Northwest District School
circa 1885 –
(Future Home of John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center)
Northwest District School, the future home of the John E. Rogers African American Cultural Center, will feature interactive historical exhibits and research areas. It will showcase the Sand Elementary School Historians, the works of local historian John E. Rogers; the accomplishments of Frank Simpson, the first employee of Connecticut Inter-Racial Commission in 1944 and then Executive Director; Marietta Canty, political and social activist and actress from 1930s through 1950s in theatre, radio, television, and such films as Rebel without a Cause with James Dean; John C. Clark Jr. elected in 1955 as the first African American on the Hartford City Council; Thirman Milner, the first African American mayor of Hartford elected 1981-1987 and African American politicians, physicians, and many others. Special collections will feature African American legislators, physicians, Civil War soldiers in the 29th, 30th, and 31st Regiments, Tuskegee Airmen and many others whose efforts transformed positively the lives of citizens in Connecticut and the nation.
Northwest District School is a brick and brownstone two-story structure with a low pitch hip roof with gables located on the north side of Albany Avenue at 1240 Albany Avenue between Woodland Street and Blue Hills Avenue. Constructed during the Victorian Era in 1885 with addition in 1899, the building is characterized by a vernacular style. A closer look at the building reveals a composite of several architectural styles, - Queen Anne, Italianate, Federal, and Greek Revival. Located in a high density city block among relatively modern structures including the Collin Bennett Building, a branch of the public library, the Artists Collective, commercial venues, and architecturally ornate religious structures, the Northwest District School once extended to Woodland Street where the Artists Collective is currently located. A tunnel connected the Woodland Avenue building to the building constructed in 1885 that faces Albany Avenue. In 1978, the 1899 addition was demolished leaving the original 1885 building as the sole structure between Woodland Street and Blue Hills on Albany Avenue dating from the 19th century. The vision and plan for the Northwest District School as an African American Cultural Center, the only one in the state of Connecticut, is an excellent example of adaptive reuse of a historic building.