Birmingham Green Historic District

Last updated

Birmingham Green Historic District
Birmingham Green Historic District.jpg
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationCentral Derby, CT
Coordinates 41°19′20″N73°5′20″W / 41.32222°N 73.08889°W / 41.32222; -73.08889
Area6.6 acres (2.7 ha)
Built1836 (1836)
ArchitectSmith & Phelps
Architectural style Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, more
NRHP reference No. 00000325 [1]
Added to NRHPApril 21, 2000

The Birmingham Green Historic District is located in central Derby, Connecticut just north of the central business district. Also known as the Derby Green Historic District, the district consists of the Green and the buildings surrounding it on the east, north, and west sides. A total of 10 buildings, 3 of which are churches, and 4 monuments encompass the district. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 [1] as a good example of privately organized 19th century urban planning. [2]

Contents

Description and history

The town of Derby was settled in 1651 and incorporated in 1775. Originally much larger in size than today, several neighboring communities broke off from the town during the 18th and 19th centuries, reducing it to one of Connecticut's smallest municipalities by area. The point to the north of the confluence of the Naugatuck and Housatonic Rivers was privately developed in the 1830s by Anson Phelps and Sheldon Smith, businessmen who sought to revive the city's flagging economy with industrial development. Their development plans included a parcel designated as the Public Square, which later became known as Birmingham Green and Derby Green. Phelps and Smith were effective in moving significant civic functions from the town center of the period (Derby Landing, on the east side of the river) to this new area, with the three churches flanking the green moving in 1837, 1843, and 1845. [2]

The Methodist Church and war memorial Derby United Methodist Church.jpg
The Methodist Church and war memorial

The Derby Green is 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) in size and rectangular in shape. It is bounded on the north by Fifth Street, the east by Minerva Street and the west by Elizabeth Street. Its southern boundary runs parallel to Fourth Street. Approximately half the street frontage flanking the green is lined by churches and their associated parsonages and rectories. The other main civic building is the Sterling Opera House, built in 1889 on Elizabeth Street to a design by H. Edwards Ficken. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffield, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, and located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,752. The town center is a census-designated place listed as Suffield Depot in U.S. Census records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansonia, Connecticut</span> City in Connecticut, United States

Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. Located on the Naugatuck River, it is immediately north of Derby, and about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of New Haven. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 18,918 at the time of the 2020 census. The ZIP code for Ansonia is 06401. The city is served by the Metro-North Railroad. Ansonia Station is a stop on the railroad passenger commuter service's Waterbury Branch connecting to New York's Grand Central Terminal. Ansonia also is served by the Connecticut Transit bus carrier. Connecticut Route 8 serves Ansonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby, Connecticut</span> City in Connecticut, United States

Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck rivers. It shares borders with the cities of Ansonia to the north and Shelton to the southwest, and the towns of Orange to the south, Seymour to the northwest, and Woodbridge to the east. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 12,325 at the 2020 census. It is the smallest city in Connecticut by area, at 5.3 square miles (14 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anson Green Phelps</span> American entrepreneur and business man

Anson Green Phelps was an American entrepreneur and business man from Connecticut. Beginning with a saddlery business, he founded Phelps, Dodge & Co. in 1833 as an export-import business with his sons-in-law as partners, William E. Dodge in NYC and Daniel James based in Liverpool, England. His third son-in-law, James Boulter Stokes, became a partner some years later.

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

Litchfield Historic District, in Litchfield, Connecticut, is a National Historic Landmark District designated in 1968 as a notable and well-preserved example of a typical late 18th century New England village. As a National Historic Landmark, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It is the core area of a larger NRHP-listed historic district that includes the entire borough of Litchfield and was designated a state historic district in 1959.

