LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

Entrance from Capitol

Main Entrance

The Legislative Office Building opened in 1988. It was designed by the architectural firm of Russell Gibson von Dohlen of Farmington. The structure is covered in rough and polished granite from Texas.

The five-story building was designed to complement, not replace or compete with, the Capitol. It is connected by a planted terrace that spans the I-84 ramp with a 500 foot concourse that runs below the highway for handicapped access and protection from the elements. A moving walkway runs through an underground tunnel connecting the LOB to the Capitol.

The first floor of the LOB includes hearing rooms and committee offices for Higher Education and Employment Advancement, and Executive and Legislative Nominations. There is also a cafeteria a small gift shop, and offices for the Connecticut Network (CT-N), which broadcasts many legislative sessions and public hearings throughout the year.

The second floor holds committee offices for Appropriations, Insurance and Real Estate, Human Services, Planning and Development, Government Administration and Elections, Judiciary, Transportation, and Banking. In addition, there are several hearing rooms where the public can watch and participate in the law-making process.

The third floor supports the Senate Offices of both parties along with offices for the General Law, Public Safety and Security, Finance, Revenue and Bonding, Labor and Public Employees, Energy and Technology, Public Health, Education, and Environment committees.

The fourth floor hosts most of the House members of both parties, and their staffs.

The fifth floor houses some of the General Assembly's nonpartisan staff offices including the Office of Legislative Management, the Office of Fiscal Analysis, the Office of Legislative Research, the Legislative Commissioners' Office, and the Legislative Library.

18-20 TRINITY STREET

1905

2015

The Orient Insurance Company Building at 18-20 Trinity Street, Hartford, was constructed in 1905 next to the Bushnell Memorial Hall and across from the State Capitol. It is just around the corner from Elm Street, which by the 1920's became known as Insurance Row after four more companies built offices there. Designed by Davis & Brooks in the grand Beaux-Arts style, the Orient Insurance Company Building originally featured a large dome, which no longer exists.

The building now serves as offices for the Connecticut General Assembly's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, the Commission on Children, the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, as well as satellite offices for the Auditors of Public Accounts. Connecticut state agencies include the Freedom of Information Commission, and the Office of State Ethics.

CONNECTICUT STATE LIBRARY AND SUPREME COURT BUILDING

1910

2015

The Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building became an important repository of local and state archival material in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as a reference library for legislators and the public. The State Library's collections include original printings of the arguments of Roger Sherman Baldwin and John Quincy Adams before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as a collection of abolitionist publications from the 1830s and 1840s.

The library's growing collection prompted the construction of this 1910 Beaux-Arts style building. New York architect Donn Barber designed the building in relation to the nearby State Capitol, and was influenced by contemporary library design, notably the New York Public Library.

The statues above the front entrance, installed in 1913, are figures of Justice, History, Art and Science, sculpted by Francois Michel Louis Tonetti. The building's eastern wing houses the state library, while the western wing houses the state Supreme Court. Between the two wings is Memorial Hall, which is home to the Museum of Connecticut History. The Museum of Connecticut History occupies a portion of the building, including Memorial Hall, the magnificently restored display gallery, and three adjoining exhibit areas.

CONNECTICUT STATE ARSENAL AND ARMORY

1909

2015

Completed and dedicated in 1909, the Classical Revival-style (or Beaux-Arts) State Arsenal and Armory in Hartford is the largest such facility in the state and serves as headquarters of the Connecticut Military Department (which includes the First Company Governor's Foot Guard), the Connecticut National Guard and the State Emergency Command Center. Designed by architect Benjamin W. Morris (1870-1944), the total original appropriation for the purchase and development of the site, and for construction and furnishing of the building, was $869,103.33 and was dedicated November 12, 1909 with President William H. Taft in attendance.

The building consists of two parts: a large three-story U-shaped office section (head house) measuring 325 by 275 feet, and a five-story drill shed measuring 185 by 269 feet. The exterior, constructed of Mohegan Light granite from Peekskill, N.Y. and limestone, features the State Seal over the central entryway. Figureheads over the side entrances of the drill shed incorporate motifs from antiquity.

The armory's 1996 restoration and modernization was supervised by Hartford Architects Louis J. Colavecchio and Priscilla Eatherton and constructed by the Whitney-Steen Company of New York City. It was restored at a cost of $10 million.

CONNECTICUT STATE OFFICE BUILDING

1931

2015

Located on the tract bounded by Capitol Avenue, Washington Street and Buckingham Street, Hartford, the 320,000 square-foot State Office Building, completed in 1931, has five office floors, ground floor and basement. An appropriation of $2,250,000 was made by the 1929 General Assembly to construct the building. The 1931 General Assembly appropriated $462,275, for the purpose of furnishing and equipping the building and grading the grounds.

The building was designed by Smith & Bassette, a firm also involved in the 1929 Hartford County Courthouse. The exterior is faced in Louisiana limestone. Fluted pilasters are carved into all but the building's east side, and two panels in bas-relief depict the themes of agriculture and industry. The Neo-Classical style structure is designed with Art Deco touches, including tall metal grilles with an oak leaf and grape vine motif.

At the time of its construction, the Hartford Courant noted that the office building "forms an important unit in the development of the State Capitol group." (Departments Occupy New State Building, Hartford Courant, Nov 24 1931)

State offices that originally occupied the building included: Agriculture (479), Agencies and Institutions (239), American Legion (234), Athletic Commission (214), Banking (229), Blind, Education of (4), Dental Commission (254), Domestic Animals (273), Dairy and Food (467), Education (306), Fisheries and Game (435), Forester and Forest Fire Warden (445), Forest and Wild Life (441), Health (322), Hair Dressers' Commission (256), Highway Information Booth (Floor 5), Insurance(423), Labor and Factory Inspection (257), Motor Vehicles Information Desk (Entire Ground Floor), Parks (457), Prison Association (259), Public Utilities Commission (505), Teachers' Retirement Board (202), Tuberculosis Commission (233), Unemployment Commission (216), U.S. Bureau of Animal Industry (261), U.S. Geological Survey (318), Veteran's Home Commission (239), Water Commission (313), Welfare, Adult (303), Welfare, Child (209).

Today, the Connecticut State Office Building houses the Department of Administrative Services, State Department of Education, Office of Early Childhood, Department of Consumer Protection and the Department of Agriculture.