How many times have you looked up something on the Internet, only to find yourself falling down the rabbit hole, moving from one subject to the next? Take a peek at where my research of these doors took me…
All I knew was that the addresses were 23-25 Capitol Avenue in Hartford, and from the blue plaque I knew the brownstone buildings were on the National Register of Historic Places.
I wanted to know when they were built, who built them and any other interesting tidbits I could find (like what is happening with that wonky window above the door on #25?)
Googling the addresses alone brought up mostly real estate listings. The brownstones have apartments on each floor now. Take a peek here if you would like to see what one of these gorgeous city apartments looks like.
Researching the address also brought up www.livingplaces.com, a site I have found that lists all of the historic districts within a city or town. 23-25 Capitol Avenue falls within the Buckingham Square Historic District in Hartford and was listed in 1982.
Now I was getting somewhere. As I scanned the information presented, which is essentially a copy from the National Register Nomination Form, I saw a reference to “the Gilbert brownstones at 11-25 Capitol Avenue”. Gilbert – a clue! No first name though?
Googling “gilbert architect hartford” brought up a number of references to Cass Gilbert. He was certainly an architect and a very well-known one at that, but as I read about him I realized he wasn’t the architect for 23-25 Capitol Ave.
He did, however, design the famous G. Fox & Co. department store building in Hartford, which you can see here.
A little more research brought me to another favorite site of mine which I reference time and again: Historic Buildings of Connecticut. 23-25 Capitol Avenue isn’t depicted here, but it is mentioned in the caption. And so is the architect’s first name! John.
Piecing together the information, I learned that John W. Gilbert was the architect of both sets of brownstone buildings on Capitol Avenue. 11-17 Capitol Avenue are bow-fronted row houses (featured in photo above with the single door) with Italianate roof lines, c. 1879.
19-25 Capitol Avenue (which of course includes the original addresses I researched) were built in the Second Empire style with an ornate mansard roof pictured below, c. 1871. Mr. Gilbert lived in #21 with his wife Ellen.
Now…this is where I fell down the rabbit hole completely. I saw a mention that both John W. Gilbert and his wife Ellen were excellent chess players. In fact, Ellen was deemed “The Queen of Chess”, and more specifically correspondence chess.
What is correspondence chess, you ask? But of course it is a game of chess played through the mail or by electronic correspondence such as the telegraph. Can you imagine?
Something I did not need to know but am happy to have learned!
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Enjoy this post? You might also like Back Bay Brownstones or Aetna, I’m Glad I Met Ya!
[x_author title=”About the Author”]
My name is Deb Cohen, and I am a lifelong resident of Connecticut, a lover of all things historic and New England, and a realtor who helps buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals and dreams. When I’m not working, I enjoy life with my husband, our two adult children, and our two rescue pups. Renovating and decorating our historic home, dating to 1800, is another favorite pastime.
Most impressive buildings Deb and a fleet of splendid doors – enjoyed your historical digging too!
Thanks so much Jane!
Deb, I really enjoyed this post and love the doors (and the rest of the buildings.) I also like the contrast between neighboring doors.
janet
Excellent research on these lovely brownstones!
Thank you Jan!
A unit in the building with the beautiful iron gate where John Gilbert and the Queen of Chess lived is for sale.
21 Capitol Ave Unit C
$244,000 | 2 Bed 2 Bath
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/21-Capitol-Ave-Unit-C_Hartford_CT_06106_M49656-24089
Thanks for sharing, Judy!! It looks just beautiful.
Hi, I too live at 25 Capitol Avenue (in fact, I am writing this from the room of the famous “wonky window” above the 25). While the building was built as a single family dwelling in 1871, it now is home to two families. I’ve been doing research into the history of the building and its owners and it is indeed a “rabbit hole.” The building has indeed settled over the years and thus the cracks in the facade. We are having the brownstone facade (and hopefully the wonky window) restored this spring by a company that specializes in old stone work (Armani Restorations).
