Waterbury, Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut
—  City  —

Seal
Nickname(s): The Brass City
Motto: Quid Aere Perennius
(What Is More Lasting Than Brass)
Location in New Haven County, Connecticut
Coordinates:
Country United States
U.S. State Connecticut
NECTA Waterbury
Region Central Naugatuck Valley
Incorporated (town) 1686
Incorporated (city) 1853
Consolidated 1902
Government
 - Type Mayor-board of aldermen
 - Mayor Michael J. Jarjura
Area
 - City 28.9 sq mi (74.9 km2)
 - Land 28.6 sq mi (74.0 km2)
 - Water 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2)
 - Urban 97.9 sq mi (253.6 km2)
Elevation 269 ft (82 m)
Population (2005)[1]
 - City 108,000
 - Density 3,773/sq mi (1,449.7/km2)
 Metro 210,000
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 0670x, 0671x
Area code(s) 203
FIPS code 09-80000
GNIS feature ID 0211851
Website http://www.waterburyct.org
St. Anne's Church, Waterbury

Waterbury (nicknamed the "Brass City") is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles (53 km) southwest of Hartford and 77 miles (124 km) northeast of New York City. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the city had a total population of 107,902 and is the ninth largest city in New England, the fifth-largest city in Connecticut and the second largest city in New Haven County.[1]

Throughout the first half of the 20th century Waterbury had large industrial interests and was the leading center in the United States for the manufacture of brassware (including castings and finishings), as reflected in the nickname the "Brass City" and the city's motto Quid Aere Perennius? ("What Is More Lasting Than Brass?"), which echoes the Latin of Horace's Ode 3.30. It was noted for the manufacture of watches and clocks.

Contents

The city is located along Interstate 84 and has a Metro North railroad station. It is also home to Post University and a regional campus of the University of Connecticut.

History

The original settlement of Waterbury was in 1674 as a Town Plot section. In 1675 King Philip's War caused it to be vacated but the land was returned to in 1677, this time west of the first settlement. Both sites are now marked. The Algonquin name for the area was "Matetacoke" meaning "place without trees." Thus the settlement was named as "Mattatock" in 1673. The name changed to Waterbury on May 15, 1686, when the settlement was admitted as the 28th town in the Connecticut colony. It then included all or parts of the later towns of Watertown, Plymouth, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Thomaston, and Middlebury. The name Waterbury was chosen because of all the streams flowing into the Naugatuck River. Growth was slow during Waterbury's first century. The lack of arable land discouraged new settlers and the residents suffered through the great flood of 1691 and the great sickness of 1712. After a century, Waterbury's population numbered just 5,000. Waterbury hit its stride as an industrial power in the early 1800s when it began to make brass, using a technology taken from the British. Not content with exploiting the know-how, these Yankee entrepreneurs lured talented craftsmen from across the sea to set up shop in Waterbury.As the "Brass Capital of the World," the city gained a reputation for the quality and durability of its goods. Waterbury was incorporated as a city in 1853. Waterbury supplied brass and copper used in Boulder Dam in Colorado. Waterbury brass was used for many other things in the United States such as minting disks for nickels, but the brass also went into South American coins. While the brass business boomed, thousands of immigrants poured into the city seeking factory jobs, including Italians, Irish, French-Canadians, Lithuanians, Jewish, and Slavs.

Another famous Waterbury product of the mid-19th century was Robert H. Ingersoll's one-dollar pocket watch, five million of which were sold. After this, the clock industry became as important as Waterbury's famed brass industry. Evidence of these two important industries can still be seen in Waterbury, as numerous clocktowers and old brass factories have become landmarks of the city.

Downtown on East Main Street in 1954

At its peak during World War II, 10,000 people worked at the Scovill Manufacturing Co, later sold to Century Brass. The city's metal manufacturing mills (Scovill Manufacturing, Anaconda American Brass, and Chase Brass & Copper were the largest) occupied more than 2 million square feet (180,000 m²) and more than 90 buildings.

Like many other cities that boomed during the manufacturing era, Waterbury began to decline in the second half of the 20th century. With the closing of the last brass mill in the 1970s Waterbury faced a grim future. Waterbury continued to decline, but has like many other cities in Connecticut been involved in many revitalization projects. Waterbury is working to revamp many of the city's unused freight yards and warehouses in order to turn them into office space. Along with this, the city has built several luxury hotels. Although the brass industry has since left Waterbury, metal works are still prominent to this day.

