Salisbury Center Historic District

View of Scoville Memorial Library, View southeast; Source - NRIS 97001115.
Town:
Salisbury »
Year of Establishment:
1969
Notes on Establishment:
The district originally established in 1969 (Historic District No. 1) was extended southwards in 1970, revised in 1971, to include more properties along Main Street (Historic District No. 3). It was further extended in 1984 to include four other properties towards further south.
Overlapping Historic Designation(s):
LHD, NRHD, SR
District Authority:
Historic District Commission
Link to Commission or Municipal Website:
Map:

Map of the historic district retrieved from the report- Proposed Historic Districts in Salisbury and Lakeville, 1969 Report, SHPO Library, Hartford.

View photo
District Character:
Town Center
Features:

Buildings, Green, Cemetery, Meadows

Architectural Style:

Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival, Others

Era:
19th Century, 20th Century
General description:

Salisbury Center Historic District has been the institutional and commercial center of the town since it was founded, and continues actively in that role. Buildings in the institutional/commercial district, which is only two to three blocks long, are generally spaced close together in a dense town center setting. Many front entrances are at the sidewalk, with no set back. Nevertheless, the space seems open because of two factors: the street is wide and the buildings are low, generally two stories. The oldest resource in the Salisbury Center Historic District still in its original appearance is the cemetery, located on an upward slope behind the Town Hall. It was established in 1750, but most of the existing monuments are segmental marble stones dating from the early 19th century. The cemetery has an unusual bronze sculpture from 1874, an urn embellished at its neck and in the handles with busts of eight small children. It is signed "T.H. Bartlett Paris." The church is across Main Street from the Town Hall and across Library Street from the library. Together these three large institutional buildings anchor the south end of the district, providing a strong base from which the district progresses northward. [NR]

Significance of the district:

Architecture: The Salisbury Center Historic District comprises institutional and commercial buildings which are good examples of a variety of 19th-century architectural styles. In many cases domestic buildings now in commercial use have been altered to suit their strong mercantile function. The institutional buildings, many on their original sites, dominate the district visually as institutions have for two centuries. The architecture of the Salisbury Center Historic District creates a strong sense of a 19th-century town center, little changed in the 20th century. Architecture of the Salisbury Center Historic District is significant because as a totality it is a well-preserved group of 19th-century buildings which constitute the continuing institutional and commercial hub of the community. Buildings in the Salisbury Center Historic District are a mixture of styles and age, most dating from the 19th century, functioning together as the activity center and seat of government of the Town of Salisbury. [NR]

District Boundary (according to the LHD Study Report, copied in 2010):

The district includes the historic properties surrounding the intersection of Main Street and Library Street, continuing southwards to include more properties along both sides of Main Street, as described in the district ordinance.

Sources:

[1] District information retrieved from the town website http://salisburyct.us/.
[2] Proposed Historic Districts in Salisbury and Lakeville, 1969 Report, SHPO library, Hartford.
[3] Proposed Extension to Salisbury Center Historic District, Historic District Commission, Revised 1971, SHPO library, Hartford.
[4] Proposed Extension of Salisbury Historic District, 1984, SHPO library, Hartford.
[5] Assessors information and Parcel IDs retrieved from the Report of the Historic District Commission, SHPO Library, Hartford.
[NR] Ransom David F., reviewed by John Herzan; Salisbury Center Historic District, National Register Nomination Number- 97001115 NRIS, National Park Service, 2001 - http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/97001115.pdf; http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Photos/97001115.pdf.

Notes:

The local historic district is not coterminous with the much larger Salisbury Center National Register Historic District.

Disclaimer:

Content for this website and district boundaries were compiled from several sources and are subject to change. Boundaries for LHDs may be different from those of State or National Register Districts. To verify the boundaries and particulars of a specific district, consult the LHD study report on file with the respective municipal authority or the State Historic Preservation Office.

Date of Compilation:
12/31/11
Compiler:
Manjusha Patnaik, CT Trust for Historic Preservation