Welcome to Thursday Doors! This is a weekly challenge for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). If you like, you can add our badge to your post.
I apologize for the lack of historic information on some of these buildings. If I weren’t the host, I’d postpone publishing this until tomorrow. We are in the midst of a snowstorm which I need to cleanup after tonight, as I have an appointment this morning. That leads to my second apology – I might be a little slow responding to your comments.
Some buildings in today’s gallery are near the South Green in Hartford. The triangular green is created by the intersection (at about a 25° angle with Wethersfield Avenue. The remaining buildings are on Wethersfield Avenue.
The text below (and three of the images in the gallery) are from the National Registry of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination form. This house was placed on the list to aid in the decision to restore it to its former beauty.
The James B. Colt House has been the residence of a variety of influential Hartford families. The house was built either for or by James B. Colt, brother of Samuel Colt, on land of the Colt family estate bet-ween 1355 and 1857 James Colt, then Treasurer of Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and a distinguished United States Senator, lived in the house until 1859. After two succeeding owners, the house was conveyed in 1865 back to Samuel Colt f s widow, Elizabeth Colt. The house was occupied then for some years by William Buel Franklin, a retired Union Army general, who served as Vice President and General Manager of Colt Firearms until 1888. In 1895> the house was conveyed to George H. Day, a civic leader and captain of industry around the turn of the century. Day served the public as Hartford Parks Commissioner in the early 1900 f s, while successively directing the affairs of several Hartford industries as President or Vice President (Weed Sewing Machine Company – 1888, Pope Manufacturing Company – 1895, Electric Vehicle and Columbia Company – 1900). In 1905 the house was conveyed to Elmira Terry and has since changed hands about six times.
The Italian Villa style was particularly popular among the wealthier families along Wethersfield Avenue where several houses, including the Day-Taylor House at 81 Wethersfield remain as outstanding examples. The architect is not yet known, but the James Colt House and Armsrnear exhibit great similarity in massing finish and interior and exterior detailing. The massive structural underpinnings and bearing walls of the house remain sound throughout. The 8700 gross square feet has been somewhat subdivided through recent conversion to apartments. However, nearly all the original dividing walls remain, and conversion to larger apartments, condominium units or office space is easily possible.
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