World War II

Due to its industrial prowess, Waterbury contributed greatly to the World War II cause both in production and in manpower. So much so that Waterbury was chosen as one of four American cities featured in The War, a documentary about the American experience during World War II by renowned filmmaker Ken Burns. The following is an excerpt from the documentary:

A gritty industrial city of approximately 100,000, situated at the Naugatuck and Mad Rivers in central Connecticut, Waterbury had been the center of the American brass industry since the early 19th century. By the 1920s, more than a third of the brass manufactured in the United States was made in the Naugatuck Valley, and Waterbury came to be known as the “Brass City.” Its skilled workers turned out screws, washers and buttons; showerheads and alarm clocks; toy airplanes and lipstick holders; and cocktail shakers. “Waterbury was an industrial city,” Ray Leopold said. “A gathering place for some of the best mechanical, industrial talent probably in America. The talent there is just remarkable. There is no one nationality that seems to have a lead on it. They were Italian, Swiss, French, Irish, Asiatic, South American. This talent was very widespread.” Waterbury was populated by successive waves of immigrants, primarily from Italy, Ireland, Eastern Europe and Great Britain. By 1930, nearly half of Waterbury’s population was foreign born. It was a city of close-knit, ethnic neighborhoods, where many residents remained their entire lives. Families packed into triple-decker homes, factory row housing and boarding houses, surrounding lively commercial districts with ethnic markets and bakeries, churches and movie houses. “Everybody watched out for everybody else,” Anne DeVico said. “If I went outside, five minutes later everybody in the whole neighborhood would know it because that’s what they did. They watched out for everyone. So it was wonderful. I loved growing up like that. But then when the war came, our boys started going into the war. And then it wasn’t so much fun.” The city, like the rest of the country, endured hard times during the Great Depression, as industries imploded and thousands were thrown out of work. But all that changed when America began to gear up for World War II, and local factories retooled for war production. “Waterbury at that time, during the war — you could almost compare it to a miniature Times Square,” Tom Ciarlo said. “It was never quiet because there were so many factories and each factory had three shifts so they’re going around the clock. You didn’t have cars because there were no gasoline stamps, so you had to take buses. So we had busses running up and down from the center of town to different streets all over the city going constantly. And there was always a humming in the city. There was always something going on, the restaurants downtown were always booming. So were the bars. Theaters were always full. There was always something going on.” The Mattatuck Manufacturing Company switched from making upholstery nails to cartridge clips for the Springfield rifle, and soon was turning out three million clips a week. The American Brass Company made more than two billion pounds of brass rods, sheets and tubes during the war. The Chase Brass and Copper Company made more than 50 million cartridge cases and mortar shells, more than a billion small caliber bullets and, eventually, some of the components used in the atomic bomb. “Waterbury was the brass center of the world and we had every factory going full blast,” DeVico said. “Especially because it was the war. The war was going on. So we had factories. Everywhere you looked there were factories. And everybody — when they got out of school — went into the factories.” Because of its concentration of war industries, Waterbury was believed to be a strategic bombing target for the German Luftwaffe. Waterbury Clock — which would later be known as Timex — built a new plant in 1942 to accommodate the military’s demands for mechanical time fuses and other aircraft and artillery equipment. The new factory was nestled among the Middlebury hills and could be flooded and covered with water in the event of an invasion. Its roof was painted with a tromp l’oeil mural of trees, water and grass to deceive enemy bombers. In the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Waterbury hurriedly appointed air wardens to coordinate a local response to an air raid. The local barbers’ association volunteered to equip the city’s barbershops as first aid stations.
In August of 1945 when the war ended, special services were held at every Waterbury church and synagogue. As a sign of profound gratitude for the good news, some Italian-American women climbed the hill to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on their knees. “We didn’t want to go home,” DeVico said. “Nobody went home. We were down there until one, two o’clock in the morning. The busses stayed. The busses even stayed because they knew we had to get home. Nobody had cars then. But it was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day.” The end of the war spelled the beginning of a sharp decline of Waterbury’s manufacturing base. Military contracts were cancelled in the months leading up to the Allied victory; within a week of V-J Day, 10,200 employees had been let go from Waterbury factories. Many would be rehired when the factories re-tooled for civilian production, but thousands of jobs were permanently lost. By the 1950s, plastic and aluminum had replaced brass for many uses, and cheaper labor overseas competed for the remaining jobs in brass manufacturing. By 1980, there were fewer than 5,000 workers remaining in the Naugatuck Valley’s brass plants. “It seemed that the war effort was one that would go on forever,” Leopold said. “And as the war began to draw to its conclusion, we then began to deal with the team that was making its way into the community, renegotiating all the contracts. By and large, it meant termination of these wonderful contracts that had produced money that they had never earned before and might never earn again. And Waterbury was an area very hard hit by this.”[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.9 square miles (74.9 km²), of which, 28.6 square miles (74.0 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (1.21%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population of
Waterbury
[1][2]
1756 1,829 1774 3,536 1782 2,240
1790 2,937 1800 3,256 1810 2,874
1820 2,282 1830 3,070 1840 3,668
1850 5,137 1860 10,004 1870 13,106
1880 20,270 1890 33,202 1900 51,139
1910 73,141 1920 91,715 1930 99,902
1940 99,314 1950 104,477 1960 107,130
1970 108,033 1980 103,266 1990 108,961
2000 107,271 2005 107,902(est)