You might be interested to know that Judge Hamersley was a friend and business partner of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). I am trying to find proof that Mr. Clemens visited our house for a dinner or party. It has been fun to read some of the old letters between them as even the most mundane of business correspondence has a bit of Twain humor to it.
It is a real privilege to live in a building with this much history associated with it. We’re trying to be good stewards, protecting and preserving its charm and character. Thanks for highlighting our building in your blog!
Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for commenting. I actually kind of love the wonky window! Was wondering if there was a story there. But I suppose it makes perfect sense that due to settling the facade just needs a little facelift! Thanks so much for being the good stewards that you are. It truly is a labor of love but also a privilege to be surrounded by so much history. Incidentally, I was just hired to work at the Mark Twain House! I start on Monday 🙂 I hope you are able to find a connection there!
Beautiful doors, and building! I like the red details on the roof line too.
My Dad plays chess and tried to teach my sisters, brother and I how to play. I don’t know about them, but I wasn’t really interested, or good at it. My Dad gave up on me and the game. 🙂
Yes, I think the red just makes the roof. I haven’t seen that color used commonly. Chess seems like a snooze-fest to me – too much thinking and waiting for someone to take their turn!
🙂
Whew! Relieved that I found that you do allow comments!
Ooh, those are gorgeous!
I love the roof with the red trimmed windows!
It is sometimes mind-boggling how much information we can access from the sofa 😉 It goes both ways, with retention and dismissal. Why is there so much, and how can I get more? Hah. Great post, Deb 🙂
Thanks, Joey! Isn’t the red just perfect? I love it. Not often I see a mansard roof in the first place, but really rare to see it with the red trim. Yes, all our information is a blessing and a curse. We want it all, but then overload!
I really love old building like these. I think if I ever moved back into the city this is the sort of place I’d be looking for, not that I could afford it of course 😉
Just gorgeous – great post!
So do I, Norm! It saddens me that there are so few remaining in Hartford. While Hartford would never compare to Boston or New York, the city definitely had many more buildings like this which were destroyed. My guess is that in Hartford you could possibly afford this! Boston..maybe not 😉
I live at 25 Capitol Ave.! Love this post. Sorry I don’t play chess but love euchre, low level bridge and dominos. You might like to know that the garden behind is documented at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens. Easy to find on Smithsonian site.
Judge William Hamersley (State Supreme Court) had the house built in 1871. A copy of the deed hangs in the front hall.
Nancy!! I’m so glad you came across my post. I absolutely adore your home! What a treat to live in such a building. I did read that Judge Hamersley lived in the home, but I didn’t know about the garden. I’m off to look it up!! Thank you so much for commenting!
What IS up with that wonky window? I mean, I love it, but it’s so off! 🙂 Beautiful buildings and fabulous doors!
Isn’t it funny, Marian? Someone suggested to me that the building may have settled over time, resulting in some cracks and crookedness. But it’s funny that the window is a bit odd shaped! Quirky!
Beautiful buildings, doors, windows, ironwork – handsome. Good choice. I’ve never been a chess player, but my husband enjoys it. 🙂
I have never played chess either, and my husband also knows how to play. Although this is what he tells me – I don’t think I have ever seen him play a game!
Sometimes, the Internet is too crowded with junk. Great doors and a good bit of research. I love the way one thing leads to another and while in search of doors, we stumble onto chess. Have a great day Deb!
Can you imagine research before the Internet, though? So much junk but so much to find without working very hard. It boggles my mind that people would have to travel and actually visit physical places to access records to find anything out. Of course you still need to do that in many instances but at least you can get a good head start online! You have a good day too 🙂
G’day Deb, my word what a detective you are and what interesting information you unearthed. Those houses look so elegant and I can so understand the falling down the surfing rabbit hole and suddenly the morning has whizzed by…
Thanks so much Pauline! It is fun to do the digging (although usually at the expense of something I should be doing…like the laundry!)