Tour America's History: Waterbury City Hall

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Waterbury City Hall

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Visit our Tour Destination: Connecticut page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Waterbury City Hall.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

Waterbury City Hall Building

235 Grand Street

Waterbury, CT

Website: City of Waterbury

The Treasure: One of noted architect Cass Gilbert’s greatest achievements, the Waterbury City Hall is a classic representation of the economic optimism of American cities in the early years of the 20th century.

Accessibility: A working center of government, City Hall is open for city business.

Background: “What Is More Lasting Than Brass?” In the 19th century, Waterbury became known as the “Brass Capital of the World,” with flourishing industries that produced vast quantities of brass buttons, buckles, coins, lamps, photographic plates, and industrial equipment. By the early years of the 20th century, three Waterbury companies dominated the field of brass manufacturing: Scovill Manufacturing Company (later Century Brass), the Anaconda-American Brass Company, and Chase Brass & Copper.

Henry Sabin Chase founded Chase Brass & Copper in 1876. Chase had ambitions for both his company and its home city, and he had the drive and vision needed to pursue them. As Chase Brass & Copper flourished under his leadership, Chase’s attention turned to his civic dreams. In the aftermaths of both a 1902 fire in the downtown portion of the city and a 1912 fire that burned down their original City Hall, Chase saw new opportunities emerging for Waterbury. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement, he ambitiously proposed building a “Court of Honor” for downtown Waterbury that would include a monumental City Hall as the centerpiece of a complex of civic buildings.

Cass Gilbert, architect of
Waterbury City Hall.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Through a national design competition, Cass Gilbert (1859-1934) was selected to design these buildings on Waterbury’s Grand Street. Gilbert was a formidable New York architect working at the height of his powers. He had established a national reputation with his work on the Minnesota State Capitol building, the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in New York City, and the United States Supreme Court Building. At the time he began work on Waterbury City Hall, Gilbert was planning what is probably his most famous building: New York City’s Woolworth Building, a groundbreaking neo-Gothic skyscraper that reigned as the tallest building in the world for nearly two decades.

Gilbert and Chase shared a conservative—and deeply optimistic—vision. Chase embraced Gilbert’s plan for a Georgian Revival-style City Hall that simultaneously displayed both wealth and dignity. Its scale is huge and its architectural details, meticulously planned by Chase, reflect the very highest standards of the time. Naturally, the marble frieze above the entrance bears the inscription “Quid Aere Perennius,” which is Latin for “What is more lasting than brass?”

Aldermanic Chambers at Waterbury City Hall.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

View from Mayor's Reception looking toward restored leaded glass window.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

Notes from the Editor: After he designed City Hall, Gilbert continued to work with Chase, moving next to the design and construction of the Chase Headquarters Building, the Waterbury National Bank building, Lincoln House, and the Chase Memorial Dispensary. Located on Field and Grand Streets, these buildings now comprise the Cass Gilbert National Register District. They were designed to impress visitors arriving by train at the city’s Union Station, built by McKim, Mead & White in 1909. Visitors to the city would emerge from the train station to experience one of the most thoughtfully designed and stately urban centers in the country.

The cupola: Above the clock, a gold leaf
dome is topped by a weathervane.
Photo courtesy of the City of Waterbury.

The people of Waterbury continue to believe in the future of their city, much as Henry Sabin Chase did. In 2007, voters approved a proposal to issue $35.9 million in bonds to restore Waterbury City Hall to its former greatness. The building itself had never fully lost its air of imposing dignity, but years of deferred maintenance took a steep toll in all the detailing that originally made it such a stunning achievement. Now restored, Waterbury City Hall continues to embody a vision of city life that is both historically important and a symbol of faith in the future of our cities.

Other Recommended Sites: While admiring City Hall, don’t neglect the other great buildings in Chase’s “Court of Honor.” Gilbert’s Chase Headquarters Building, the Waterbury National Bank building, Lincoln House, and the Chase Memorial Dispensary are all still standing and still impressive. Museums in Waterbury include Timexpo, The Timex Museum and the Mattatuck Museum Arts & History Center.