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 107,271 people, 42,622 households, and 26,894 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,754.7 people per square mile (1,449.7/km²). There were 46,827 housing units at an average density of 1,639.0/sq mi (632.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.14% White, 16.31% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.51% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.91% from other races, and 3.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.77% of the population.

Waterbury is probably the most heavily Italian-American large city in Connecticut today. The Italian influence is especially strong in the Town Plot, Brooklyn, and North End neighborhoods. It has been said that 6 in 10 voters in Waterbury is of Italian descent and they often prove to be a decisive voting block in city elections. Additionally, the city is home to thriving French-Canadian, Portuguese, Lebanese, Lithuanian, and Albanian communities. Waterbury has strong Irish roots as well, especially in Washington Hill which is home to the city's annual St. Patrick Day's Parade. At the beginning of the 21st century, Waterbury had a growing Orthodox Jewish population.[4]

There were 42,622 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,285, and the median income for a family was $42,300. Males had a median income of $35,486 versus $27,428 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,701. About 12.7% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Mayor Michael J. Jarujura (D)
Town Clerk Antoinette C. Spinelli (D)
City Sheriff Stephen M. Conway (D)
City Clerk Michael J. Dalton (D)
Aldermen (15)
Paul K. Pernerewski, Jr. (D - President)
Anthony T. Piccochi (D – Majority Leader)
Joseph Begnal, Jr.(D)
Joyce Petteway (D)
Francis Caiazzo, Jr. (D)
Ronald Napoli, Jr. (D)
Ernest Brunelli (D)
Alberto Negron (D)
Anne Phelan (D)
Cicero B. Booker, Jr. (I – Minority Leader)
Lawrence DePillo (I)
Frank A. Burgio Sr. (I)
Ryan Mulcahy (I)
Paul V. Ciochetti (R)
Jerry Padula (R)

Waterbury has about 52,000 registered voters, of whom about 24,000 are Democrats. There are about 7,800 registered Republicans and the balance are largely unaffiliated, with a smattering belonging to minor parties.

John S. Monagan, who was a prolific author in addition to his political responsibilities, served as Waterbury's mayor from 1943 to 1948. He also served as its district's congressional representative from 1959 to 1973. George Harlamon, a member of the Waterbury Hall of Fame, was the city's 40th mayor. He served from 1969 to 1970 during a period of racial tension. The City is known for its hard nosed political culture compared locally to Cook County, Illinois, close elections, and a number of scandals. This reputation is so solidified that U.S. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman once joked that upon his death, he hoped to be buried in Waterbury so he could remain politically active.

Waterbury's scandalous past dates back to 1940 when Mayor T. Frank Hayes and 22 others were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the City of Waterbury. Hayes received a 10-15 year sentence and served six years. Ironically, the massive corruption scheme was exposed with the help of then comptroller Sherwood Rowland, grandfather of Gov. John G. Rowland, who was convicted on corruption charges in 2004. The recently published book, Publisher vs. Politician: A Clash of Local Titans, by author William A. Monti is an account of the rise and fall of T. Frank Hayes and focuses on his election campaigns, his bitter fights with William J. Pape, publisher of two local newspapers, and his ultimate trial, conviction, and sentencing for corruption. Ironically, what appeared to have been a defeat for Hayes was not really a victory for Pape, and the stage was set for further corruption in Waterbury in the second half of the 20th century.[5] Three recent mayors have been indicted while in office. In 1988, Mayor Edward "Mike" Bergin was arrested on a charge of taking a bribe over towing contracts. He was acquitted three years later. His successor, former Mayor Joseph Santopietro, and six others were convicted in 1992 of conspiring with bankers and developers to trade favors for bribes and kickbacks disguised as loans.[6] Most recently Mayor Philip Giordano, was indicted while in office and later convicted on sexual abuse charges discovered by the FBI while they were investigating corruption in City Hall.[7] Waterbury was in serious financial straits due to years of mismanagement resulting in the city's finances being take over by the State of Connecticut. The State Oversight Board oversaw city business for several years and have since left following consecutive years of balanced budgets. The successors to Giordano, former Acting Mayor Sam Caligiuri and present and 45th Mayor Michael Jarjura have managed the city without major controversy since 2001.

