New Britain is nicknamed "Hardware City" because it is home of Stanley Works. A Gothic Victorian mansion (in blue) was constructed in 1859 for Timothy Wadsworth Stanley and is shoehorned into Hillside Place, nestled into the hillside bordering Olmsted's Walnut Hill Park. Stanley was a founding director of the Stanley Rule and Level Company in the 1850s. I got a chance to visit the shop floor years ago on a tour with the Hartford chapter of the MIT Club. The house rests upon a solid brownstone foundation.
Nearby is the Gothic Victorian State Normal School (note inscription "S.N.S.A.D.1882"), now condominiums. A normal school was a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Founded in 1849, it was the 6th Normal School in the U.S., ultimately becoming Central Connecticut Sate University. Its original purpose was to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name. Generally, Normal Schools were later called Teachers Colleges. The building features a 120 foot bell tower. The brickwork is amazing. Returning to High Street, there is a curious brick house with heavy brownstone mouldings, in the English Tudor Style. constructed in 1878, known as the Eastman House. The bright red doors and window sashes are striking.
Last, but not least is the 1891 Victorian Cadwell House. William Cadwell was New Britain's most famous architect. The massive turrets are spectacular, all three with very different geometries.
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