Merritt Beach & Son Building facts for kids

Merritt Beach & Son Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	30 Bridge St., New Milford, Connecticut
Area	0.2 acres (0.081 ha)
Built	1873 (1873)
Built by	Beach, Merritt, & Son
Architectural style	Italianate
NRHP reference No.	92000403
Added to NRHP	April 28, 1992

The Merritt Beach & Son Building is a really old and important building in New Milford, Connecticut. It's located at 30 Bridge Street. This building was constructed way back in 1873. That makes it one of the oldest business buildings still standing in New Milford!

It was originally built for a company called Merritt Beach & Son. They sold lumber and hardware, like wood and tools. This company was one of the oldest businesses that kept running in New Milford for a long time. Even though the company isn't in this building anymore, it's still special. Because of its history, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. This list helps protect important places in the United States.

About the Merritt Beach & Son Building

The Merritt Beach & Son Building is just outside the main downtown area of New Milford. You can find it on the west side of the railroad tracks. It's also on the south side of Bridge Street, which is where U.S. Routes 7 and 202 run.

What the Building Looks Like

This building has three stories and is made of brick. It has a special style called Italianate architecture. This means it has features that were popular in Italy during the 1800s. The front of the building has five sections, called bays. There's a small space between the two sections on the right and the three sections on the left.

The windows on the second and third floors have cool, rounded tops. These tops are decorated with small brackets. A porch with a flat roof covers the first floor. It's held up by square posts and has simple railings between them. The very top of the building has a fancy trim called a cornice. It's also decorated with brackets and small tooth-like shapes. Behind the main part of the building, there are other sections. These used to be sheds for storing lumber, but they have been changed for other uses now.

A Look Back in Time

The company that built this place, Canfield and Beach, started their lumber business in New Milford in 1857. In 1866, Mr. Canfield left the business. After that, different members of the Beach and Barlow families ran the company. By 1992, it was the oldest business in New Milford that had been running without stopping.

The company built this specific building in 1873. They used it for several things:

• The first floor was their hardware store.
• The second floor was a warehouse for storing tobacco.
• The third floor was a public meeting hall.

The Merritt Beach & Son company stayed in this building until 1977. This building is very important because it's the only commercial building from that time period that is still standing in New Milford today.