Merry Christmas from Historic Buildings of Connecticut!!! Today we feature St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, built in 1948 on South Street in Litchfield. The Roman Catholic parish in Litchfield was established in 1882. The current church building replaced a wooden predecessor, built in 1868, which had burned in 1944.
George M. Abbey was a builder who constructed several houses in Chester, including one for his son, G. Myron Abbey. Nearby, Abbey had earlier built the house at 54 West Main Street in Chester in 1865 for himself and his wife, Lois A. Abbey. Their descendants continue to live in the house.
The house at 60 West Main Street in Chester was one of several in town built by George M. Abbey (1835-1906), a carpenter and builder. In 1858, he had married Lois A. Brooks (1826-1917). This house, built in 1889, was owned by their son, G. Myron Abbey (1865-1922).
Architect Charles S. Palmer designed the Torrington Armory, built in November 1910 and opened in February of the following year as a training location for Torrington’s National Guard unit. The Armory, which was used as Torrington High School’s gym from 1926 to 1964, has been operated as a facility for the public by the Torrington Parks and Recreation Department since 1994.
Allen G. Brady, who operated a cotton mill in Torrington, served as a major in the Seventeenth Connecticut Regiment in the Civil War. At the Battle of Gettysburg, Brady took command of the Regiment after the death of Lt. Col. Douglas Fowler during the fighting at Barlow’s Knoll on July 1, 1863. The following day, Brady was wounded in the shoulder. After the War, Brady had a house built on Prospect Street in Torrington, which was at that time a residential area. He later moved to North Carolina to run a rebuilt cotton mill. The Gleeson Mortuary has used the house since 1927.
William Moore was a merchant and postmaster in Canterbury. His house, at the intersection of Routes 14 and 169 in Canterbury Center, was likely built by Plainfield builder Thomas Gibbs, who designed the former Congregational Church and several local houses in what is known as the “Canterbury Style.” The house, which once had a second-floor ballroom, has a dramatic projecting second-story pediment with Palladian window. The property was later owned by Marvin H. Sanger, a merchant, banker and politician, who served in the state legislature and then as Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1873 to 1877. The house’s shed-roofed front porch dates to around 1920.
Meriden’s first Methodist meetinghouse was built in 1830. This simple structure was later sold and moved to Curtis Street, where it became a carpenter’s shop and later burned down. The first regular Methodist Society was formed in 1844 and a wooden Church was built on Broad Street in 1847. Charles Parker, an industrialist and the first mayor of Meriden, gave a gift which allowed for the construction of a Gothic stone church in 1866. The church was renovated in 1940, but burned the following year. After World War II, money was raised to build the present First United Methodist Church in 1949. The church is at the same location as its predecessor, on East Main Street.
You must be logged in to post a comment.