Whale Tail Fountain
When New London was redesigning the Parade Plaza, they thought to enliven the space with a piece of public art. New London is, after all, the Whaling City so the idea to have a fountain in the shape of a whale diving into the plaza pavent was both amusing and represented an important element from our history. Working with the largest bronze foundry in the world, Matthews Bronze, (which is located near Pittsburgh), the City was introduced sculptor Alan Cottrill. Alan made the whale tail in his Zanesville, Ohio studio.
Nathan Hale Schoolhouse
After teaching at the schoolhouse in East Haddam, Nathan Hale went on to become the schoolmaster at the Union School in New London, teaching there from 1774 until the Revolutionary War began in 1775. Built in 1773, the gambrel-roofed school building was originally located on State Street, was moved to Union and Golden streets in 1830 to serve as a private home and was purchased in 1890 by the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Under their guardianship, the building has been moved several additional times: first to the burial ground on Huntington Street, then, in 1966, to to Crystal Avenue and in 1975 to a spot next to City Hall. In 1988, the town paid to move the school to the Parade, at the foot of State Street. For some time, it has been used as a Visitor Center and museum. The schoolhouse has just been moved a sixth time, to a new plaza adjacent to the Water Street parking garage.
Dutch Tavern
The Dutch Taps Into HistoryNew London tavern and its precursor, The Oak, one of Eugene O’Neill’s watering holesby Dan Pearson (Originally published in The Day June 20, 1999)New London — In 1912, when Eugene O’Neill was a cub reporter with a thirst for ale, a 10-ounce Narragansett or Ballantine could be had for a nickel in any one of the 27 taverns that lined Bank Street.After a day covering society weddings or sleeping off a hangover in the newsroom of the New London Morning Telegraph, O’Neill would find himself within walking distance of 69 bars where he could drink away the pain of his family life on Pequot Avenue.It’s a good bet he squinted against the gaslights of every one of them.Until Prohibition and the world wars changed the way America socialized, the tavern was every neighborhood’s community center, its belly stove providing the heat that ramshackle apartment buildings and Federal-era homes could not.Now, at the close of the century, drinking mores, dietary habits and the entire conception of a bar have changed all that. But, at 66 years old, the Dutch Tavern on Green Street, with its century-old recipe for potato salad, undulating tin ceiling, dark wooden interior and taciturn regulars, remains a throwback.
Crocker House
The Crocker House is a five-story luxury hotel built at 180 State Street in New London in 1872. The project was inspired by A. N. Ramsdell, president of the New London Railroad and the New London City Bank. The hotel was named for Henry Scudder Crocker, its first proprietor, who who was also the manager of the elite Pequot House summer resort. The Crocker House‘s Mansard-roofed top floor was later destroyed in a fire. An addition to the building, designed by architect James Sweeney, was erected in 1914. Playwright Eugene O’Neill could often be found in the hotel’s bar. Today the former hotel is the Crocker House Apartments.
New London City Hall
New London‘s City Hall, on State Street, was originally constructed in 1856 in the Italianate style. This building then had a more residential appearance, in keeping with the houses that lined State Street in the mid-nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century, however, large commercial buildings dominated the street and many in the city government wanted a more imposing Municipal Building to assert civic pride. City Hall was therefore substantially remodeled in 1912. The original design, by W.T. Hallett of Norwich, was replaced with an imposing classical Beaux-Arts exterior, designed by the New London architect, James Sweeney.
First Congregational Church of New London
First Congregational Church of New London is a church with a very long history! New London‘s First Congregational Church was originally formed in 1642 in Gloucester, on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, under the leadership of Rev. Richard Blinman. This congregation moved to the new town of Pequot, settled in 1646 and later renamed New London. The first house of worship in New London was a large barn, with a meeting house being constructed around 1655 and replaced by a new church in the early 1680s. The third church, built in 1698, was was struck by lightning in 1735. Building a replacement was considered, but arguments over where to construct it led to the decision to repair and enlarge the existing edifice. A new church was eventually built in 1786 on Zion’s Hill. This was replaced by the current granite church in 1850, designed in the Gothic style by the Prague-born, New York-based architect, Leopold Eidlitz. The bell was installed in 1876.
