Tourist in My Own State: Coltsville National Historic Park

A tiny snippet in the Hartford  Courant caught my eye last Saturday entitled “Hartford Blooms Garden Tours“. As I read the description, I was particularly interested to see that the dome atop the Colt Armory building in Hartford would be open for tours from 2-4 daily during the Garden Tours event, which lasts until this Sunday, June 14th.

What Connecticut resident hasn’t driven past the Colt building and wondered what it would be like to stand up there or what the history of the dome is?

You might wonder what Colt has to do with a garden tour, but Hartford Blooms incorporates not only tours of beautiful public and private gardens but historic properties as well. The Garden Tours event is in its second year, and a tour book (acting as your ticket) is only $10 per person.

See that guy in the blue shirt?  That’s my husband! Given that he has a major interest in Colt history it was an easy sell to get him to come with me on the tour. Our kids are getting older so we can sneak out for a couple of hours on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. We tried to convince them to come along…but shockingly they had other plans.

Did you know the Colt factory and its surrounding buildings, known as Coltsville, became an official National Historic Park just this past December? It is one of a small handful of urban National Historic Parks (another consisting of old textile mills is up in Lowell, MA) in the country and countless local organizations and citizens have rallied for this designation for years. A visiting National Park Service ranger from Springfield, MA was excited and proud to give our group a tour of the dome which will one day be open to the public permanently.

Many of the original Colt factory buildings will eventually be used for housing and office space, among other things. One of the buildings has already been renovated and contains a small cafe, luxury loft apartments (imagine the light from those windows?!) and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts magnet school.

A volunteer guided us to an empty loft space where the NPS ranger spent about 15 minutes giving us the background of the dome and an overview of future plans for Coltsville. Public support is important for the park, and providing these tours is one way to garner it. Then it was on to the dome!

We walked from the renovated space into the old Colt Armory building and through the attic space to the dome stairs. As we exited the stairs we were greeted with a strong breeze and an amazing view of the Hartford skyline and the Connecticut River, as well as a birdseye view of the Colt grounds. My favorite thing was the old smokestack rising above a third Colt factory building. If you look closely you can see the Colt name imprinted on it.

The shot of the skyline is a little blurry but I had to share the amazing view, with the exception of that billboard (it has got to go!) Up front and center is the Travelers building, another well-known Hartford landmark.

There is so much to know about Coltsville, Samuel and Elizabeth Colt, the Colt factory and the huge impact they had on Hartford, the U.S. economy and the world during the Industrial Revolution. While gun control and 2nd Amendment rights are hotly contested topics today, it’s important to acknowledge the Colt legacy for its incredible achievements and significant impact on history, both from the manufacturing technology they perfected and the products they produced.

The two smaller buildings above are the only two original Colt buildings that remain (the Forge Shop and the Foundry) and they are now owned by the National Park Service. The NPS does not own any other part of Coltsville, but these two smaller buildings will be restored to act as a Visitors Center for Coltsville.

The dome itself is made of sheet metal, and is the second dome in the factory’s history. The original dome burned in 1864, along with the rest of the Armory, just three years after Samuel Colt died. His widow, Elizabeth, watched it burn from Armsmear, their family residence. At age 35, at the time of Sam’s death, she became the head of the Colt empire and after the fire she resolved to rebuild. Elizabeth brought the company to new heights during the time that she was at its head. The original female CEO, and fondly called “The First Lady of Hartford” due to her charitable endeavors and leading role in the women’s suffrage movement.

Many have wondered where the onion shaped dome came from. Some have thought it was a gift from Russia but the most likely theory is that Sam designed it in tribute to his Russian business connections who were the first major Colt customers. It is a sight with its brilliant blue color and gold stars, with the gold orb and “Rampant Colt” at the top, the Colt emblem.

Coltsville National Park is more than just the original factory complex. It also includes ten remaining buildings (out of fifty) that were employee apartments, now converted to condominiums. Samuel Colt designed Coltsville to be a city unto itself, which was common in large industrial companies at the time. Anything his employees needed was all in one place, which on the one hand gave Sam a way to monitor his employees but on the other hand gave them an instant community.

In addition to the employee residence buildings, there are important Colt connections to many other Hartford buildings, including the Good Shepard Church which was built by the same architect as the Mark Twain house and was attended by the Colts. Finally, the family residence Armsmear, pictured below, is used today as a retirement home to widows of Episcopal clergy (yes, that is what Elizabeth wanted) but the goal is to gain permission to host tours through at least a portion of the home.

Armsmear is a fantastic example of Italianate architecture, and many of the rooms on the lower level of the home are just as Elizabeth left them. I would love to get a peek inside, but it will be a wait!

As a Connecticut resident, I truly feel that the Coltsville complex is the key to the continued rejuvenation of downtown Hartford. I was so impressed with what has been done to date, and though funding will be a challenge I can envision Hartford becoming a true heritage tourism destination with the Coltsville National Historic Park as the crown jewel.

Please do what you can to support it, and to find out more read this article from the Hartford Courant that was published this past weekend. It has interactive maps and video telling more of this important story. Finally, check out Hartford Blooms! Another community event I will look forward to on an annual basis.