|
Windham County Courthouse and City Hall |
|
Postmarked
1905 |
Postmarked 1908 |
Postmarked 1911 |
Postmarked 1916 |
Copyright
pre-1920s |
Copyright 1920 |
Published
1948-49 |
Much
debate and hostility accompanied the planning of
the Windham Courthouse and Town Hall. After
becoming a city, there were many opinions as to
how the building would be funded, where it would
be built and what would adorn it. |
After soliciting bids from architects in the region, the
committee chose Warren Richard Briggs of Bridgeport to
design the building. Briggs, who studied in Paris, also
built the Fairfield County Courthouse in Danbury.
The
Courthouse and Town Hall when finished was an imposing
structure with a clock tower and a grand entrance with
14-feet wide granite steps. It was built with 1.25 million
bricks, the exterior was trimmed with Philadelphia pressed
brick and the entrance hall had paneled ash ceilings and a
floor constructed from Munson (MA) granite. The interior of
the building was finished in cypress paneling. The doors
were also cypress and 152 windows filled the interior with
light.
Though he
faced much resistance from the committee, Briggs finally won
out and the first story of the Courthouse and Town Hall was
constructed of Portland (CT) sandstone and the granite from
Munson.
On September
16, 1896 builder Jeremiah O'Sullivan handed the keys of the
building to Committee Chairman W.N. Potter and the clock
dials on the tower were illuminated by electric light at 6
p.m. until midnight. Willimantic now had its Courthouse and
Town Hall. The total cost was $73,000.
