{
  "slug": "hartford-old-state-house",
  "title": "The Old State House: Connecticut’s civic rooms",
  "towns": [
    "Hartford"
  ],
  "counties": [
    "Hartford"
  ],
  "dateRange": "1796–20th century",
  "topic": "Places & community",
  "summary": "The same Hartford building served state and city government. HABS photographs preserve its elevations, stairs and public rooms during the 1930s and in 1967.",
  "history": [
    {
      "heading": "One building, changing responsibilities",
      "text": "The Old State House was used as one of Connecticut’s state capitols from 1796 to 1878, then as Hartford City Hall from 1878 to 1915. Those changes place an eighteenth-century building firmly within the archive’s nineteenth- and twentieth-century story. Rather than ending when state government moved, its civic life continued in a different form.",
      "source_ids": [
        "osh-official"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Architecture through the camera",
      "text": "The HABS survey associates the Federal-style building with Charles Bulfinch and records several later building campaigns, including work in 1879 and 1918. Its photographs move between exterior elevations, entrances, stairs and rooms. Specific views were made by Everett H. Keeler, Joseph C. Berlepsch and James Rainey in the 1930s. These dates belong to the images, not to the original construction.",
      "source_ids": [
        "ct0098"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "A public interior worth examining",
      "text": "The sequence makes it possible to compare public-facing façades with the interior spaces behind them. Look at the relationship between entrances, stairs and galleries: the building organized movement as well as symbolizing government. Its layered construction history means that a photograph of a room should be read alongside the survey, rather than automatically described as the room’s untouched eighteenth-century appearance.",
      "source_ids": [
        "ct0098"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "1796",
      "event": "Begins service as a state capitol.",
      "source_ids": [
        "osh-official"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "1878–1915",
      "event": "Serves as Hartford City Hall.",
      "source_ids": [
        "osh-official"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "1934–1937",
      "event": "Dated HABS photographs document the building.",
      "source_ids": [
        "ct0098"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "1967",
      "event": "Robert Fulton III documents additional exterior and interior views.",
      "source_ids": [
        "ct0098-cap"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "ct0098",
      "title": "Library of Congress: Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "url": "https://www.loc.gov/item/ct0098/"
    },
    {
      "id": "osh-official",
      "title": "Connecticut General Assembly: About Connecticut’s Old State House",
      "url": "https://wp.cga.ct.gov/osh/about/"
    },
    {
      "id": "ct0098-cap",
      "title": "Library of Congress: original photograph captions and dates (ct0098)",
      "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/data/ct0098cap.pdf"
    }
  ],
  "images": [
    {
      "id": "cf8e1abc6a1cde13ed17",
      "image": "/county-images/daba2aa8bdaaf07e4f1251ff2e008b72155304c0c3b14ff01c30e69772856b3d.jpg",
      "title": "1.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 EAST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "1.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 EAST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "March 1, 1937",
      "credit": "Everett H. Keeler / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Everett H. Keeler",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023096p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "1.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 EAST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023096pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "5497bc13ba91536a2f70",
      "image": "/county-images/f65ae3371095376f3eea138154ae73c07d2007992ccc57dd69a28bb1381f32ae.jpg",
      "title": "2.  Historic American Buildings Survey Joseph C. Berlepsch, Photographer March 31, 1934 SOUTH EAST ELEVATION (FRONT) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "2.  Historic American Buildings Survey Joseph C. Berlepsch, Photographer March 31, 1934 SOUTH EAST ELEVATION (FRONT) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "March 31, 1934",
      "credit": "Joseph C. Berlepsch / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Joseph C. Berlepsch",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023097p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "2.  Historic American Buildings Survey Joseph C. Berlepsch, Photographer March 31, 1934 SOUTH EAST ELEVATION (FRONT) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023097pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "44a17266951dab118f64",
      "image": "/county-images/0ccefec17ea6e919d56bdefba41c6a30105acd7540917601ca50eb77b3e53d38.jpg",
      "title": "3.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 SOUTHWEST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "3.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 SOUTHWEST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "March 1, 1937",
      "credit": "Everett H. Keeler / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Everett H. Keeler",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023098p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "3.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 SOUTHWEST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023098pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "12b0b760c2ea88631557",
      "image": "/county-images/bf5aacc8b27c0ba15f0dcef01ef79613e31bb8115ca7ddaecd39bb2cba5e367b.jpg",
      "title": "4.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 DETAIL OF ENTRANCE DOOR - UNDER WEST PORTICO - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "4.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 DETAIL OF ENTRANCE DOOR - UNDER WEST PORTICO - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "March 1, 1937",