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

The Simsbury Center Historic District is a 75-acre (30 ha) historic district located in the town center area of Simsbury, Connecticut. It encompasses seven blocks of Hopmeadow Street, as well as the cluster of commercial, civic, and residential buildings along Railroad, Station, and Wilcox Streets, and Phelps Lane. Although its oldest element is the cemetery, most of its buildings were built in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

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

The Huntington Center Historic District is a historic district in the city of Shelton, Connecticut. The district encompasses the original colonial settlement of Shelton, which was first known as Huntington. It is a linear district about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) in length, centered on the Huntington Green and Cemetery, and extending north along Church Street and south along Huntington Street. The district is predominantly residential, although it has two churches. The green was laid out in 1717, and many of the district's historic buildings were built over the next 150 years. The district's oldest building is a house with an estimated construction date of 1710. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montague Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Montague Center Historic District encompasses the well-preserved 19th century village center of Montague, Massachusetts. Montague Center, one of the town's five villages, is the civic heart of the town, and was also an active industrial area in the 19th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwichtown</span> United States historic place

Norwichtown is a historic neighborhood in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. It is generally the area immediately north of the Yantic River between I-395 and Route 169.

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

The Greenwich Avenue Historic District is a historic district representing the commercial and civic historical development of the downtown area of the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1989. Included in the district is the Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District, which was listed on the National Register the year before for the classical revival style municipal buildings in the core of Downtown. Most of the commercial buildings in the district fall into three broad styles, reflecting the period in which they were built: Italianate, Georgian Revival, and Commercial style. The district is linear and runs north–south along the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Downtown Greenwich, between U.S. Route 1 and the New Haven Line railroad tracks.

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

The Andover Center Historic District encompasses the historic town center of Andover, Connecticut. Centered on the junction of Hebron Road with Center Street and Cider Mill Road, the district includes houses dating to the town's early history, civic buildings including a library and former town hall, and the town's first cemetery. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

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

The Somers Historic District encompasses the historic civic and social center of the town of Somers, Connecticut. It stretches along Main Street, with extensions along Springfield Road and Battle Street, and includes a significant number of vernacular Federal and Greek Revival houses. It includes the town's early churches, as well as important civic buildings, including the town hall and library. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

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

The Hadlyme North Historic District is an 81-acre (33 ha) historic district located in the southwest corner of the town of East Haddam, Connecticut. It represents the historic core of the village of Hadlyme, which straddles the town line, and consists primarily of two north-south roads, Town Street. The village arose around a church society founded in 1743, and grew with the development of small industries along area waterways. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orford Street Historic District</span> Historic district in New Hampshire, United States

The Orford Street Historic District encompasses a particularly attractive stretch of Orford Street in Orford, New Hampshire. It was described as early as the 18th century as "the most charming country village", with a tree-lined promenade that is still a focus of the town center. The district consists of about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of Orford Street, between its junctions with New Hampshire Route 25A and Archertown Road, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

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

Bridgewater Center Historic District encompasses the traditional town center of Bridgewater, Connecticut. Centered at the junction of Main Street with Clapboard and Hat Shop Hill Roads, it developed in the early 19th century as a civic center, even before the town's 1856 incorporation from New Milford. The architecture of the center is largely reflective of the first half of the 19th century, including Greek Revival and Federal style buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

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

The Sharon Historic District encompasses the historic civic center of Sharon, Connecticut. Centered around a mile-long town green are an array of public civic and religious buildings, as well as residences from the 18th to 20th centuries. The area south of the green on South Main Street is lined with country houses developed or improved in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, representing one of the highest concentrations of Colonial Revival estates in the state. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Haven Green Historic District</span> Historic district in Vermont, United States

The Fair Haven Green Historic District encompasses the village green of Fair Haven, Vermont, and the heterogeneous collection of civic, commercial, and residential buildings that line it and adjacent streets. The area was developed mainly following the arrival of the railroad in 1848 and the subsequent expansion of marble and slate quarries in the area. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

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

The New Milford Center Historic District encompasses much of the traditional civic and commercial heart of New Milford, Connecticut.

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

The Broad Street Green Historic District encompasses the historic late-19th century town center of Windsor, Connecticut. It is centered around the Broad Street Green, a public park extending on the east side of Broad Street between Union and Batchelder Streets, and includes a diversity of architecture spanning much of the town's long history. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naugatuck Center Historic District</span> Historic center of Naugatuck, Connecticut, United States

The Naugatuck Center Historic District encompasses the historic civic and business center of Naugatuck, Connecticut. Centered around the town green, the district includes churches, schools and municipal buildings, many from the late 19th or early 20th centuries, as well as a diversity of residential architecture. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Birmingham Green Historic District, Derby, CT / Derby Green Historic District" . Retrieved July 3, 2018.