The Greenwich Senior Center, formerly Greenwich Town Hall, is a historic municipal building at 299 Greenwich Avenue in the business district of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. USA. Built in 1905, it is a prominent local example of Beaux Arts architecture, and served as the town's center of government until 1977. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on May 21, 1987.

Description and history

The former Greenwich Town Hall is located near the center of the Greenwich's central business district, on the east side of Greenwich Avenue at Havemeyer Place. The building is shaped like a vertical cube, three stories, with single-story wings extending to the sides. The first floor is rusticated stone, while the upper floors are more finely finished, with two-story Ionic columns rising to a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

. The roof rises above a copper cornice and has a clock built below a domed cupola. The main entrance has an elaborate surround, with pilasters rising to a heavy gabled pediment. The building is a Beaux Arts design by

Mowbray and Uffinger Mowbray & Uffinger comprised an architectural partnership in New York City formed in 1895. Known for bank buildings and as vault engineers they designed over 400 banks in the pre-World War II era throughout the country. The principals were Louis M ...

, and was built in 1905 by W.J. Smith to serve as the Town Hall of Greenwich. Its construction was funded by Robert M. Bruce and his sister Sarah. Robert Bruce was a New York City cotton merchant and philanthropist whose home is now the

Bruce Museum of Arts and Science The Bruce Museum is a museum in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut with both art and natural history exhibition space. The Bruce's main building sits on a hill in a downtown park, and its tower (not open to the public) can be easily seen by drivers pa ...

; the Bruces were well known for their local philanthropy. In 1977, the town government offices were moved to a building that was formerly used by the

Greenwich High School Greenwich High School is a four-year public high school in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. The school is part of the Greenwich Public Schools system and serves roughly 2,700 students. It offers over 295 courses and a wide variety of co-cu ...

at Field Point Road. This building is now used as a senior center.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Beaux-Arts architecture in Connecticut Government buildings completed in 1905 Buildings and structures in Greenwich, Connecticut Town halls in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Senior centers in the United States Historic district contributing properties in Connecticut 1905 establishments in Connecticut

Description and history

See also

References