A number of Presidential candidates have campaigned in Waterbury due to its pivotal role in statewide elections. The most famous was the election eve visit on the Green by John F. Kennedy in 1960. Forty thousand people waited until 3 a.m. on the Green to greet Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy, Sunday, November 6, 1960. Sen. Kennedy spoke to them from the balcony of the Roger Smith Hotel (now called the Elton). Pierre Salinger later said it was the greatest night of the campaign. In September 1984 Ronald Reagan held a huge noontime election rally at the same location. In July 2006 former President Bill Clinton made a campaign appearance at the Palace Theatre for Senator Joe Lieberman during his campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Shortly after the Democratic primary, Tom Swan, campaign manager for Lieberman's opponent Ned Lamont, described Waterbury as a place where "the forces of slime meet the forces of evil" after a large majority of the town's voters backed Lieberman. Swan claimed he was referring to former Mayor Philip A. Giordano and former Governor John G. Rowland.[8]

Governor John G. Rowland served ten months in a federal prison until February 10, 2006. He was released from federal prison with the stipulation that he serve four months house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet monitor until June, 2006.

In January, 2008 Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura announced that he would hire Rowland as a economic development advisor for the city. Rowland began work in February and is receiving an annual salary of $95,000 as the city's economic development coordinator[9][10]

Consulate Office

Waterbury is also home to Connecticut's Consulate General Of Portugal which has its office Downtown on East Main Street.[11]


Education

The city's schools are operated by Waterbury Public Schools under the leadership of superintendent Dr. David L. Snead and a board of education that consists of ten elected members and the city mayor, who acts as the chairman ex-officio.

Board of Education (10)
Patrick Hayes, Jr. (D - President)
Coleen Flaherty-Merritt (D)
Karen Harvey (D)
Neil O'Leary (D)
Jose Morales (D)
Mary White (D)
Charles Stango (R)
Paul D'Angelo (R)
Ann Marie Sweeney (U)
John Thereault (I)

The four public high schools in Waterbury are Crosby, Kennedy, Waterbury Arts Magnet and Wilby High Schools. Private high schools include Chase Collegiate (formerly St. Margaret's-McTernan), Holy Cross High School, and Sacred Heart High School. W. F Kaynor Tech, the city's only tech school, is operated by the state and has gone under renovation. The Waterbury Arts Magnet School recently opened across from the University of Connecticut's Waterbury campus.

Waterbury also has a number of Catholic elementary schools including: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, St. Mary's, Blessed Sacrement, Sts. Peter & Paul, St. Joseph's, St. Lucy's, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Margaret's.

In addition, Waterbury is home to the Yeshiva Gedolah School of Waterbury, which provides Orthodox Jewish education from kindergarten to post-High School students. It is operated by the Yeshiva Community of Waterbury.

Waterbury is also home to Post University, a private liberal arts college, and Naugatuck Valley Community College.

Waterbury Christian schools:Lighthouse Christian Academy;Waterbury Christian academy;Alpha & Amega Academy. Trinity academy (closed 2004)

Fire Department

The city of Waterbury is protected 24/7, 365 by the professional firefighters of the City of Waterbury Fire Department(WFD). The Waterbury Fire Department operates out of 9 Fire Stations, strategically-located throughout the city, and also operates a front-line fire apparatus fleet of 8 Engines, 3 Trucks, 1 Rescue, 1 Haz-Mat. Unit, 1 Collapse Unit, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units.

