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04/01/2021 12:01 AM

Residential Architecture in Connecticut Subject of Essex Library Talk


Built in 1846 in the Gothic Revival style, Roseland Cottage was the summer home of Henry and Lucy Bowen and their young family. With its pink exterior, Roseland Cottage has an equally colorful interior, featuring elaborate wall coverings, heavily patterned carpets, and stained glass, much of which survives unchanged from the Victorian era. The house is a National Historic Landmark.Photo courtesy of the Essex Library

The Centerbrook Architects Lecture Series presents Dr. Theodore Sawruk on the subject of “Living in Connecticut: Styles of Residential Architecture 1600-2000”

Sawruk, an architectural historian, will discuss the dominant characteristics in the creation of regional residential designs for the Essex Library’s Centerbrook Architects Lecture Series on Friday, April 16 at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

Intricately tied to Connecticut, the evolution of residential architecture realized innovative responses to local conditions. Significant to the survival and prosperity of their owners, these interpretive structures solidified a succession of regional architectural styles, while providing comfort to their inhabitants.

When English settlers first landed on the shores of the new world, they were woefully unprepared for the frontier they confronted. For more than four centuries, Connecticut builders and architects sought to transform European models, available materials, and a keen reaction to extreme climate conditions to create innovative responses to the local constraints. In organization, form, and detail, these varied houses developed unique prototypes for all residential construction in the region.

This illustrated Zoom event is free and open to the public. For more information or to register (required), call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 or visit www.youressexlibrary.org.