Connecticut Architecture. Christopher Wigren
CONNECTICUT ARCHITECTURE
Connecticut
STORIES OF 100 PLACES
Architecture
CHRISTOPHER WIGREN,
CONNECTICUT TRUST FOR
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan University Press
Middletown CT 06459
© 2019 Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation
All rights reserved
Manufactured in China
Designed by Richard Hendel
Typeset in Miller and Klavika by
Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Frontispiece: George Izenour House, Stony Creek. Tom Bernard, Courtesy of Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Inc.
Page vi: Warner Theatre, Torrington. William Hosley
Page 286: Willis Bristol House, New Haven. Patrick L. Pinnell
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wigren, Christopher, author.
Title: Connecticut architecture : stories of 100 places / Christopher Wigren, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
Description: Middletown, Connecticut : Wesleyan University Press, 2018. | Series: Garnet books | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2018002991 (print) | LCCN 2018004783 (ebook) | ISBN 9780819578143 (ebook) | ISBN 9780819578136 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: Architecture—Connecticut.
Classification: LCC NA730.C8 (ebook) | LCC NA730.C8 W54 2018 (print) | DDC 720.9746—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018004783.
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8195-7813-6
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-8195-7814-3
5 4 3 2 1
Jacket illustrations: Front cover—top: Exterior detail, Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford, Connecticut by Robert Gregson. Front cover—bottom: l-r: New London Maritime Society, Robert Gregson, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Carol H. Highsmith, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
In memory of Elizabeth Mills Brown
CONTENTS
OVERVIEW: Connecticut and Its Places / 1
PART ONE: SHAPING THE LANDSCAPE / 37
1 THE FIRST BUILDERS: Mohegan Hill, Uncasville / 39
2 COLONIAL FRAMEWORK: Main Street, South Windsor / 42
3 GARDEN BY THE SEA: Eolia (Harkness Memorial State Park), Waterford / 44
4 RESHAPING THE LANDSCAPE: Rocky River Hydroelectric Station, New Milford / 46
5 MODERNISM IN THE GARDEN: The Glass House, New Canaan / 48
6 LANDSCAPE ON A GRAND SCALE: Saville Dam and Barkhamsted Reservoir, Barkhamsted / 50
7 THE ROAR OF THE LANDSCAPE: Lime Rock Park, Salisbury / 52
8 ARCHITECTURE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Kroon Hall, Yale University, New Haven / 54
PART TWO: MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES / 57
9 WOOD FOR STONE: New London County Courthouse, New London / 59
10 SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: Noroton Presbyterian Church, Darien / 61
11 CONNECTICUT STONE: Portland Brownstone Quarries, Portland / 63
12 ENGINEERING BEAUTY: Lover’s Leap Bridge, New Milford / 65
13 BUILDINGS FROM THE ASSEMBLY LINE: Winslow Ames and Steel Houses, New London / 67
14 INSIDE THE SAPPHIRE: First Presbyterian Church, Stamford / 69
PART THREE: WHERE WE LIVE / 71
15 FOR THE MIDDLING SORT: Benjamin Hall Jr. House, Guilford / 73
16 TEMPLE MANIA: Samuel Russell and William Trench Houses, Middletown / 75
17 ARTISTIC DESIGN: Mark Twain House, Hartford / 77
18 BEHIND THE SCENES: Wallace T. Fenn House, Wethersfield / 79
19 LOCAL SPECIALTY: Perfect Sixes, Hartford / 81
20 ART VERSUS THE MACHINE: Nathaniel R. Bronson House, Middlebury / 83