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

Harris Building, New London (1885)

On State Street in New London is the Harris Building, built in 1885 for Jonathan Newton Harris, a businessman who used the income from his building’s rents to support philanthropic activities (he also founded the Harris School of Science at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan). The multi-use structure housed offices, apartments and shops, including, for 1885 to 1931, Hislop’s Department Store. The Romanesque Revival building with a Mansard roof was designed by the New York based architect, Leopold Eidlitz. Today, the building is also known as Harris Place.

Langworthy-Allyn House (1820)

Adjacent to the George Greenman House, on Greenmanville Avenue in Mystic, is an earlier house, possibly built around 1820, which was acquired by the Greenman brothers in 1837. The brothers resided in the house as they set up the George Greenman & Co. shipyard, eventually moving to the Greenman House, when it was built in 1839. Around 1849, the older house was raised an additional floor and a new two-story ell was added. For a half-century, it became a boarding house for workers at the shipyard and was run by the ship joiner David Langworthy and his wife, Fanny. From 1931 to 1974, the house was owned by the Allyn family. It is now owned by Mystic Seaport.

George Greenman House (1839)

George Greenman was the eldest of three brothers who founded the shipyard in Mystic known as George Greenman & Co. His house on Greenmanville Avenue was built in 1839 and was enlarged and further ornamented later in the nineteenth century. Greenman’s brothers initially resided in the house with him, until they built their own homes nearby on Greenmanville Avenue. The Greenman home is reported to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Mystic Seaport living history museum acquired the house from George Greenman‘s great-granddaughter in 1970. The house has a Historic Structures Report.

The Diodate Shailer House (1816)

Diodate Shailer built his house on Saybrook Road in Haddam in 1816, the year of his marriage to Elizabeth Rutty. His son, Charles, later lived in the house until 1852, when it was sold to Capt. Leonard Buell, whose descendants owned the home until 1947. The Federal-style wood shingled house had later nineteenth century side porches added, which have since become additional rooms.

Beebe Phillips House (1838)

The Beebe-Phillips House is an 1838 farmhouse, located in Waterford. The house was moved to Historic Jordan Green in 1974 and is one of several historic buildings on the Green which constitute a museum operated by the Waterford Historical Society.

Fairfield County Courthouse (1899)

Three successive courthouses have stood on the same spot on Danbury’s Main Street. The first was built in 1785 and the second in 1823-1824. This latter building was enlarged in 1879, but the need for an even larger structure led to the building of the Fairfield County Courthouse of 1899. The architect was Warren R. Briggs of Bridgeport, who also designed the Fairfield County Courthouse in Bridgeport (1888) and the Connecticut Building for the World’s Colombian Exposition (1893). Today, the copper-domed Courthouse in Danbury serves as the Courthouse for Juvenile Matters.

Edgecomb-Gates House (1835)

The house at 15 Gravel Street in Mystic was built around 1835 by Daniel D. Edgecomb, a carpenter who made coffins in his basement workshop. In 1847, the house was acquired by Captain Gurdon Gates, who added the intricately detailed porch. The oldest of four brothers, who all became sea captains, Gurdon Gates was known for his record run in 1866 around the Horn in the clipper ship, Twilight. He also commanded other ships, including the steamship, Victor, during the Civil War. After his retirement from the sea, he was involved in business and politics, serving in the Connecticut Assembly. Gravel Street was known as “Captain’s Walk” because all of the homes there but one once belonged to sea captains.