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

       www.wesleyan.edu/wespress

      © 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

       Preface / xi

       Map of the 100 Places / xiv

       OVERVIEW: Connecticut and Its Places / 1

       Looking at Architecture / 1

       The Land / 4

       History / 8

       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

       21 COMFORTABLE HOUSES: Beaver Hills, New