2025 Blue Ribbon Brochure

Linus Plimpton House

Hartford, CT

A contributing structure to the Asylum Hill National Register Historic District, the Linus B. Plimpton House is a high-style Romanesque-inspired home. The house was first rehabbed under a separate restoration in 1991 by Crosskey Architects, LLC and most recently provided support/transitional housing for individuals of lesser means. Over time the home aged and weathered. NINA Properties contracted Crosskey Architects to help reclaim the home's architectural beauty, returning it back to residential use. NINA Inc.’s initiative focuses on revitalizing Asylum Hill (Hartford, Connecticut). The Plimpton House is one of nearly thirty historic properties NINA Inc. has renovated. This project utilized the State Historic Homes Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, ensuring long-term community growth while maintaining the neighborhood’s aesthetic. The circa-1884 home is named after Linus B. Plimpton, founder of the Plimpton Manufacturing Co., one of Hartford’s more successful late nineteenth-century businesses. One of the district’s oldest homes, its original construction dates to 1863 in the Italianate style. The home was originally part of Joseph Morgan’s farmstead, grandfather of banking tycoon J.P. Morgan. In 1879, Linus Plimpton hired Hartford architect John C. Mead to remodel the 1863 structure, including a substantial expansion. The rehab reclaimed the home's original details, including decorative wood floors, stained glass windows, six fireplaces, and elaborate millwork, while updating it with modern heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems. Each room is unique, but of particular note are the entry hallway, dining room, and billiards room, where historic wall and ceiling painting exist. The Owner consulted John Canning Co. to preserve these elements, restoring and repairing damaged painting throughout the home. Most rooms are dramatic, though the third-floor billiards room might be the most resounding. Here, 14-foot ceilings and walls are decoratively stenciled. A large fireplace, constructed of various brick profiles and coursing, adds depth to the brick massing. Above the fireplace's stone mantel is a leaded arch stained-glass window, flanked by masonry chimney flues. The room provides expansive views of the Hartford skyline. According to local lore, Mark Twain was a frequent visitor to play pool with Plimpton in this space. To improve the marketability of the massive residence, which surpasses 7,000 square feet of livable space, the Owner reserved some of the floor plan for two apartments while maintaining a reconfigured main residence. The apartment units are tucked in the back of the home: floor two has two bedrooms and one bath, and floor three has one bedroom and one bath. Each unit has a private entrance with no circulation to the main house, which includes four bedrooms. When designing the reconfiguration, limiting impacts on the home's historic circulation was a priority. The main residence, roughly 5,250 sq. ft., retains its original circulation on all floors. To achieve the Owners’ desired program, hallway corridors on floors two and three were altered beyond the historic staircase, though existing walls were integrated within the new floorplan.

Owner — NINA (Northside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, Inc.)

Project Size — 7,000 square feet

Project Team — Crosskey Architects, LLC; NINA Properties, LLC; James K. Grant Associates; State Historic Preservation Office; City of Hartford Department of Development Services; Capital Region Development Authority; Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Hartford) 17 Blue Ribbon Awards 2025