The Childs Sports Building is a historic private recreational sports facility on Windrow Road in
Norfolk, Connecticut. Built in 1930, it is an architecturally distinctive stone building with medieval features, designed by
Alfredo S.G. Taylor
Alfredo S. G. Taylor (1872–1947) was an architect, of the New York firm Taylor & Levi, which he co-founded with Julian Clarence Levi.
He was educated at Harvard College, class of 1894, and received his B.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Arc ...
. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Description and history
The Childs Sports Building is located in a rural-residential setting south of the village center of Norfolk, on the north side of Windrow Road near its junction with Gamefield Road. This area is part of what was once a large country estate of the Childs family. The building is a -story masonry structure, built out of rough fieldstone and capped by a roof with clipped gables. It is roughly rectangular in plan, with a round turret rising at its northeast corner to a low-pitch conical roof. The interior and roof framing are done with massive timbers recycled from old barns, which were also the source of the rough planking on the interior walls. The ground floor offers indoor courts for playing
squash,
badminton, and
fives, as well as men's and women's dressing rooms. The upper level has a trophy hall and a billiard room.
The building was built in 1930 to a design by
New York City architect
Alfredo S.G. Taylor
Alfredo S. G. Taylor (1872–1947) was an architect, of the New York firm Taylor & Levi, which he co-founded with Julian Clarence Levi.
He was educated at Harvard College, class of 1894, and received his B.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Arc ...
. Taylor spent many summers in Norfolk, and is credited with more than thirty commissions in the community. A number of them share the medieval features used in this building: the rough rustic stone and wood finishes, and heavy slate roof. Details of the building were published in ''American Architect and Building News'' after its construction. Taylor's work for the Childs family also included the
Starling Childs Camp
The Starling Childs Camp is a historic cottage on the south shore of Doolittle Lake in Norfolk, Connecticut. Built in 1923, it is significant as an idiosyncratic design of architect Alfredo S.G. Taylor. It was listed on the U.S. National Regi ...
on Doolittle Lake, and the
Tom Thumb House.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut
References
{{National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Buildings and structures completed in 1930
Buildings and structures in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Norfolk, Connecticut