CT_Naugatuck--Railroad Station Clock

"The Naugatuck Railroad Station is a long low, one-story building designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It is composed of three sections: a tall central main block with brick end chimneys, flanked by identical lower wings. Each section has a hipped roof, originally covered with Spanish tile, now asphalt-shingled. Exposed wooden rafters, or outriggers, are found under the broad overhangs. The building rests on a stone foundation with polished rose granite above grade and has a brick watertable defined by a sandstone belt course. The rest of the walls are stuccoed, set off by red brick quoins at the corners and window enframements. The main doorway, which has two sets of glazed wooden doors with transoms, is recessed in the center of the balanced facade. Its broad sandstone lintel rests on brick pilasters on either side.

Above the door is an arched wall gable with a shaped Spanish hood, supported by stepped wooden consoles with carved scrolls. Under the hood is a clock face elaborated by a polychrome terra cotta relief of dolphins and scallop shells, the whole outlined with red brick. Flanking the main doors are tall tripartite, double-hung windows set off from their transoms by another sandstone belt course. The wing facades and end elevations display paired out-swinging wood casements and have sandstone sills and lintels. The rear elevation, which mimics the facade in its design, faces the railroad tracks. The fenestration is slightly different, with two groups of double doors opposite the tall facade windows and a projecting bay across from the main entrance. An extended overhang, created by connecting the rear slopes of the wing roofs, is supported by chamfered wooden braces, set on sandstone wall corbels." (emphasis added; http://www.naugatuckhistory.com/hi-museum-trainstation-3.htm)

"Stylistically distinctive and generally well-preserved, the Naugatuck Railroad Station is a fine example of the Spanish Colonial Revival-style, a design rarely used for public buildings in Connecticut. It is primarily significant as the work of Henry Bacon (1866-1924), a major American architect who is best know[n] as the designer of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The station derives added importance from its local historic context, particularly its association with John H. Whittemore (d. 1910), a wealthy Naugatuck industrialist who had a profound and lasting influence on the town's architectural development around the turn of the century." (http://www.naugatuckhistory.com/hi-museum-trainstation-2.htm)

Technical Information (Size,mfg., etc.):

It is not known which terra cotta or tile company manufactured the clock face.

Year Created:

1908

Year Installed, if different:

Does Installation Still Exist?

Yes. The building, now the home of the Naugatuck Historical Society, was added to the State of Connecticut Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1998, and is protected.

If Not, What Happened?

Location of Installation:

195 Water Street, Naugatuck, Connecticut 06770

Additional Information, Websites, Citations:

The volunteers at the Naugatuck Historical Society (http://www.naugatuckhistory.com/) were very helpful and allowed me to go through their clippings file folders to search for information about the clock.

Color photos taken in 2012 and 2013 by Michael Padwee.

Submitted by and Year:

Submitted by Michael Padwee (tileback101'at'collector.org) in January 2012.