Fire Station Locations and Apparatus

Engine Company Truck Company Rescue Company Special Unit Command Unit Address Neighborhood
Engine 1 Truck 2 Rescue 9 Haz-Mat. 9, Collapse 9 1979 N. Main St. North Side
Engine 2 Truck 3 519 E. Main St. Downtown
Engine 4 823 Baldwin St. South End
Engine 5 1956 E. Main St. Fair Lawn
Engine 6 431 Willow St. Overlook
Engine 7 Battalion 2 315 Walnut St. Long Hill
Engine 8 Battalion 1(Temporarily) 197 Bunker Hill Ave. Bunker Hill
Truck 1 Battalion 1 26 Field St.* Downtown
Engine 11 Truck 1(Temporarily) 740 Highland Ave. Town Plot

Neighborhoods

Waterbury is a city of neighborhoods. Their distinctive character, shaped by the history and geography of the city, has led residents to form an unusual loyalty to their neighborhood.

Vibrant ethnic communities distinguished the city neighborhoods. Clusters of shops at the street corners offered neighborhood residents everything they could desire, creating villages within the city. For many people, home, work and community life was contained within their neighborhood. Downtown, a short walk away, was “the city”, offering live theater, fancy stores, parades and spectacles.[12]

  • Downtown Waterbury
  • Waterville
  • Town Plot
  • Washington Hill
  • Hopeville
  • Brooklyn
  • East End
  • Bunker Hill
  • Hillside
  • Bucks Hill
  • South End
  • Fairmount
  • East Mountain
  • Overlook
  • Pine Hill
  • Fair Lawn
  • North Square
  • Robinwood
  • West Side
  • Country Club
  • North End/North Side
  • Long Hill
  • Crownbrook

Historic events

Portrait of Father McGivney by Richard Whitney
The first issue of Famous Funnies

set in Waterbury. The novel, an Italian-American coming-of-age story, was inspired by several incidents of civic corruption in the Brass City.

Landmarks

The Union Station Clocktower is Waterbury’s most prominent landmark

Union Station Clocktower

Constructed by the world famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White of N.Y. for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company, the Union Station on Meadow Street was modeled after the Torre del Mangia at the Palazzo Publico in Siena, Italy. It cost $332,000 to build in 1909. The clocktower is 240 feet (73 m) high and has 318 steps. The clock was made by Seth Thomas Co. with a dial 16 feet (4.9 m) in diameter with 5-foot (1.5 m) tall Roman numerals. The eight she-wolf gargoyles are a reminder of the myth of Romulus and Remus. The tower opened July 12, 1909. Union Station is now the home of the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper, which serves over 120,000 subscribers in the Greater Waterbury area, and the city's Metro-North railroad station is on a platform next to the building.

Municipal Stadium

See also: Category:Defunct baseball venues

The stadium was built in 1930 originally as a dog track which attributes to its unique, if not odd, layout. It holds 6,000 people. It is somewhat unique that it only has permanent stands along the first-base line, while bleachers lie along the third-base side.

It was home to minor league baseball for the majority of its existence, beginning in 1947 with the Colonial League and from 1966 to 1986 with the AA Eastern League as an affiliate of the Dodgers, Reds, Giants, Indians, Pirates, A's, and Angels.

In 1997 the Stadium became home to the Waterbury Spirit which spent four seasons in the Independent League.

Several future major leaguers played at the stadium, including Bobby Bonds, Paul O'Neill, Wally Joyner, Cory Snyder, and Danny Tartabull.

It is now primarily used for sporting events, primarily football and baseball, for most of the city's high schools and Little Leagues.

The stadium has been home to a few historic events also, woman's softball pitcher Joan Joyce struck out Ted Williams, Dom Dimaggio, and Johnny Pesky, in order in the stadium, and in 1947 several members of the New York Yankees including Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, and Spec Shea, played an exhibition game against the Waterbury Timers in the stadium.

Exchange Place, the transportation and business center of Waterbury, in the early 1950s.

The Apothecary Building

The Apothecary Building, the focal point of Exchange Place in the center of Waterbury at the intersection of South Main and Bank Streets, was built in 1893 and housed the Apothecaries Hall Pharmacy for over 70 years.

Carrie Welton Fountain

The 2,500 pound statue on the Carrie Welton Fountain on the east end of The Green is in memory of Caroline Josephine Welton's black stallion, Knight, and her love of animals. The fountain was dedicated November 10, 1888.

Soldiers' Monument

Sculpted by former Waterbury resident George C. Bissell as a tribute to the whole Civil War experience, the 48-foot (15 m)-high bronze Soldiers' Monument on the west end of The Green was cast in Paris and cost $25,000. It was dedicated October 23, 1884. Other Bissell works include: Memorial to Scottish American soldiers of the Civil War located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and many statues in Riverside Cemetery, including one of Waterbury Civil War hero, Col. John L. Chatfield. The poem on the Soldiers Monument, by Dr. Joseph Anderson of Waterbury history fame, was included in the Library of American Literature:

Brave men, who rallying at your country's call Went forth to fight - if Heaven willed, to fall: Returned, ye walk with us through sunnier years And hear your nation say, God bless you all! Brave men, who yet a heavier burden bore And came not home to hearts by grief made sore! They call you dead and lo ye grandly live. Shrined in the nation's love forevermore!

