Old State House (Hartford)

Infobox_nrhp | name =Old State House, Hartford, Connecticut
nrhp_type =nhl


caption = Old State House (front facade)
location= Hartford, Connecticut
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 45
lat_seconds = 58
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 72
long_minutes = 40
long_seconds = 22
long_direction = W
locmapin = Connecticut
area =
built = 1792
architect= Charles Bulfinch
architecture= Other, Federal
designated= December 19, 1960cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=665&ResourceType=Building
title=Old Statehouse (Connecticut) |accessdate=2007-10-03|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 15, 1966cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Local
refnum=66000878

The Old State House (completed 1796) in Hartford, Connecticut is generally believed to have been designed by noted American architect Charles Bulfinch as his first public building. The State House is currently under the direction of The Old State House Association, Inc., and until very recently, was managed by the Connecticut Historical Society. The exterior building and the Senate have been restored to its original Federal style; the Representative's chamber is Victorian, and the halls and courtroom are Colonial Revival.

The Hartford State House is, in appearance, very similar to the Town Hall of Liverpool, England, built in the mid-1700s and perhaps depicted in one of Bulfinch's architecture books. However, all materials came from the United States. Its first story is 20 feet high and constructed from Portland, Connecticut brownstone. The second and third stories are brick patterned in Flemish bond. The cornice is wooden.

The State House has been modified somewhat since it was first built. As originally constructed, the building had neither balustrade or cupola, but the balustrade was added in the early 1800s for the protection of firemen, and the cupola was constructed in 1827 with its bell and John Stanwood's statue of Justice. An original (1796) stone spiral staircase behind the northern arch, designed by Asher Benjamin, led to the second and third floors; it no longer exists. In 1814, the Hartford Convention was held there.

The building had been in danger of closing earlier this year due to financial constraints.State and Hartford officials have recently signed a 99-year lease placing Connecticut's Old State House under new management. The lease puts the city-owned historic building under the control of the state Office of Legislative Management.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/66000878.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Old Hartford State House] |449 KiB |author=James Dillon|date=1974|publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink

[http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/66000878.pdf "Accompanying 9 photos, from 1970 and 1974"] |915 KiB ]

References