Trinity College in Hartford has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
“Being listed on the National Register of Historic Places is a profound acknowledgment of the enduring significance of our past and the importance of Trinity’s architecture to American history and society today,” said Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney in a press release. “This serves as another example of how we can celebrate our College’s identity and ensure that future generations of Bantams can connect with the richness of our proud history.”
The National Park Service designated an 11.4-acre rectangular area anchored by the iconic Long Walk and Chapel as the Trinity College Long Walk Historic District with national importance. The chapel’s tower, a well known sight for those entering Hartford on I-84, rises 163 feet in the air—about 100 feet higher than the roof ridge—and is visible from several areas around the city. The chapel was built in 1932 and designed by the same architect who designed the Washington National Cathedral.
The Long Walk encompasses a series of attached buildings laid out around three sides of the Main Quad and roughly forming the letter “c.” It is made up of adjacent buildings including Jarvis Hall, built in 1878; Northam Towers, 1883; and Seabury Hall, 1878, as well as later additions Williams Memorial Hall, 1914; Hamlin Hall, 1931; Cook Hall, 1931; Martin W. Clement Chemistry Laboratory, 1936; Goodwin-Woodward Hall, 1940; and Downes Hall, 1958.
Constructed out of brownstone with sandstone trim sourced from the Midwest, the Long Walk was the site of early presidential visits including Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Those visits are commemorated in stone and serve as inspiration for Trinity traditions, according to the school.
“Trinity’s Long Walk represents a precedent-setting design, not only for its collection of Gothic Revival-style craftsmanship, but also for its innovation in campus planning, through the original vision of a series of quadrangles and international collaboration,” said Jenny Schofield, Connecticut’s deputy state historic preservation officer in a press release. “Following its completion, high-quality Gothic Revival architecture also proliferated throughout Hartford.”
The register is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation because of their significance in American life and is part of a federal program that supports public and private efforts to protect historic and archaeological assets. The idea for Trinity to pursue the designation arose from a planning committee for the yearlong bicentennial celebration and was supported by a unanimous vote of agreement from the State Historic Preservation Review Board, the school said.
Trinity College was first opened in 1824 as Washington College by Bishop Thomas Brownell on a 14-acre site where the CT State Capitol is today. The college was renamed Trinity College in 1845; the original campus known as “College Hill” consisted of two Greek Revival buildings, according to the school’s history. The school relocated in 1878 for the construction of the Capitol building to its current Summit Street home.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com