Veterans' Monument

Designed by Luis Fucito for the City of Waterbury for about $55,000, it was intended in honor of all those who have served in the wars of our country. The 15-foot (4.6 m) star was dedicated on May 30, 1958 and is located on the west end of The Green.

The Hotel Elton in the 1940s

Hotel Elton

Built in 1905, the Hotel Elton on the Waterbury Green was a grand hotel which served as the starting point for the "Ideal Tour". Created by the Elton's first manager, Almon Judd, this tour created a convoy of early automobiles which journeyed to New England resorts. The Elton was considered one of New England's most elegant hotels until the 1960s, when it became the Roger Smith Hotel. It is now an assisted living facility. President John F. Kennedy made a campaign speech from the balcony of the hotel on Sunday, November 6, 1960. Forty thousand people waited until 3 a.m. on the Green to greet then Senator John F. Kennedy who spoke to them from the balcony of the hotel. A plaque was later added to the building to commemorate the occasion. Also on the building is a plaque commemorating the establishment of Unico National in the city in 1922.

Cass Gilbert Historic District

Nationally renowned architect Cass Gilbert won a competition to design Waterbury's City Hall building on Grand Street, which was completed in 1915. Gilbert was then hired to design the Chase Headquarters Building (facing City Hall and now a municipal building housing the mayor's office); a bank building next to City Hall; the Lincoln House and the Chase Dispensary buildings on Field Street; the Waterbury Club on West Main Street (demolished in the 1960s); and coordinated the landscaping of Library Park with the Olmsted Brothers in the 1920s.

Christopher Columbus statue

The statue was completed by sculptor Frank C. Gaylord of Barre, VT for the Christopher Columbus Committee and the Waterbury Unico National Club at a total cost of $45,000, $25,000 for the statue and $20,000 for the base. The 12-foot (3.7 m) Christopher Columbus statue is made of granite and weighs 12,000 pounds. Standing in front of City Hall, this statue was dedicated Oct. 12, 1984. The Christopher Columbus Time Capsule, closed Oct. 12, 1992 to be opened October 12, 2092, is behind the monument.

The base of the sculpture reads:

Cristoforo Columbo 1451-1506 Discover of America October 12, 1492

Ben Franklin statue

The Ben Franklin statue seated in front of the Silas Bronson Library on Grand Street was designed by renowned sculptor Paul Wayland Bartlett, a one-time Waterbury resident. The 1700 pound statue was made possible by a $15,000 donation from Elisha Leavenworth. After completion, it made a 22-city tour, with celebrations in each city, from Baltimore to Boston and then to Waterbury where it was dedicated June 3, 1921.

Waterbury Courthouse

The Waterbury Courthouse on the corner of Grand and Meadow Streets, with its graceful curved facade and brass-bedecked entranceway, was the headquarters of the Anaconda American Brass Company for over 50 years. A large addition was put on the building in 1998.

Waterbury Clock Co. buildings

Waterbury Clock Company

The Waterbury Clock Company buildings on Cherry Ave. were constructed in 1857. By the end of the 19th century, the company employed 3,000 workers and turned out 20,000 clocks and watches a day. The Great Depression sent the Waterbury Clock Co. into receivership, and the company was eventually purchased by Thomas Olsen (owner and operator of Fred. Olsen Shipping Co.) and Joakim Lehmkuhl of Norway during WWII to aid in the war effort becoming the largest producer of fuse timers for precision defense products in the United States.[14] The company was renamed the United States Time Corporation in 1944 following its wartime success.[15] Manufacturing operations here ceased when production was moved to a new factory in Middlebury, CT in 1942, and the buildings now house several small businesses. The company still operates today as Timex Group USA maintaining its headquarters in Middlebury.

Harrub Pilgrim Memorial

Harrub Pilgrim Memorial

The 175 ton, 60-foot (18 m) long Harrub Pilgrim Memorial was carved out of French granite by Hermon Atkins MacNeil of New York. Charles Harrub, an engineer for the American Brass Company, donated the $100,000 needed for the project to honor his wife and the Pilgrims. Dedicated October 11, 1930 at its original location at the entrance to Chase Park across from the Freight Street bridge, it was moved for the construction of the Interstate Route 84 / Route 8 interchange and is now located at the corner of Highland Avenue and Chase Parkway.

