The Nathan Hale Schoolhouse was moved for the sixth time in
early January, to a new plaza adjacent to the Water Street
parking garage.
Since 1988 the school had been
located on the Parade, the historic square at the foot of State Street in downtown New London. Built
in 1773 as the Union
School, the small,
shingled building is best known as the place where Colonial patriot and state
hero Nathan Hale taught in 1774. The Connecticut Sons of the American
Revolution have controlled the building since 1890. On the Parade, the building
served as a museum and visitor center, uses that will continue at the new
location. Once the building was moved, the Sons could go forward with an
interior renovation, by Stephen
C. Marshall, LLC, of Coventry.
The
move is part of a larger project to renovate the Parade. Work also includes
improving traffic patterns and removing a raised plaza constructed in the
1970s, which blocked views to and from Union Station.
New
London Landmarks, which has promoted the Parade redesign, wrote in its Fall,
2008, newsletter, “Historically, the Parade was the center of all commerce. In
the early settlement of the city local farmers drove herds of cattle through
the streets to be loaded onto ships bound for the West
Indies. Barrels of sugar, molasses and rum made the return trip
enriching early city fathers. Thus, the new Parade
Plaza will also be a site for people
to learn about the history of New
London.” A Connecticut Trust Historic Preservation
Technical Assistance Grant helped fund a charrette in 2004 that started the
redesign process.