Mohican Hotel
Frank Munsey, publisher of Munsey’s Magazine, built what was originally called the Munsey Building at 281 State Street in New London in 1896. In an attempt to avoid problems with unions in New York, Munsey housed his magazine publishing operation in the building, but after just six months, a strike by workers led Munsey to shut down the production in New London and convert the building to other uses. It opened as the Mohican Hotel in 1898 and would become one of the finest hotels in Connecticut. Architect William B. Tuthill, designer of New York’s Carnegie Hall (1891), utilized the same, and at that time still new, technique of steel-skeleton framing to create the tall building. In 1916, Munsey added two floors and a roof garden. In the 1980s, the building was converted into housing for the elderly.
Garde Arts Center
The Garde Theatre is a restored movie palace which opened in 1926. It was one of six new movie palaces being built at the time in Connecticut and Massachusetts by Arthur Friend, a New York movie studio attorney and early partner of Cecil B. DeMille, and was nemed for Walter Garde, a pominent businessman. The Art Deco building, the work of architect Arland Johnson, featured a lavish Moorish and Egyptian Revival interior, typical of the movie palaces of the time that sought to create an exotic atmosphere. The Garde‘s early Vaudeville performances were eventually completely supplanted by motion pictures and the theater was owned by Warner Brothers from 1929 to 1978. Since 1985, the building has been the Garde Arts Centerand has been extensively restored and and adapted as a theatre for the performing arts.
New London Public Library
The Public Library of New London received its start in 1876, with a bequest from successful New London whaling, sealing and shipping merchant, Henry P. Haven. Mr. Haven’s $65,000 gift was instrumental in the construction of the original 4,000 square foot library building, and initiating a book collection which was opened to the public in July, 1891.The building design was executed by the firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge of Boston from the original plans of the well-known architect Henry Hobson Richardson.The original building is in the Romanesque design and is constructed of pink granite from Worcester, This granite structure also has Kibbe sandstone trimmings.The building is a parallelogram in shape and is 40 feet by 90 feet with a gable covering the porch, which is entered by three arches from Huntington Street and one from State Street. The ceiling of the porch is formed of three groined vaults, which add to its stability.At the peak of the porch’s roof is a tympanum of stone on which is carved the coat of arms of the City of New London – a ship under full sail.Inserted in a panel near an entrance to the library there is a bronze relief of Henry P. Haven, executed by the sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens, whose statues of famous men are in several parks in the United States.The main room contains a carved stone fireplace and well-rubbed, quartered oak paneling. The paneling of oak runs around the room at the height of 13 feet and the ceiling is also paneled between the heavy oak beams.In 1974, the library added a modern 15,000 square foot building at the existing site. Further renovations to create more space for increased collections needs and administrative offices were concluded as of March 2001. Renovations to the Children’s area and the meeting rooms were made in 2006.
New London County Courthouse
New London County Courthouse was built in 1784 on Huntington Street at the head of State Street in New London. It was designed by the Lebanon builder, Isaac Fitch, and at first the building served as both town hall and courthouse. Originally built closer to State Street, the courthouse was moved back when Huntington Street was widened in 1839. Dudley St. Clair Donnelly designed a rear addition, built in 1909, and a modern addition by Hirsch and Persch was constructed in 1982. The New London Courthouse is one of America’s oldest courthouses still in use.
Huntington Street Baptist Church
The Greek Revival-style Huntington Street Baptist Church in New London was built in 1843 and was originally a Universalist church. It was designed and built by John Bishop, a member of the church, who was inspired the book, The Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835), by Minard LaFever, a prominent architect of churches in the early nineteenth century. Financial difficulties led the Universalists to sell the church in 1849 to a Baptist congregation. As explained in Frances Manwaring Caulkins‘s History of New London (1860):A third Baptist church was constituted March 14th, 1849, by a division of one hundred and eighty-five members from the first church. This society purchased the brick church in Huntington Street, built six years previous by the Universalist society, for $12,000, and dedicated it as their house of worship, March 29th, 1849. Sermon by Rev. J. S. Swan, who was the chief mover in the enterprise, founder and pastor of the church. In 1850, the number of members was three hundred and eleven.
St. Mary's Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church
St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church in New London began in the 1840s, serving Irish workers from a storefront on Bank Street. Soon, St. John’s parish was formed and a chapel was erected on Jay Street. In 1855 a new church, St. Patrick’s, was consecrated on Truman Street. The parish acquired a large lot at the corner of Washington and Huntington Streets in 1866 and the following year work began on a new church, designed by Patrick Keely of New York. The parish was renamed St. Mary Star of the Sea in 1874 and the new church was completed and dedicated in May, 1876. The church tower was built in 1911.
