Connecticut College’s Steel House Wins Preservation Award

The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation has taken notice of the tremendous effort of the college to transform its historic Steel House from a rusty eyesore into a useful building and  model of sustainability.

The Trust has selected the Steel House and Connecticut College for an Award of Merit, which will be presented in the State Capitol building in Hartford tonight. Conservators of the preservation, as well as college officials, will attend the ceremony, which begins in the Hall of Flags at 6 p.m.

“It's an honor to be recognized by the Trust, which has high standards for preservation,” said Douglas Royalty, a preservation specialist who worked closely with Connecticut College officials to lead the college’s restoration effort. “I think not just the Steel House team but everyone at the College can be proud of the effort to preserve this unusual building for future generations, not to mention the decision to give it such an appropriate new life as the College's Office of Sustainability.”

The Steel House renovation was an intricate process that transformed the dilapidated structure into a viable facility. Manufactured as a prefabricated house in 1933, the roughly 800-square foot house was erected for Winslow Ames, founding director of New London’s Lyman Allyn Art Museum, which is adjacent to the college.

Connecticut College acquired the small home in 1949 and it served as faculty housing for more than 50 years. Before its renovation, the Steel House was last occupied in 2004, and after it became vacant, it had fallen into disrepair.

Restoration efforts began in 2011, when the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) awarded the college a $101,500 grant for the project. This matched previous grants awarded, including $50,000 from the Dr. Scholl Foundation and a $50,000 grant from a family foundation. Funding for this project also included a grant from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and a gift to Connecticut College.

Philadelphia-based firm Millner & Carr, now called Materials Conservation Co., LLC partnered with the college as the conservation company for the project. The firm spent weeks painstakingly dismantling the Steel House, then sent the parts to Philadelphia for thorough cleaning and restoration.  In 2013, the house was reassembled on its former foundation at 130 Mohegan Avenue. It opened in 2013 as the College’s new Office of Sustainability. The Connecticut Trust was impressed with the project.

"The tenacious advocacy, careful research, and meticulous restoration of this unusual and significant building, culminating with its appropriate new use, all make an important contribution to the history and sense of place of Connecticut," said Christopher Wigren, deputy director of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.

Connecticut College is one of nine honorees set to receive awards on Wednesday. The college’s certificate will list the project’s architect, Barun Basu Associates, as well as conservators Materials Conservation Co.

Situated on the coast of southern New England, Connecticut College is a highly selective private liberal arts college with 1900 students from all across the country and throughout the world. On the college’s 750-acre arboretum campus overlooking Long Island Sound, students and faculty create a vibrant social, cultural and intellectual community enriched by diverse perspectives. The college, founded in 1911, is known for its unique combination of interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.