Asylum Avenue District

Last updated

Asylum Avenue District
Asylum Avenue District from Sigourney Street, Hartford, Connecticut, 2009-09-02.jpg
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationAsylum and Farmington Aves., and Sigourney St., Hartford, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°46′10″N72°41′36″W / 41.76944°N 72.69333°W / 41.76944; -72.69333
Area25 acres (10 ha)
ArchitectKeely, Patrick C.; Multiple
Architectural styleItalianate
MPS Asylum Hill MRA
NRHP reference No. 79002672 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 29, 1979

The Asylum Avenue District encompasses the institutional core of the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut. Located just west of Downtown Hartford across Interstate 84, it includes four churches, a school, and a handful of adjacent 19th-century residences. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The Asylum Avenue District is centered on a stretch of Sigourney Street, between Asylum and Farmington Avenues, both major arteries leading west from downtown Hartford. Extending east and west from that road are the institutional buildings that make up the heart of Asylum Hill. The northeastern corner of the district is marked by the Asylum Hill Congregational Church, a Gothic Revival brownstone built in 1865. It is a rare example of a Congregational church designed by Patrick C. Keely, most of whose work was for the Roman Catholic Church. At the southeastern corner is the Cathedral of St. Joseph, the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. It was built in the early 1960s to a design by Eggers & Higgins in the International style, replacing a Gothic brownstone designed by Keely that was destroyed by fire. [2]

West of St. Joseph's stands the Trinity Episcopal Church, built in 1892 in the English Country Church style out of red brick. Across Sigourney Street from Trinity is the campus of the West Middle School, which includes a 1930 Georgian Revival building and an older Romanesque structure. At the northwestern corner of the district stands the Asylum Avenue Baptist Church, A Collegiate Gothic building built in 1931 on the site of an 1872 church. Between It and the Congregational Church are a row of fine houses dating to the mid-to-late 19th century Victorian period. [2]

Prior to its development in the mid-19th-century, the Asylum Hill area was mostly farmland owned by the locally prominent Goodwin family. Francis Goodwin was rector of Trinity Church, and some of the Goodwin land was purchased for the construction of St. Joseph's. The Baptist Church came about through the initiative of Jonathan Niles, for whom Niles Street is named. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Renwick Jr.</span> American architect

James Renwick Jr. was an American architect in the 19th century. The Encyclopedia of American Architecture calls him "one of the most successful American architects of his time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of St. Joseph (Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

The Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is the mother church and seat of the Archdiocese of Hartford. Dedicated on May 15, 1962, it stands on the site of the old cathedral which had been destroyed in a fire. It is located on Farmington Avenue just outside downtown Hartford.

Andorra is a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, which is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Andorra is a part of Roxborough, being within the borders of the original Roxborough Township and having the same zip code (19128). At some point during the 19th or 20th century, Andorra developed a cultural identity as a neighborhood within Roxborough. Andorra was named "Andorra" after a fancied resemblance to the small country of the same name which sits astride the Pyrenees between France and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Keely</span> Irish-American architect

Patrick Charles Keely was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildings for the Roman Catholic Church or Roman Catholic patrons in the eastern United States and Canada, particularly in New York City, Boston and Chicago in the later half of the 19th century. He designed every 19th-century Catholic cathedral in New England. Several other church and institutional architects began their careers in his firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Charleston, South Carolina)</span> Church in South Carolina , United States

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, located in Charleston, South Carolina. Designed by Brooklyn architect Patrick Keely in the Gothic Revival style, it opened in 1907. The Most Reverend Jacques E. Fabre, the fourteenth Bishop of Charleston, was ordained and installed on May 13, 2022

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut</span>

The neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut in the United States are varied and historic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sidney Badgley</span>

Sidney Rose Badgley was a prominent start-of-the-20th-century Canadian-born architect. He was active throughout the United States and Canada, with a significant body of work in Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Woodward Congregational Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

The St. John's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a church located in Detroit, Michigan. It was built as the North Woodward Congregational Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazardville Historic District</span> Historic district in Connecticut, United States

The Hazardville Historic District is a historic district in the Hazardville section of Enfield, Connecticut, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Episcopal Church (East Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

St. John's Episcopal Church is a historic church building at 1160 Main Street in East Hartford, Connecticut. It was designed by Edward T. Potter and was built in 1867, and is a prominent local example of High Gothic Revival executed in stone. Its congregation, begun as an Episcopal mission in 1854, has recently been merged into the St. John's Episcopal Church in Vernon. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Congregational Church (New Britain, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

The South Congregational Church is a historic church at 90 Main Street in New Britain, Connecticut. It is a large brownstone Gothic Revival structure, located at a central intersection in the city's heart. The church was built in 1865, with the parish house added in 1889. Both were designed by the noted Boston architect George F. Meacham. The congregation was established in 1842, and was merged with First Baptist Church in 1974. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (Swanton, Vermont)</span> Historic church in Vermont, United States

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church also known as Holy Trinity Memorial Church is an historic Episcopal church building located at 38 Grand Avenue in the village of Swanton, Franklin County, Vermont. Built in 1876 and expanded in 1909-10, the church facilities include a fine example of the Carpenter Gothic in the older section, and the Late Victorian Gothic Revival in the newer section. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Parish of the Holy Trinity in 2001. The church is an active parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont; its current rector is the Rev. Reid D. Farrell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christ Church Cathedral (Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is a historic church at 955 Main Street in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Built in the 1820s to a design by Ithiel Town, it is one of the earliest known examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is the cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, whose offices are next door at 45 Church Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Baptist Church (Hartford, Connecticut)</span> Historic church in Connecticut, United States

The Union Baptist Church is a historic church at 1913 and 1921 Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Originally built by an Episcopal congregation, it has for many years been home to an African-American Baptist congregation, which under the leadership of Rev. John C. Jackson (1866-1953), played a significant role in advancing the cause of civil rights in the state. The church, and its adjacent parsonage, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Church in Iowa, United States

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, formerly known as Grace Cathedral, is the historic cathedral in the Diocese of Iowa. The cathedral is located on the bluff overlooking Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. Completed in 1873, Trinity is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 1983 the cathedral was included as a contributing property in the College Square Historic District, which is also listed on the National Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Cathedral (Cleveland, Ohio)</span> Historic church in Ohio, United States

Trinity Cathedral is a historic church on Euclid Avenue at East 22nd Street in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Square Historic District</span> Historic district in Iowa, United States

College Square Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located on a bluff north of downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The district derives it name from two different colleges that were located here in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">27th Street Historic District</span> Historic district in California, United States

The 27th Street Historic District is a historic district in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009 as part of the multiple property submission for African Americans in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Church of St. Peter (St. Petersburg, Florida)</span> Historic church in Florida, United States

The Cathedral Church of St. Peter is an Episcopal cathedral in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Southwest Florida. In 2004 it was included as a contributing property in the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "NRHP nomination for Asylum Avenue District". National Park Service. Retrieved April 6, 2017.