St. Anne Rectory, 515 South Main Street, Waterbury, New Haven County, CT

Significance: St. Anne Rectory (1895) has architectural significance as an early and well-preserved example of the Colonial Revival style, a popular movement at the turn of the century because of its connotations of tradition and elegant living. It embodies the characteristic features of the style in its red-brick exterior, hip roof, and Classically inspired cornice. The interior detail, particularly the various embossed wall coverings, the intricate patterns of the ceiling beams, and the Classical pilasters and entablature framing the opening between the front and back parlors, suggest that the rectory was intended to provide a suitably comfortable and dignified residence for the priests of the parish, comparable to that of an upper middle-class professional person or entrepreneur. The rectory was designed by Louis G. Destremps of Fall River, a noted architect in the southeastern New England region. The building also has historical significance because, as part of a complex of church-related buildings at this site, it recalls the development of the French-Canadian community in Waterbury. St. Anne's parish was established in 1887 to serve French-speaking immigrants from Canada, who were attracted to Waterbury because of its thriving industrial economy. By the time the rectory was built as part of an extensive construction program that also included a parochial school building and the remodeling of an earlier house on the site to serve as a convent.
Survey number: HABS CT-468
Building/structure dates: 1895 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: ca. 1920 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: ca. 1960 Subsequent Work