The Bristol Girls' Club is a historic clubhouse facility at 47 Upson Street in
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...
. Built in 1931, it is believed to be the first purpose-built clubhouse for a branch of the
Girls Club of America
Girls Inc. (established in 1864) is an American nonprofit organization which encourages girls to be "Strong, Smart, and Bold" through direct service and advocacy.
History
The Girls Inc. (Girls Club of America) movement was founded in 1864 in ...
, a social and educational organization dedicated to improving conditions for urban and immigrant girls. The building, a fine example of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture in brick, was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1987.
It now serves as the location of Chapter 126, a sports and fitness center specifically serving
disabled people
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
.
Description and history
The Bristol Girls' Club building is located about four blocks south of Bristol center, on the south side of Upson Street just east of West Street. The building has two major portions, the older one a 2-1/2 story brick building in the Dutch Colonial Revival style. It is oriented perpendicular to the street, and fronts a much larger modern addition which houses primarily athletic facilities. The older structure is organized as a central block with flanking end blocks that only project slightly; each section is covered by a gambrel roof with dormers. The interior of the building houses offices, a kitchen and dining room, and smaller gymnasium spaces.
The Bristol Girls' Club was founded in 1928, and originally met in a rented space. It offered a variety of after-school and evening activities, including domestic education such as cooking and sewing, athletics including dance, volleyball, horseshoes, and baseball, and other social activities. It was immediately popular, subscribing 351 girls in its first month. The community began a fund drive to build a permanent home for the club, which culminated in the construction of this building in 1931. It was designed by
Charles Scranton Palmer of
New Haven
New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...
. The club was one of the founding members of the national Girls Clubs of America organization when it was organized in 1945 in
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...
.
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See also
* Eloise B. Houchens Center: Girls Club building in Kentucky
*
References
External links
Bristol Boys' and Girls' Club web site
{{National Register of Historic Places
Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Hartford County, Connecticut
Colonial Revival architecture in Connecticut
Buildings and structures completed in 1931
Buildings and structures in Bristol, Connecticut
1931 establishments in Connecticut