. They were later captured and sent to Newgate Prison and Judd was freed. The Whittemore Tavern has housed various businesses over the years.

Edmond Town Hall, Newtown (1930)

Dedicated in 1930, Newtown’s Edmond Town Hall is a multipurpose building which, in addition to town offices, has a banquet hall, gymnasium, meeting rooms and even a movie theater, the only $2 movie theater in Connecticut. The building was the gift of Mary Elizabeth Hawley and was named after her maternal great grandfather, Judge William Edmond. Miss Hawley also donated the town’s Cyrenius H. Booth Library. Both the library and the town hall were designed by achitect Philip Sutherland.