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The first comprehensive illustrated history of Connecticut architecture
Connecticut boasts some of the oldest and most distinctive architecture in New England, from Colonial churches and Modernist houses to refurbished nineteenth-century factories. The state's history includes landscapes of small farmsteads, country churches, urban streets, tobacco sheds, quiet maritime villages, and town greens, as well as more recent suburbs and corporate headquarters. In his guide to this rich and diverse architectural heritage, Christopher Wigren introduces readers to 100 places across the state. Written for travelers and residents alike, the book features buildings visible from the road. 
Featuring more than 200 illustrations, the book is organized thematically. Sections include concise entries that treat notable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities, emphasizing the importance of the built environment and its impact on our sense of place. The text highlights key architectural features and trends and relates buildings to the local and regional histories they represent. There are suggestions for further reading and a helpful glossary of architectural terms
A project of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, the book reflects more than 30 years of fieldwork and research in statewide architectural survey and National Register of Historic Places programs.
Preface
Map of the 100 Places
OVERVIEW: CONNECTICUT AND ITS PLACES
Looking at Architecture
The Land
History
PART ONE: SHAPING THE LANDSCAPE
The First Builders: Mohegan Hill, Uncasville
Colonial Framework: Main Street, South Windsor
Garden by the Sea: Eolia (Harkness Memorial State Park), Waterford
Reshaping the Landscape: Rocky River Hydroelectric Station, New Milford
Modernism in the Garden: The Glass House, New Canaan
Landscape on a Grand Scale: Saville Dam and Barkhamsted Reservoir, Barkhamsted
The Roar of the Landscape: Lime Rock Park, Salisbury
Architecture for the Environment: Kroon Hall, Yale University, New Haven
PART TWO: MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES
Wood for Stone: New London County Courthouse, New London
Something Old, Something New: Noroton Presbyterian Church, Darien
Connecticut Stone: Portland Brownstone Quarries, Portland
Engineering Beauty: Lover's Leap Bridge, New Milford
Buildings from the Assembly Line: Winslow Ames and Steel Houses, New London
Inside the Sapphire: First Presbyterian Church, Stamford
PART THREE: WHERE WE LIVE
For the Middling Sort: Benjamin Hall Jr. House, Guilford
Temple Mania: Samuel Russell and William Trench Houses, Middletown
Artistic Design: Mark Twain House, Hartford
Behind the Scenes: Wallace T. Fenn House, Wethersfield
Local Specialty: Perfect Sixes, Hartford
Art versus the Machine: Nathaniel R. Bronson House, Middlebury
Comfortable Houses: Beaver Hills, New Haven
From Cape Cod to Connecticut: Axel Nelson House, Waterford
Redesigning the Suburbs: Heritage Village, Southbury
PART FOUR: WORKING THE LAND
The Business of Farming: Thomas Catlin Jr. Farm, Litchfield
Modest Farm: Cyrus Wilson Farm, Harwinton
The Rhythm of the Seasons: Tobacco Farms, Windsor
Agricultural Showplace: Hilltop Farm, Suffield
Connecticut Catskills: Orchard Mansion, Moodus
Scientific Farming: Wengloski Poultry House, Lebanon
PART FIVE: MEANS OF PRODUCTION
Industrial Beginnings: Ledyard Up-Down Sawmill, Ledyard
The Company Town: Collinsville
Iron Making: Beckley Furnace, North Canaan
Industrial Structure and Aesthetics: Hockanum Mill, Rockville
The Power of Water: Ousatonic Dam, Derby and Shelton
Industrial Specialization: Clark Brothers Factory, Southington
Industrial Campanile: Remington Shot Tower, Bridgeport
Industry in the Suburbs: Medway Business Park, Meriden and Wallingford
Corporate Pride: Union Carbide Headquarters, Danbury
PART SIX: TOWNSCAPES AND CITYSCAPES
The Ideal Village: Colebrook Center
Civic Embellishment: New Haven Green
Greater Than Its Parts: Downtown Norwich
Under the Mill Towers: North Grosvenordale
Consumer Culture: The Arcade, Bridgeport
Unnecessary Excellence: Seaside Village, Bridgeport
Fantasy Palace: Warner Theatre, Torrington
Renewing the City: Constitution Plaza and the Phoenix Building, Hartford
New Urbanism: Blue Back Square, West Hartford
Suburban Chinatown: Montville
PART SEVEN: FROM PLACE TO PLACE
Lights along the Shore: Harbor and Ledge Lighthouses, New London
Architecture Travels New Roads: Two Houses, Thompson Hill
Canal Engineering: Enfield Falls Canal, Windsor Locks and Suffield
River Traffic: Steamboat Dock, Essex
Gateway to the City: Union Station, New London
To Enjoy as We Go: The Merritt Parkway
