Greenwich Avenue Historic District | |
![]() Greenwich Avenue, circa 1910 | |
Location | Downtown Greenwich, Greenwich, Connecticut |
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Coordinates | 41°1′33″N73°37′36″W / 41.02583°N 73.62667°W |
Area | 86 acres (35 ha) |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian |
NRHP reference No. | 89001215 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 31, 1989 |
Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District | |
Area | 21.6 acres (8.7 ha) |
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Built | 1892 |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Art Deco, Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 88000579 [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 26, 1988 |
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 (late 19th century), Georgian Revival (early 20th century), and Commercial style (after World War I). 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. [2] [3]
The town of Greenwich was first settled in 1640, but settlement was scattered among several villages. It was not until 1665 that Greenwich was formally incorporated as a town of Connecticut. In 1672, a group of settlers bought a tract of land known as Miossehasseky. The area occupied by Havemeyer Fields was used by these settlers as a pasture for horses and the entire village soon acquired the name Horseneck. In 1703, the town voted to have town meetings split between Sound Beach (the oldest settlement) and Horseneck, which was centrally located in the town. In 1760, a “Town House” for conducting town meetings was constructed at what is now the intersection of Putnam and Maple Avenue. [4] The population of Horseneck boomed in the mid-19th century, transforming from a farming village to a wealth suburban community of New York City, mainly as a result of the establishment by the New Haven Railroad of a station at the lower part of Greenwich Avenue. This rapid growth prompted the incorporation of Horseneck as the Borough of Greenwich in 1854. The establishment of borough government ultimately allowed for the rapid construction of new public buildings after the Civil War on previously vacant farmland. Around the area of public buildings, intensive development of commercial as well as residential areas was also taking place. [2]
The rapid development of public buildings in the borough was aided by the development of railroad and steamboat service, allowing people to work in New York City while living in Greenwich. Several wealth New York capitalists spurred the rapid development with their own funds. Henry O. Havemeyer was the first of these benefactors. He donated the money to construct the Havemeyer Building, which was originally a school, in 1892. Another philanthropist, Robert M. Bruce, and his sister Sarah E. Bruce, donated to the town the Old Town Hall (now the Senior Center) after it was constructed in 1905. The core of Downtown Greenwich was completed when the Havemeyer family donated the parcel of land south of the intersection of Arch Street and Greenwich Avenue for construction of a public park and a post office. The post office building was constructed in 1916. [3] [5]
In the 19th century, most commercial development took place along the northern end of Greenwich Avenue, where the Boston Post Road was located. This area of Greenwich Avenue provided goods and services to the growing residential community around the intersection of Greenwich Avenue and Putnam Avenue, including what is now the Fourth Ward. Sidewalks, kerosene street lighting, and sewer and water lines were in place by 1882. In the early 20th-century, Greenwich Avenue was paved and a streetcar line was established. Many houses that were already on Greenwich Avenue were moved to residential areas on the parallel side streets to make way for commercial blocks. Commercial development continued to boom in the 1920s, helped in part by the electrification and four-tracking of the New Haven Railroad line. The borough had dominated the civic life of the entire town of Greenwich by this time and the borough and town governments were eventually consolidated in 1932 resulting in the modern town government of Greenwich. The last open lot on Greenwich Avenue was built on in 1947 with the construction of an office building now occupied by Fawcett Publications. While upscale retail businesses replaced the earlier stores and office space in existing buildings upgraded, the streetscape of the area is largely intact and continues to function as the commercial and civic center of the town. [2]
The district is primarily linear including properties on both sides of Greenwich Avenue from Putnam Avenue (U.S. Route 1) in the north to the New Haven Line tracks in the south. The district has an east–west bulge near its center where the Greenwich Municipal Center district is located. The bulge extends east along both sides of Havemeyer Place up to Millbank Street, and west across Havemeyer Field to Field Point Road, where the current Town Hall is located. The district is also drawn to include commercial blocks off Greenwich Avenue along the north side of Putnam Avenue, the north side of Lewis Street, the south side of Bruce Park, and the north side of Railroad Avenue. There are two specific exclusions along Greenwich Avenue that contain modern buildings. The first is half a block on the east side just south of Putnam Avenue. The second is the east side of the intersection with Fawcett Place. The north, east, and west sides of the district are flanked by residential neighborhoods. Part of the north residential area is included in the Fourth Ward Historic District. In the south are the railroad tracks of the New Haven Line, the Connecticut Turnpike, and Greenwich Harbor.
The historic district covers a total area of 86 acres. Of this area, 21.6 acres are part of the Municipal Center district, with 16.8 acres of that occupied by Havemeyer Field. There are 152 buildings in the district, of which 124 are listed as contributing to the historic and architectural significance of the area. The district is bounded to include historic commercial and civic buildings that are associated to the rapid development of the borough of Greenwich in the period 1860 to 1940, and to exclude primarily residential areas as well as modern commercial construction. [2] [3]
The Greenwich Avenue Historic District is representative of the architectural diversity that was found in the 19th and early 20th century commercial streetscapes of small cities in Connecticut. Greenwich Avenue is distinguished in that so much of the historic streetscape remains intact today. Some of the more significant buildings and blocks are described below. [2] [3] [5]
The history of Greenwich, Connecticut, United States.
The Old Jeffersonville Historic District is located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States. It marks the original boundaries of Jeffersonville, and is the heart of modern-day downtown Jeffersonville. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The area is roughly bounded by Court Avenue at the North, Graham Street on the east, the Ohio River at the south, and Interstate 65 at the west. In total, the district has 203 acres (0.8 km2), 500 buildings, 6 structures, and 11 objects. Several banks are located in the historic buildings in the district. The now defunct Steamboat Days Festival, held on the second weekend in September, used to be held on Spring Street and the waterfront. Jeffersonville's largest fire wiped out a block in the historic district on January 11, 2004 which destroyed the original Horner's Novelty store.