Chief Two Moon Laboratory

Chief Two Moon Meridas built his laboratory building on East Main Street in 1925 and manufactured his world famous herbal medications there until his death in 1933. The Indian Heads and two moons engraved on the front exterior walls have been retained on the building.

The Holy Land USA sign and cross in 1960

Holy Land USA

Holy Land USA was an 18-acre (73,000 m2) park in Waterbury, CT representing a miniature Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It was one of Connecticut’s biggest tourist attractions in the 1960s and 1970s with 50,000 visitors per year. Holy Land USA was built in the 1950s by local attorney John Baptist Greco. The 50' cross was designed and built by Frank Veto Lyman. This steel cross was once lit up purple for Lent and red for the Christmas season. Holy Land USA closed in 1984 and the plaster, wire caves and structures are now in miserable shape. Some local residents wish to see the place restored while others want it razed and turned into a park.

On November 20, 2002, Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart spoofed Holy Land in a segment with correspondent Stephen Colbert satirically comparing the park to Israel.

The cross was one of Waterbury’s most beloved and prominent landmarks. Illuminated at night, it was a beacon seen from many homes and thousands of motorists passing daily on highways below. Pilots even used it for orientation.[16]

In April 2008, workmen took down the former cross, which had become unstable from years of weathering and repeated attacks by vandals. The Religious Teachers Filippini, an order of nuns that owns the property, paid $250,000 to have it replaced with a cross that is a little shorter, a bit thinner, but more durable. In addition, the cross is not illuminated like the previous ones, instead it is lit by surrounding flood lights.

On June 18, 2008 the new 50-foot (15 m) cross was blessed and rededicated by Archbishop Henry J. Mansell. The new cross is actually the third giant cross to grace the site. The original was 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and was erected in 1956. The cross was dedicated to world peace in a ceremony attended by 1,200 people in November of that year. It was the beginning of Holy Land.

That original cross was replaced in 1968, by a cross of steel girders and plastic that housed fluorescent lights that reached 56 feet (17 m) into the sky. That cross was dedicated to peace and also to the slain John and Robert Kennedy.

Today, much of what was Holy Land is in ruins. Broken pavement lines the road winding through the property. Yellow tape blocks access to displays, many of which have been smashed by vandals. While the site is officially off-limits, people still skirt no-trespassing signs to visit.[17][18]

Mattatuck Museum

The Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center is the only museum in Connecticut dedicated to collecting and exhibiting Connecticut artists and sculptors. Previously housed in the historic Kendrick House on the other side of The Green, the museum moved to the former Masonic Temple in 1986. The renovation and construction was designed by noted Argentine-born architect Cesar Pelli. Exhibits in the ground floor galleries reveal the history of Waterbury and surrounding towns. New additions to the history exhibit include an interactive display about the region's slavery history. Recent additions to the art collections include a gallery display about Alexander Calder and a "Giant Critter" designed by Calder in the museum's courtyard.

Timexpo Museum

Another educational landmark of Waterbury is the Timexpo Museum. The museum, which is in what were formerly factory buildings of the Scovill Manufacturing Company, opened to the public in May, 2001. There are three floors of exhibits that explore the heritage of the world-famous Timex Group, tracing back to its early days as the Waterbury Clock Company. Visitors can witness the birth and growth of Timex, enjoying demonstrations of the inner workings of clock and watches. Within the museum there are a variety of hands on exhibits with craft activities, and computer interactions.

Looking east on East Main Street in Waterbury, Sacred Heart Church in center

Naugatuck Valley Shopping Center

Before the Brass Mill Center Mall was built, the Naugatuck Valley Shopping Mall was the main shopping center of the area. It was located on Wolcott Road and built in August 1969. The Naugatuck Valley Mall first opened with an interior movie theater and two well known anchors in the Connecticut area: Sears and G. Fox.

Brass Mill Center

The Brass Mill Center & Commons is a shopping venue built on the site of old Scovill Manufacturing Co. factory buildings near the center of Waterbury. It houses many stores and restaurants including Old Navy, American Eagle, Hollister & Co., Brookstone, Barnes & Noble, Chili's, and TGI Friday’s, Bertucci's, Macy’s, JCPenney, Sears,and Burlington Coat Factory.