Highway Culture: The Berlin Turnpike, Berlin and Newington
PART EIGHT: BODY, MIND, AND SOUL
Puritan Finery: First Church of Christ, Wethersfield
Schools for All: Little Red School, Winchester
The Big House: Middletown Alms House, Middletown
Meetinghouse to Church: Warren Congregational Church, Warren
Memory and Antiquity: Groton Battle Monument, Groton
Church in Society: Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Complex, Baltic
Therapeutic Landscape: The Institute of Living, Hartford
Holy Retreat: Plainville Campground, Plainville
Model School: Locust Avenue School, Danbury
Built for Healing: The Seaside, Waterford
Aging Revolutionary: Ansonia High School
Comfort for the Dying: Connecticut Hospice, Branford
PART NINE: DESIGNERS, BUILDERS, AND CLIENTS
Master Builder: Epaphroditus Champion House, East Haddam
From the Inside Out: Phelps-Hatheway House, Suffield
Architecture from Books: Willis Bristol House, New Haven
Under the Radar: Walter Bunce House, Manchester
Homes for the People: Barnum-Sherwood Development, Bridgeport
Handmade: Avon Old Farms School, Avon
When Is a Copy More Than a Copy? Yale Divinity School, New Haven
Onion Dome in the Countryside: Saint Philip the Apostle Catholic Church, Ashford
Your Taxes at Work: People's State Forest Museum, Barkhamsted
The Business of Houses: Broadview Lane, Warehouse Point, East Windsor
Modernist Patronage: Torin Company Buildings, Torrington
PART TEN: COLONIAL AND COLONIAL REVIVAL
English Beginnings: Buttolph-Williams House, Wethersfield
The Connecticut House: Deacon Adams House, New Hartford
Our Own History: Horace Bushnell Congregational Church, Hartford
Inventing Restoration: Hyland House, Guilford
American Style: Waterbury City Hall, Waterbury
Townwide Makeover: Litchfield
The Last Vernacular: Houses by Alice Washburn, Hamden
Back to History: Salisbury Town Hall, Salisbury
PART ELEVEN: MEANING AND MESSAGE
Connecticut Valley Baroque: Ebenezer Grant House, South Windsor
Republican Simplicity: Old State House, Hartford
Federal Presence: United States Custom House, New London
One Style, Two Messages: Two Houses in Plainfield
The Architecture of Citizenship: Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford
American Renaissance: James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford
Immigrant Success: Villa Friuli, Torrington
Native American Renaissance: Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashantucket
PART TWELVE: TRANSFORMATIONS
How Buildings Learn: Taintor House, Hampton
City Beautiful: Downtown Naugatuck
Change and Similarity: Canaan Institutional Baptist Church, Norwalk
Hazardous Duty: Wilcox, Crittenden & Company Factory, Middletown
Model City: Dixwell Plaza, New Haven
New Life for Old Buildings: Cheney Yarn Dye House, Manchester
Afterword
Architectural Glossary
Index
CHRISTOPHER WIGREN is an architectural historian and Deputy Director of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. His articles and essays have appeared in the Hartford Courant, the New Haven Register, and Connecticut Explored magazine. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut. THE CONNECTICUT TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION was established in 1975 to protect and promote buildings, sites, structures, and landscapes that contribute to the heritage and vitality of Connecticut communities.
"This is an exceptionally thoughtful and provocative book, one that offers insights into art and life that are often forgotten in aesthetics. A great book for anyone."
~Duo Dickinson, author of A Home Called New England
"Christopher Wigren intrigues the eye and mind in a journey through centuries of Connecticut history and architecture. He illuminates these places with stories enlivening the world around us by connecting the past to the present."
~David K. Leff, town historian, Canton CT
"Drawing on over 30 years of historic preservation experience in Connecticut, Chrisopher Wigren has authored the first masterful telling of the story of Connecticut's built environment. From prehistory to the present, the lively text and informative photographs demonstrate Connecticut's strong New England 'sense of place'. By choosing 100 places-not always single buildings-Wigren weaves together the stories of Connecticut's peoples across over 300 years of building. With his deep grasp of existing research and the buildings recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, he provides both the scholar and the day trip enthusiast with a list of places to visit."
~Mary M. Donohue, Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office
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