The Linden

The Linden is a Victorian-era brick apartment building that was modernized and converted into condominiums in 1979. It is on the National Historic Register, and remains one of the premier addresses in downtown Hartford, CT.

A Little History
With Hartford‟s population increasing in the second half of the 19th century, the 18th-century homes which graced the Main Street/Capitol Avenue/Buckingham blocks were inadequate for the needs of the growing city. Large-scale residential hotels and apartment buildings with retail space on the ground floor were built on busy Main Street, while row houses were erected on side streets such as Capitol Avenue, Buckingham Street and Linden Place.

Frank Brown and James Thomson, principals in Brown, Thomson & Company, built The Linden, a five-story brick apartment house, in 1891. According to the Daily Courant in 1892, The Linden contained fifty-nine apartments, each with four or five rooms and a bathroom. The article also stated that “all of the rooms are light and airy, and from some the view is delightful. Every room is heated with hot water and supplied with gas fixtures. These are also wired for electric lights, which may sometime be put in. Every suite has its electric doorbell and an electric call bell for the janitor… In fact, the Linden is a model apartment house.”

The Main Street-side of The Linden boasted of five stores and an impressive main entrance to the building, with a wide hall leading to the stairs and the elevator. The second building, just to the South of the original building, was added in 1893; this addition increased the number of apartments to 85 and expanded the presence of The Linden along Main Street. Around 1910, an independent electric lighting plant was installed and, to meet increasing demand for two-room apartments, alterations were made on the upper two floors to increase the number of apartments to 90. Shafts were added to the middle of the structure so that some of the interior apartments had windows; of course the view was across the shaft into the window of your neighbor.

The lobby boasted of having the first-ever letter chute in Hartford, extending from the top floor to the letter box in the main lobby. While the letter chute is no longer used, the mail carrier still picks up mail from the original letter box, using the original locking system. The Linden also had its own two-ton ice machine for use by the residents. In modern times we would consider that a convenience for hosting parties; in a different era it was a luxury to have an in-house supply of ice for one‟s “ice box” vs. waiting for the ice man to deliver.

The fortune of The Linden waxed and waned with the changing tides of the economy. What started as a plush apartment building became a boarding house, and in the 1970s was about to be condemned and demolished. In 1979, developer Tom Tramont had the vision to take the building back to its roots. It took two years to rebuild The Linden as a luxury condominium complex which would meet “the needs of residents that require all the advantages of City life.” Tramont modernized the electric, plumbing and heating, while saving as much of the original woodwork, fireplaces and brickwork as possible. He even went so far as to take over the operation of a wood stripping company for three months to refinish all of the wood pieces that he had salvaged from the building, and to use as many of the original bricks as possible when he built new arches or patched up brickwork within the building.

In 1981, when mortgage rates were approaching 21%, the first new condos at The Linden went on the market. The historic building was once again one of the best addresses in downtown Hartford. Several years later the garages were added, further increasing the value of owning at The Linden. Its brick and brownstone façade, ornate wrought iron railings and lush garden have caused comparisons to buildings in New Orleans, Charleston or Savannah.

We are all proud to make The Linden our home. Your Board of Directors and working Committees strive to continue the tradition of having The Linden be known as it was originally described: “a handsome, high-class apartment house and modern in every respect”.

With thanks to The Antiquarian & Landmarks Society for contributing to this historical summary.