Calvin Day House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Calvin Day House
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 105 Spring St., Hartford, Connecticut |
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| Area | 0.8 acres (0.32 ha) |
| Built | 1852 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002872 |
| Added to NRHP | December 18, 1978 |
The Calvin Day House is a special old building located at 105 Spring Street in Hartford, Connecticut. It was built way back in 1852. This house is important because it's the only one left from a group of fancy Italian-style homes that once stood on a hill overlooking Hartford's main train station, Union Station. In 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which lists important historical sites. Today, a group that helps people uses the house.
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What Does the Calvin Day House Look Like?
The Calvin Day House is in a part of Hartford called Asylum Hill. It's a two-story building made of brick. The house has a low, sloped roof with a cool eight-sided tower on top called a cupola. The roof also has wide edges with fancy decorations.
Special Features of the House
The front of the house faces Spring Street. It has three main sections. The two outer sections on the ground floor stick out. They have their own small roofs with decorations. In the middle is the main door. It has a porch with tall, classic-looking columns.
On the side facing Myrtle Street, there's another entrance. Above this door, on the second floor, is a window that sticks out. This is called an oriel window. A newer part was added to the back of the house in the mid-1900s. It was designed to match the old style. Inside, many of the original decorations are still there. This is true even though the house is no longer a family home.
Who Was Calvin Day?
The Calvin Day House was first built in 1852 for a bookbinder named J. Seymour Brown. But in 1855, a very important local businessman named Calvin Day bought it.
Calvin Day's Important Roles
Calvin Day had many big jobs in Hartford. He was the president of a railroad company called the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad. He also led the Wadsworth Atheneum, which is one of the oldest art museums in the United States.
Day was also involved in politics. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1857 to 1858. A Lieutenant Governor is like a vice-governor. They are the second-highest elected official in a state. Calvin Day was also active in the Republican Party in Connecticut. After Calvin Day passed away, his daughter inherited the house. Her family later sold it in 1921 to a local women's shelter.
Why is This House So Special?
Spring Street runs along a hill that now looks over Interstate 84. Hartford's Union Station is just beyond the highway. When Calvin Day lived here, Spring Street was full of beautiful, high-quality homes just like his.
Sadly, all the other houses on Spring Street were torn down. Some were replaced by apartment buildings in the early 1900s. Others were removed later during city rebuilding projects. Because of this, the Calvin Day House is the only one left from that time and place. However, you can still find similar old houses on other streets in the Asylum Hill area.
