Brick History: An Island of the Past

In front of the University of Connecticut’s Stamford campus and St. Andrew’s Protestant Episcopal Church stands a small island housing Stamford, Connecticut’s past. Brightly lit by its baby blue bricks are Franklin Street Works’ two townhouses: a nonprofit art space and cafe featuring contemporary artists focusing on a political appeal as well as serving local foods. On its right is the Stamford Art Association’s Townhouse Gallery. Established in 1971 by acclaimed color theorist, Faber Birren, Stamford Art Association has featured artworks from local artists for over 50 years. The last two townhouses on the left are the Law Offices of Emmet and Glander. Kathryn Emmet is an attorney with an appreciation for the arts. About five years ago she bought the middle two townhouses with the goal of turning them into an art gallery, to which she is now the owner of Franklin Street Works. These buildings house Stamford’s rich history and provide a safe space for folks to enjoy a cappuccino and walk next door to traverse through rooms of local art.

Constructed during the economic boom of the 1880s, the row of brick townhouses were one of the last structures erected on the street. Franklin Street, originally called “Northfield Road,” was named after Franklin Adams, son of the area’s principal developer, Nathaniel Adams. Born in 1744, Adams lived his childhood in New England, where his lineage can be traced back to his grandfather, the historical John Adams . At the age of 21 he moved to New York where he spent 10 years before moving back to Stamford. He became a coal and lumber dealer, purchased a great deal of land surveying new streets and began to build and sell houses. He took valuable land and created beautiful sections of Stamford. In a biography about him written in 1881 by Hamilton Hurd, Adams is described as a “self-made man, and has invariably been the advocate of law, order and improvement. He is of winning manners, of great and pleasing conversational powers, and possesses a remarkable faculty of applying poetical quotations to any subject under conversation.

Franklin Sower constructed the row of brick townhouses between 1886 and 1890. Sower was also responsible for developing Dolsen Place, another in town neighbourhood of Stamford. They remained under single ownership until about 1920 at which time they were sold to the working class families of Stamford; until 1989 when they were bought by Kathryn Emmet. Some families were relocated to shelters and others Emmet kept living in the basements of the four townhouses. Emmet bought her practice with intentions of buying all five townhouses, she succeeded in buying Franklin Street Works, but not the Stamford Art Association’s Gallery. The townhouse that currently belongs to the Stamford Art Association was then property of St. Andrew’s, the church adjacent to the houses, until it was bought out by the founding members of the art association who were in need of a gallery. Up until then, SAA was showcasing their members work at store fronts or during art festivals. The townhouse now belongs to the organization after the mortgage with the church was fully paid. Marguerite Weinert, the director of SAA told me Emmet approached them offering $110,000, but a member of the gallery who happened to be a real estate broker from Shippan, an expensive area of Stamford, said the building is worth more than $600,000. “No way we were going to sell. That was over five years ago too, it’s probably worth more now.” Emmet continued to have Section 8 members living in the basement of what is now FSW, until five years ago when it was being remodelled to fit artwork.

FSW indoor architecture is interesting as when they remodelled the building, they tore down the walls to reveal the brick underneath. It has a vintage feel coupled with the modern look of the gallery. However, if you want to get a “home sweet home” feeling, step inside Stamford Art Association’s gallery. Bonnie Wattles, FSW’s Execute Director tells me “We kept the brick from the old houses, but if you want to get a feel for what the houses really looked like, go to SAA next door.” It is a three story building with little to no remodelling. It still has its old kitchen on the bottom floor, the chimney on the first floor, and the same stairs and railings children ran up and down in. Although the two galleries feature different areas of art, they remain the same in its vintage home feeling.

The most enthralling element of these townhouses is their decorative brickwork that marks the roof line. This type of brickwork, called “corbelling,” was a popular style on masonry structures of the period and showed the influence of Northern Italian architecture. In addition to the decorative brickwork, much of the original detail remains including the hooded entryways. When first constructed, the row was unpainted and treated as a single unit. Over the years, the subsequent owners, in attempts to personalize their homes, painted them different colors, altered the front doors and erected fences to delineate their property. In the early 90’s, Bon Jones, a member of the Stamford Art Association, painted the mural on the side of the building. The mural used to be of old houses, until Jones was commissioned to paint over it. Some folks love, other hate it, but one thing remains true: it is part of the ever-growing layers of history in the lone five townhouses of Franklin Street.