Dan Antion

Here There & Hartford

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.

Thanks for visiting and thanks to those of you participating. I am still in marketing mode for the hash tags the Sunday Recap process is now able to separate out of your URL please include as many tags as you like, appended to the end of the URL with no spaces. Separate tags with “#” and join words in tag phrases with “-“. MyURL/#tag#tag#tag#tag#tag Thanks!

The James B. Colt House – fifty years ago
The James B. Colt House north side – A little sad.
The James B. Colt House facing Wethersfield Ave.
The James B. Colt House today
The James B. Colt House 2022
This house sits between the The James B. Colt House and Colt park.
Henry C. Dwight School auxiliary building.
Henry C. Dwight School
Jefferson Court – Seems to be medical offices now.
Jefferson Court – Seems to be medical offices now.
Jefferson Court, with a view of the addition on the back.
Since many of you liked the South Methodist Church last week, I decided it offer a different view.
Parish house for St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church
St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church – located directly across from Colt Park.
St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church
St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church

If you are in a hurry and don’t wish to scroll through the comments, click to Jump to the comment form.

114 comments

  2. Looking at the pictures of this house reminded me of Charlotte the spider’s message in her web about Wilbur the pig. It said “Some PIg!”. This is some house! Imagine having to manage the cleaning of that place even with a host of staff. I hope the storm hasn’t brought any damage with it, Dan.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  4. Wow –
    There sure are a lot of families that lived in the house over the many years …

    And Colt firearms – I don’t know many brands but I did know of that one.

    Best wishes digging out ❄️❄️❄️❄️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • This was easy to clean up, but I had to get out there at 6:00 am.

      I’m glad you like the Colt House. It is charming.

      Your post is intriguing. It has my mind wandering the oceans for shipwrecks.

      Like

      Reply

  17. That house between the Colt House and Colt Park reminds me somewhat of Sam Clemens’ house — my eyes just don’t know where to look! I am glad you included the church with the notes again; that’s a very proud building, I think — it appears to be standing at attention. The wood doors at St. Michael’s are lovely, as is the Colt House, which I covet. What histories are there.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Maureen. It is hard to decide where to focus on that red house. I am trying to image the view from inside as the side shown looks out onto one of the largest parks in the city. I took the pictures of St. Michael’s Church last summer, but it seemed like a good time to post them. There’s so much history in Hartford’s south end.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • We’re supposed to get more snow on Saturday, but maybe it will stay as rain. I think the birds are right, spring is on the way. Last night’s snow ws a mess to deal with, but it’s almost melted already. I like your barnyard captures today.

      Like

      Reply

    • Thanks Sherry. Right now, I am just catching up on reading comments and visiting the participants. I doubt I’ll have time for additional research. I wish I knew more about the house near the park.

      Like

      Reply

  21. I like the way you present the old archival images along with your recent photos. The main change here seems to be the number of trees which have been planted in more recent decades, but even the faccade of the James Colt House seems to have been repaired recently. The doors and windows definitely look tidier now.

    Here is a door maniac’s paradise:

    Banda Shah’s Temple

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  25. I’ve heard of the Italian Villa style so interesting to see examples of it. I do like that Methodist Church. The brickwork is fancy but plain. Good luck on your quest for the perfect hashtag.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. This area is just a treasure trove of history and architectural beauty. I love the back addition on Jefferson Court. The new and improved Colt house is a testimony to why these grand old structures should be maintained and repurposed.
    Great tour.

    We were gifted about 4-1/2” of snow/ice. Hope your cleanup isn’t too difficult. Won’t it be nice to be able to go outside and mow the lawn again? 🤗
    Ginger

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I almost spit my water out, Ginger. I would much rather move snow than mow the lawn. However, The Editor mows the back yard, sooo.

      This area of Hartford is very special. The historic houses come in waves. I am so glad they preserved the Colt house.

      Like

      Reply

  30. Thank you, Dan. I particularly love the James B. Colt House. So beautiful. And seeing the Ukrainian Catholic Church evoked more prayers for the people of Ukraine. God bless them all.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Gwen. The Colt house is remarkable, and shows how close we have come to losing treasures like this to decay and neglect. I took the pictures of the church last summer, I wasn’t expecting for them to have such meaning.

      Like

      Reply

    • I have to check, recheck and check again every Thursday, Teagan. In the first place, I don’t really trust WordPress scheduling. In the second place, I don’ trust me. I’m glad you like these doors and details.

      I enjoyed your post, and I thank you for pointing me to Rebecca’s other blog. Your journal is pretty cool.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  46. That was plenty of historical info. I love the house between the Colt house and Colt Park. Reminds me of the old film Life With Father-a rambling monstrosity filled with laughter and memorabilia. I’m sorry about the snow and cleanup. I’m hoping to be joining Doors next week now that things are returning to normal for us after our trip. Stay warm!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Cheryl. I can only imagine a family growing up in that house. If those doors could talk, I’m sure they would have a lot to say and they would be laughter and tears mixed in, I’m glad you guys are back and that your journey was safe and success.

      Like

      Reply

  48. Such a huge house. I guess they needed places to store their rifles! Have you ever been to the Winchester House in CA? It’s a bucket list kind of place when you got to CA. It sounds like the Colt mansion is not viewable.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  49. The house is lovely and I think probably a bit modern for its time. The Ukrainian church is lovely too and I liked seeing the church we saw last week again this week from a different angle it’s a wonderful building.

    Stay warm and I hope the plowing and shoveling out went alright.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  50. Thanks Deborah. I found that other view of the church and thought people would approve. The Colt house was a bit unexpected in that area. Most of the houses there are Victorians, but Colt marched to a different drummer.

    The snow was pretty easy to move and then melted quickly. We have a storm coming tomorrow that might bring a few more inches. Then, back in the 50s by Monday. .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  54. Had our 3rd Thursday in a row of major snow events. This week it was a foot. Glad it melts faster in March around here. I’m going to have to look up what sewing machines Weed Sewing Machine Co. made. These entries are great examples of how to do restoration. Wish we could peek inside beyond all the doors. Also, let me know if the hashtags with links are not needed anylonger. My link: https://katytrailcreations.com/2022/03/12/door-and-cart-thursdaydoors/#Leo#Beuerman#Watkins#Museum

    Like

    Reply

  56. Hi Dan – just delighted to see the James B Colt house – lovely looking restoration. Interesting to see the Ukrainian church – there must have been a large immigration of Ukrainians at some stage – they must be horrified right now – I just feel for them. Thanks – Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.