Glenville is a neighborhood and census-designated place in the town of Greenwich in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 2,327. It is located in the western part of Greenwich at the falls of the Byram River, which provided waterpower when this was a mill village. The area is home to Glenville Elementary school, Western Civic Center and a volunteer fire station, the Glenville Fire Department.
The North Attleborough Town Center Historic District encompasses the most historic elements of the central business district of North Attleborough, Massachusetts. The area was developed between about 1860 and 1830 as a center serving the community and the surrounding jewelry manufacturing businesses for which the town was well known. The district, extending along Washington Street between Fisher Street and Bruce Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Danielson Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic late 19th-century commercial business district of the borough of Danielson in the town of Killingly, Connecticut. It extends along Main Street, between the Five Mile River and Spring Street, including a few buildings on adjacent side streets, representing the area's growth as a commercial and civic center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Glenville Historic District, also known as Sherwood's Bridge, is a 33.9 acres (13.7 ha) historic district in the Glenville neighborhood of the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. It is the "most comprehensive example of a New England mill village within the Town of Greenwich". It "is also historically significant as one of the town's major staging areas of immigrants, predominantly Irish in the 19th century and Polish in the 20th century" and remains "the primary settlement of Poles in the town". Further, "[t]he district is architecturally significant because it contains two elaborate examples of mill construction, designed in the Romanesque Revival and a transitional Stick-style/Queen Anne; an excellent example of a Georgian Revival school; and notable examples of domestic and commercial architecture, including a Queen Anne mansion and an Italianate store building."
The Whitney Avenue Historic District is a historic district in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. It is a 203-acre (82 ha) district which included 1,084 contributing buildings when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
The Central New Bedford Historic District is one of nine historic districts in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. The district encompasses the city's central business district, built up during the time in the late 19th century when textiles had replaced whaling as the city's main industry. It is a 29-acre (12 ha) rectangular area bounded by Acushnet Avenue and the older New Bedford Historic District on the east, School Street to the south, Middle Street on the north and 6th Street in the west. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Broadway Historic District is located along Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It has a twofold character. The southern section is the commercial core of the city, with many of its important public and private buildings, most intact from its peak days as a resort town in that era. North Broadway is a residential neighborhood with many large Victorian houses built by frequent visitors to the town and its spas and racetrack.
The Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District is a neighborhood located on East Jefferson Avenue between Eastlawn Street and Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan. The district is the only continuously intact commercial district remaining along East Jefferson Avenue, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church and parsonage at 61 East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. Built in 1868-69 for a Methodist congregation established in 1805, the church is a fine local example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, and the parsonage, built in 1872, is a good example of Italianate architecture. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The congregation is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The High Street Historic District of Hartford, Connecticut is a 1.1-acre (0.45 ha) historic district that includes three buildings typifying the architectural styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The buildings are located at 402-418 Asylum Street, 28 High Street, and 175-189 Allyn Street, and includes the Batterson Block and Judd and Root Building, each individually listed for their architecture.
The Greenwich Senior Center, formerly Greenwich Town Hall, is a historic municipal building at 299 Greenwich Avenue in the business district of Greenwich, Connecticut. USA. Built in 1905, it is a prominent local example of Beaux Arts architecture, and served as the town's center of government until 1977. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1987.
Greenwich YMCA is a historic building at 50 East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut. Built in 1916 as a gift from Mrs. Nathaniel Witherill, it is a distinctive example of Colonial Revival / Georgian Revival style with Beaux Arts flourishes. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
The United States Post Office is a former post office building at 310 Greenwich Avenue in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut. Built in 1915, it is a good example of Classical Revival architecture, with a distinctive plan predating the Postal Service's standardization of buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It was included in the Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District which was listed in 1988, and is also included in the Greenwich Avenue Historic District. The building is now in commercial retail use.
The Putnam Hill Historic District encompasses a former town center of Greenwich, Connecticut. Located on United States Route 1 between Milbank Avenue and Old Church Road, the district includes the churches of two historic congregations, a former tavern, and a collection of fine mid-Victorian residential architecture. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Downtown Ossining Historic District is located at the central crossroads of Ossining, New York, United States, and the village's traditional business district known as the Crescent. Among its many late 19th- and early 20th-century commercial buildings are many of the village's major landmarks—three bank buildings, four churches, its village hall, former post office and high school. It was recognized as a historic district in 1989 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as one of the few downtowns in Westchester County with its social and historical development intact.
The Glen Ellyn Downtown North Historic District is a historic business district in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. It is found on Main Street between Crescent Boulevard & Pennsylvania Avenue, the north side of Crescent between Main & Forest Avenue and the south side of Pennsylvania between Main and Glenwood Avenue. There are thirty-four buildings in the district, twenty-eight of which contribute to its historical fabric.
The Holland Downtown Historic District is a commercial historic district located along Eighth Street from just east of College Avenue to River Avenue, and along and River Avenue from Ninth Street to just north of Eighth Street in Holland, Michigan. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
The River Road-Mead Avenue Historic District encompasses a well-preserved late-19th century upper-class residential area in the Cos Cob area of Greenwich, Connecticut. Extending along River Road between Mead Avenue and Robertson Lane, and along Mead Avenue most of the way to East Putnam Avenue, the district includes fourteen fine houses, most of which were built between 1870 and 1907. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.