1900s Archives - Page 97 of 131

Hartford Life Insurance Company, Hartford Connecticut

May 7, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Hartford Life Insurance Company building at the corner of Asylum and Ann Uccello Streets, around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2015:

The building in the first photo was once the home of the Hartford Life Insurance Company, and it stood on the northeast corner of Asylum and Ann (today Ann Uccello, named after Hartford’s first female mayor) Streets. Aside form housing insurance offices, the ground floor also featured a number of storefronts, with the Jas. Duggan & Co. situated at the corner. The awning advertises what was apparently a house brand medicine of likely dubious quality, called Duggan’s Rheumatic Elixr. Elsewhere in the windows, other advertisements are visible, including several for Moxie soda, which as mentioned in this post was sold as a product with medicinal benefits.

However, perhaps the most bizarre ad is the large banner just to the left of the corner, which reads “Your Mother gave You Sulphur and Molasses. Give Your Children Sulphur and Molasses Kisses.” Apparently these ingredients were once commonly taken in the spring and fall as “blood purifiers,” a belief that was probably based in part on sulfur’s laxative effect. It was, like many other drugs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (and, to an extent, today as well), marketed using all sorts of vague claims about benefiting the liver and kidneys, curing malaria and “blood troubles,” and in general “maintaining bodily vigor and health.”

Today, the site of the building is now part of the large block that makes up the XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center. The arena opened in 1975, and was home to the NHL Hartford Whalers before the team moved to Raleigh and became the Carolina Hurricanes. Today, the facility is used by the Hartford Wolf Pack minor league hockey team, and is often used by the University of Connecticut basketball teams for important games.

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Hartford Connecticut

May 7, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch on Trinity Street in Hartford, around 1900-1910. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The arch in 2015:

Many cities and towns across the country have some sort of Civil War monument with a statue on top, but Hartford took it one step further and designed a pair of medieval-style towers connected by an arch. The monument honors the approximately 4,000 Hartford citizens who served in the war, about 400 of whom never returned home. It was dedicated in 1886, and spans Trinity Street not far from the State Capitol, which is off to the right, beyond the right-hand tower. At the time that the first photo was taken, the section of road in front of the tower was a bridge over the Park River. The bridge is still there, but the river has since been put underground and the grade was raised on the old riverbed. Trinity Street has also changed – there are no longer any trolley tracks running down the middle, and because of how narrow the arch is, the street has been reduced to a single lane of one-way traffic.

Corning Fountain, Hartford Connecticut

February 12, 2017May 6, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Corning Fountain in Bushnell Park in Hartford, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The fountain in 2015:

The Corning Fountain was given as a gift to the city of Hartford in 1899 by John J. Corning. It was designed by J. Massie Rhind, and features Native Americans representing local tribes, with a deer on top. The city’s name literally means “hart ford,” as in “a place where deer cross a river,” so the hart or stag has become a symbol of the city. Not coincidentally, the animal is also the symbol of The Hartford investment and insurance company. The statue is located in Bushnell Park, a large public park that was created in the 1860s. Prior to the construction of the park, this area was a fairly polluted industrial area. Corning’s father operated a grist mill on the spot where the statue now sits, and the statue was given by his son in his memory.

Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford

August 22, 2021May 6, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, seen from Bushnell Park around 1906. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The capitol in 2015:

For many years, Connecticut had a rather unusual capital city arrangement. Despite being geographically one of the smallest states, they had two capital cities: Hartford and New Haven. The General Assembly alternated locations, thus accommodating both the section of the state along the coastline, as well as those who lived further inland. The state even had two different state houses, with one in each city. This was presumably beneficial for travel when the system was established in 1701, but by the second half of the 19th century railroads made the 35 miles between the two cities far more manageable. It was impractical to continue to have two different capitals (not to mention two different capitols), so in 1875 Hartford became the sole capital city.

To commemorate the unification of the capitals, Connecticut built a new state capitol at the southern end of Bushnell Park, and it has been the seat of Connecticut government ever since. The only readily apparent change between the two photos is the statue on top of the dome. Called The Genius of Connecticut, it was damaged in the 1938 Hurricane and taken down; several years later it was melted down as scrap metal for the war effort. In front of the building, Bushnell Park is still there, albeit with more trees and substantially more parking spaces than in the 1906 scene.

Hollister Block, Wilbraham Mass

May 4, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Hollister Block on Boston Road in North Wilbraham, probably around 1900. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

The building in 2015:

This building at the corner of Boston Road and Chapel Street was built around 1895, and in the early 20th century it was used as a drugstore and post office. In the first scene, the left-hand storefront is home to James Egan’s drugstore, and the window displays prominent lettering indicating that Moxie was available there. like other early sodas, Moxie was originally marketed as a medication; in the late 1800s it was called Moxie Nerve Food, and an 1896 ad claims it to be “The most healthful thing you can drink,” and was helpful in “keeping the blood cool, the stomach in order, and the nervous system properly nourished. The same ad also warned the public to “Beware of worthless imitations”, so apparently it was the habit of some unscrupulous druggists to serve generic brand Moxie to their customers; certainly one hopes that only genuine Moxie was sold to Mr. Egan’s customers here.

Today’s scene shows some exterior alterations to the building, but certainly nothing too dramatic. The building’s two storefronts are still in use, and an antique store now occupies the space that was once the home of Egan’s drugstore. Moxie is no longer served in the building, but the company is still in business. It no longer claims to have any medicinal value, and its popularity is nowhere near what it was a century ago, but it is still sold in the New England area and is one of the oldest existing soft drink brands in the country.

Old Academy Hall, Wilbraham Mass

May 4, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Old Academy Hall, on the campus of Wilbraham & Monson Academy, around 1900. Image courtesy of the Wilbraham Public Library.

The building in 2015

Built in 1824, this was the original building at what would eventually become the Wilbraham & Monson Academy. The school was initially founded as two separate schools: Monson Academy in nearby Monson, Massachusetts in 1804, and Wesleyan Academy in Newmarket, New Hampshire in 1817. Wesleyan Academy was founded as a Methodist school, and when Newmarket was found to not be a suitable location, the school moved to Wilbraham, which at the time was an important center for the small but growing Methodist denomination.

The school moved into this building in 1825, and although the campus has grown substantially over nearly 200 years, the original building is still in use. Over the years, the academy taught a number of notable people, including Massachusetts Governor and US Senator Winthrop M. Crane, industrialist and Pratt Institute founder Charles Pratt, and abolitionist and suffragist Lucy Stone. Several members of my family also attended Wesleyan Academy, including my great-grandfather in the 1880s and both of his parents in the 1840s. In fact, my great-great grandmother was less than a year younger than Charles Pratt, and likely would have known him during his three years at the school.

Wesleyan Academy closed in June 1911, and remained closed throughout the 1911-1912 school year. It reopened in September 1912 as Wilbraham Academy, with a new headmaster, a new faculty, and a mostly new student body. Only one Wesleyan Academy student enrolled in the new Wilbraham Academy, so there is a bit of discontinuity with the school itself, even though the campus remained essentially the same. Another change came in 1971, when the school merged with Monson Academy and the Monson campus was closed. Today, although Wilbraham & Monson Academy uses the old Wesleyan Academy campus, the school recognizes 1804 as its founding date, the year that Monson Academy opened. The original Wesleyan Academy building has remained nearly unchanged from the exterior, and today the building houses classrooms for the English and foreign language departments.