      "credit": "Everett H. Keeler / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Everett H. Keeler",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023099p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "4.  Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 DETAIL OF ENTRANCE DOOR - UNDER WEST PORTICO - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023099pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "960a10853212f6dfbb1c",
      "image": "/county-images/655714c2aa89bc4ffa0bcbcfc7bf04e1e1920595febc7de447f6f71f898efea3.jpg",
      "title": "5.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 SPECTATOR'S GALLERY SUPREME COURT ROOM Mezzanine Floor looking South - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "5.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 SPECTATOR'S GALLERY SUPREME COURT ROOM Mezzanine Floor looking South - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "May 7, 1936",
      "credit": "James Rainey / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "James Rainey",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023100p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "5.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 SPECTATOR'S GALLERY SUPREME COURT ROOM Mezzanine Floor looking South - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023100pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "ccb71fc473270dc7e3ca",
      "image": "/county-images/601f10033d98919d8e7eeddbfa33308d3f40fd756ecef134bc4da3d8fc3a342a.jpg",
      "title": "6.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 STAIRS FROM ROOM OF SECRETARY OF STATE SECOND FLOOR (Looking North) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "6.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 STAIRS FROM ROOM OF SECRETARY OF STATE SECOND FLOOR (Looking North) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "May 7, 1936",
      "credit": "James Rainey / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "James Rainey",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023101p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "6.  Historic American Buildings Survey James Rainey, Photographer May 7, 1936 STAIRS FROM ROOM OF SECRETARY OF STATE SECOND FLOOR (Looking North) - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023101pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "af2cdfbd2e7396132398",
      "image": "/county-images/39deba87c01bb8beefc7615c66cf96a155b29a00405061dbcc0c704f2e6059c4.jpg",
      "title": "7.  EXTERIOR FRONT, GENERAL - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "7.  EXTERIOR FRONT, GENERAL - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023102p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "7.  EXTERIOR FRONT, GENERAL - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023102pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "abf3b3c284a6e6e479a7",
      "image": "/county-images/4b5cd15f5a19bc86565f928e523fead0589fb2739a22af293bbb36fd83ff7761.jpg",
      "title": "8.  INTERIOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "8.  INTERIOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023103p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "8.  INTERIOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023103pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "fd9a158279e5738665a7",
      "image": "/county-images/0f1404d66780365f1d12281aa7e3b95cbb2de5feb55ba168c4bd7606a51f1ea7.jpg",
      "title": "9.  INTERIOR SECOND FLOOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "9.  INTERIOR SECOND FLOOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023104p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "9.  INTERIOR SECOND FLOOR HALL AND STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023104pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "622dedcd3ef669d858b0",
      "image": "/county-images/46dbcc197fef6cd03680fd5b3d04a1cad6b5ae37a0a5b356bf5ed95fc9caca92.jpg",
      "title": "10.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH CONFERENCE TABLES AND CHAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "10.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH CONFERENCE TABLES AND CHAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023105p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "10.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH CONFERENCE TABLES AND CHAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023105pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "d3c19b985fa18e09922b",
      "image": "/county-images/a1e76721a85e5323111be9c3a2f064483f6cb0b76f7d2700294c5cd5272da33b.jpg",
      "title": "11.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH SPEAKER'S TABLE - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "11.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH SPEAKER'S TABLE - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023106p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "11.  INTERIOR ROOM WITH SPEAKER'S TABLE - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023106pv.jpg"
    },
    {
      "id": "86df12e4c01289b73da1",
      "image": "/county-images/7b112d23943c9fd998670b6cc2aa815d0dc3430201c23dedc3c484d6e310d765.jpg",
      "title": "12.  INTERIOR ROOM, LOOKING OUT TOWARD STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "alt": "12.  INTERIOR ROOM, LOOKING OUT TOWARD STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "date": "1967",
      "credit": "Robert Fulton III / Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress",
      "creator": "Robert Fulton III",
      "source": "https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.ct0098.photos.023107p/",
      "rights": "No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "license": "No known restrictions on federal survey photographs",
      "licenseUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html",
      "kind": "photograph",
      "later": false,
      "originalCaption": "12.  INTERIOR ROOM, LOOKING OUT TOWARD STAIRS - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT",
      "originalImage": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0000/ct0098/photos/023107pv.jpg"
    }
  ]
}