THE CADDEN.

NORWICH CONNECTICUT

 

I like this storefront in the heart of Norwich’s historic downtown. It remains very close to original, with its wood panels and indented doorway. Even the door itself looks original. The transom windows remain; many times commercial transoms have been covered over with metal, giving a great storefront a black eye. Sure, the upper windows are likely replacements, but I like the signage. There’s something comforting about windows festooned with information about what goes on inside. I imagine the gallery folks below the BAIL BONDS sign cringe a bit when they see it, though. A little more subtle lettering and an archaic font would suit it better. But then jailbirds can’t be choosebirds I guess.

I’d personally like to see a more diverse color scheme; the two grayish blues are too alike for me. The magnificent pressed-steel cornice is the finest feature of the building, and should be painted in such a way as to stand out and say ‘Look at me!’ I can envision a three tiered color scheme on that, including the little wreaths painted to stand out more.

Apparently Cadden got around quite a bit in this burg, what with the Plaut-Cadden building I featured a few posts ago. I’m not sure just what makes this THE Cadden, though. It is decidedly older than the multi-storied Plaut-Cadden.

This one is also spelled with a period.

BANK

NORWICH CONNECTICUT

This is apparently no longer a bank, if the missing lettering is to be believed. It’s hard to read in my photo, but it looks to have been The Thames National Bank when I blow it up. The giant vault alarm must have made one hell of a noise when it went off, though by the look of the structure, only a meteor impact or direct hit with a cobalt bomb would scratch the thing. Banks used to be designed to reflect strength and permanence, but given the state of the economy and the financial world, they now often festoon their exteriors with mirrored windows. Or smoky glass. How appropriate.

I have no idea what the building is used for today. There is a tiny sign in the door’s window, but I can’t read it from here in Arkansaw.

CHRISTOPHER HUNTINGTON HOUSE GUTTER

NORWICHTOWN, CONNECTICUT

 

It’s not that this house is remarkable; in fact, for ancient Norwichtown, it’s rather austere. None of the classical Connecticut pediments I’ll feature in the next few posts; even the doorway seems to shrink back from itself. No scrollwork or multi-tiered cornices, the front doorway is straight, flat, and only different in that it has two narrow sidelites framing the door. More Federal-looking than Colonial. But it was built around 1720, so pay attention.

What caught my eye was the gutter.

Made from a couple of one-by-sixes (actually a misnomer; they are not one anything by six anythings at all) attached at a ninety-degree angle with triangular end caps, this is a gutter that reflects the past. It is quite authentic in its design.

New England was and still is rich in trees, so anything that could be made of wood, well, was. Metal gutters would have been accompanied by a tax, because smelting metal in the New World was illegal. So you bought it as sheet metal from a England and the supplier that paid enormous taxes on it, passed on the cost to you, and the Crown got the dough.

We had a little war because of this. Tea in Boston Harbor and all that. No taxation without representation. Power to the people. Off the pigs.

Sorry, I digressed.

But enterprising craftsmen (of which there were positively scads in Connecticut) put together water drainage systems like this one, though it is not original. Duh. Lined with a simple sheet of lead, it would easily keep the gathered water from the roof from disintegrating the side of your house, which was also built from wood.

This particular gutter is likely lined with galvanized steel or sheet copper, has one hell of a fall, and it does a fine job of keeping the siding and windows intact. As well as keeping the rain off your head. And it can be repaired as opposed to replaced. Keep the craftsmen employed and your home cared for by an individual that cares.

More on that in the next few posts.