Starr Street
In 1804, Charles Culver had a low wooden rope walk in which he successfully produced rope for local sailing vessels. After a devastating fire he sold the narrow piece of land to five enterprising citizens as a real estate development. A narrow street, named after the C. Starr and Company Soap and Candle Factory, was created. The factory was on one end and narrow building lots were sold. The houses were erected right on the street line with little space between them and small back yards. Three more houses were built on the site of the factory after it closed.In the early 1800s, there were no architects in America, but a good carpenter could copy or adapt a plan from the available French or English architectural books. John Bishop was such a person. He was responsible for building five houses on Starr Street.Starr Street was a middle class neighborhood. Residents' occupations ranged from minister to merchant, artist to ship rigger. Many houses were used as boarding homes, that being one of the few occupations a single woman or widow could pursue.As in most inner cities, time brought deterioration. In the 1970s, Starr Street's homes were scheduled for demolition under the Federal Redevelopment Program. The then Savings Bank of New London took the controversial step of buying most of the houses, and began a program of accurately restoring the exteriors, while bringing the buildings up to code, and adapting the interiors for modern use.New London contributed to the project by placing utilities underground, installing dry wells, brick sidewalks and period street lights.In 1981 Starr Street became New London's first Historic District, one of 82 such districts in Connecticut.That same year the Starr Street Association was formed. Its covenants and bylaws, which run with the land regardless of property ownership, legally protect the integrity of the properties and the quality of life for Starr Street residents. The Association serves as a forum in which problems can be addressed and solved, and it sponsors social events for owners and tenants to foster a community feeling.
Custom House Maritime Museum - New London Maritime Society
The United States Custom House, on Bank Street in New London, was built in 1833 and was designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. The wood doors are made from planks from the USS Constitution. When the Amistad was brought to New London in 1839, the ship was moored near the Custom House and when it was sold, in 1840, its cargo was auctioned off in the building. The New London Maritime Society was formed in 1983 to save the Greek Revival-style building. It established the New London Custom House Maritime Museum in what continues to be the oldest continuously-operating custom house in the country.
Bulkley House
The home of Charles Bulkeley, on Bank Street in New London, was built around 1790 and replaced an earlier home burned during Arnold’s 1781 raid on the city. Bulkeley was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and a sea captain who sailed with John Paul Jones. In the 1880s, the house became home to the Klinck Meat Market and an ice house was located in the rear. Today the building is the Bulkeley House Restaurant.
Hygenic Art Gallery
The Hygenic Art Gallery was built in 1844 as the home of Captain Giles Harris and had a grocery store on the ground floor. It was built on the site of an earlier house, constructed in the later 1700s, which had been the home of Dr. Samuel Brown and his wife Sarah. When she passed away in 1794, the house was sold to Daniel Deshon and in 1844 to Capt. Harris. A number of businesses existed in the building over the years. From 1919 to 1985, the building was home to a restaurant, known after 1931 as the Hygienic Restaurant, a popular 24 hour eatery. After the restaurant closed, the building remained vacant until it was threatened with demolition in 1996. Saved by preservationists and the local arts community, the building was restored to become Hygienic Art, Inc., a center of the fine arts community. An adjacent lot was acquired in 2001 and developed into the Hygienic Sculpture Gardens and Outdoor Theater Art Park.
Union Station
When it was built in 1888, New London’s Union Station made a powerful architectural statement with its strong massing. It was planned to integrate New London transportation, which included service by six railroad companies. Unlike the preceding train dept of 1852, Union Station was on the city side of the railroad tracks and blocked the view of the city’s active harbor and busy rail yards from the commercial district on State and Bank Streets. Commissioned in 1885, the station was designed by H.H. Richardson, but was not completed until after his death in 1886. The building represents a variation of his distinctive Romanesque style in a scheme recalling his plan for Harvard’s Sever Hall (1880). It is therefore referred to as Richardson’s “Last Station.” Saved from demolition and renovated in the 1970s, the station has recently been again restored.
New London Waterfront Park
Located in the heart of downtown New London, the public Waterfront Park Docking and City Moorings offer convenient rest rooms, shower and laundry facilities to registered boaters, as well as ice within easy walking distance. There is also a rack for canoes.
