Coltsville Study

The National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Region Office in Boston completed a Special Resource Study to determine the national significance, suitability, and feasibility of designation the Coltsville Industrial Historic District, in Hartford, CT, as a unit of the national park system. As part of the study process, the NPS sought to facilitate public awareness of the study and encourage public input into the study process.

Governor Rell: Coltsville Receives Federal Landmark Designation on December 5, 2007



Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the National Historic Landmark
Committee of the National Park Service, United States Department of the
Interior has given the Coltsville Historic District in Hartford the highest
level of federal landmark designation.  Coltsville, now a National Historic
Landmark, joins the select group of buildings and districts recognized for
their historical and architectural significance in the nation’s history.



“For many months, we have been gunning for this designation and we have
finally gotten it,” Governor Rell said. “This marks a major victory for
preservation and a big win for Hartford’s continued revitalization.  Samuel
Colt himself certainly would have been thrilled to hear this news.  There is
no worthier addition to the National Historic Landmark program than the
Coltsville district.



“Connecticut is known throughout the world for our industrial innovations
and our smart business practices.  The Colt Armory, workers housing, Colt
Park, the Colt home “Armsmear”and the Church of the Good Shepard our part of
our state history.  The Colt Armory itself is a universally recognized
symbol of the development of the Colt industrial empire in the nineteenth
century.



“I have seen first-hand the progress being made in redeveloping this
historic landmark.  This federal designation is key to our state’s
collective efforts to bring the facility back to prominence.”



This is the second time that the complex has been considered by the National
Landmarks Committee.  After being denied designation initially, the
Governor, as well as Connecticut’s Congressional delegation, requested a
second evaluation and hearing for the Colt nomination.  Upon careful
documentation and research into an expanded historic district, scholars
confirmed the contributions of Samuel Colt to the American industrial story
and of Elizabeth’s as a shining light in women’s history.



“The Colt Armory complex is being adaptively reused as housing and office
space while maintaining its architectural integrity. The Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards are being met, making the armory project eligible for
the federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits,” said Karen
Senich, Acting Executive Director of the Commission on Culture & Tourism and
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer.  “Historic preservation is
critical to Hartford’s revitalization - it uses existing buildings and
infrastructure, helps to produce jobs, and contributes to the city’s tax
base as well as our quality of life.”