Palace Theatre

Originally opened in 1922, the Palace Theatre was home to films and vaudeville shows. It operated for nearly seventy years before being closed in 1987. Thanks to the financial backing of the State of Connecticut and the support of then-Governor Rowland, the theatre reopened on November 12, 2004.

Warren Fox Kaynor Technical High School

[3] W.F Kaynor Tech was founded in 1954 and is Waterbury's only technical school. In 2006, the school started an extensive 53 million dollar addition and upgrade. It was finished in the summer of 2009.

Chase Collegiate School

The Chase Collegiate School is a private day school formerly known as Saint Margaret's-McTernan established in 1865.Founded by Chase Brass and Copper company

Minicucci's Men's Clothing store

The oldest store in downtown Waterbury closed in late 2009. Minicucci's was owned by Arnold Minicucci who inherited the store from his father, Erasamo Minicucci. The store was founded in the early 1900s and was located on Bank Street.

On the National Register of Historic Places

George S. Abbott Building 235-247 N. Main St.

Bank Street Historic District 207-231 Bank St.

Benedict-Miller House 32 Hillside Ave.

Beth El Synagogue 359–375 Cooke St.

Bishop School 178 Bishop St.

Downtown Waterbury Historic District - Roughly bounded by Main, Meadow, and Elm Sts.

Elton Hotel 16-30 W. Main St.

Lewis Fulton Memorial Park - Roughly bounded by Cook, Pine, Fern and Charlotte Sts.

Hamilton Park - Roughly bounded by Silver St., E. Main St., Idylwood Ave., Plank Rd., the Mad River and I-84

Enoch Hibbard House and George Grannis House 41 Church St. and 33 Church St.

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Connecticut" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21, 2006. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-09.csv. Retrieved November 17, 2006. 
  2. http://www.pbs.org/thewar/the_witnesses_towns_waterbury.htm
  3. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. Waterbury Republican-American Article
  5. Publisher vs. Politician: A Clash of Local Titans, author William A. Monti
  6. " Giordano Case Adds To Waterbury's Rocky Political Landscape
  7. "Guilty: Jury Finds Giordano Guilty On Sexual Abuse Charges." (March 25, 2003). NBC30.com.
  8. Waterbury Republican-American article
  9. Hochswender, Woody (February 24, 2008). "For Rowland, Second Chance of a Lifetime". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/24colct.html. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  10. http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-23142104.apds.m0874.bc-ct--rowljan23,0,1972825.story Disgraced ex-governor plans to take job in city with corrupt past
  11. http://www.portugal.com/information/embassies
  12. http://www.brasscitylife.org/
  13. History, Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, url accessed June 1, 2006.
  14. Glasmeier, Amy (2000). "Chapter 9 Only the Young Survive: The U.S. Watch Industry between the World Wars and after World War II". Manufacturing time: global competition in the watch industry, 1795-2000. Guilford Press. pp. 189–192. ISBN 1572305894. http://books.google.com/books?id=cVUSauNST8EC&pg=PA189&dq=waterbury+clock+company+World+War&lr=#v=onepage&q=waterbury%20clock%20company%20World%20War&f=false. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
  15. McDermott, Kathleen (1998). Timex: A Company and Its Community. ISBN 0967508703. 
  16. http://nedlamont.com/news/2281/waterbury-rep-am-holy-land-cross-blessed-in-small-ceremony
  17. http://www.rep-am.com/news/349079.txt
  18. WTNH.com, Connecticut News and Weather - Dedication ceremony for Waterbury's new Holy Land cross
  19. 19.0 19.1 http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:YyT1EHp91SYJ:waterburyobserver.com/worxcms_published/recent_stories_442.shtml+%22Waterbury%22+%22Andre%27+Deyo%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
  20. Reichler, Joseph L., ed (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th edition ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8. 
  21. Time Magazine "Rambler in High Gear" December 8, 1958. Retrieved on June 20, 2007.
  22. Kingsbury, Kathleen (May 2008). "The 2008 TIME 100". TIME Magazine (Time Warner). http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1733748_1733754_1735344,00.html. Retrieved 2008-05-14. 
  23. Stowe, Stacey (April 2, 2005). "Rowland Begins Serving a Yearlong Prison Sentence". New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50F17FC3A5B0C718CDDAD0894DD404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fR%2fRowland%2c%20John%20G%2e. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  24. Metro Briefing | Connecticut: Waterbury: Convicted Mayor May Run Again. (January 6, 2003). New York Times. Viewed October 27, 2006.

External links

South Main Street, about 1910