Comstock Hall in East Hartford

Comstock Hall (circa 1899) stands on Main Street in historic downtown East Hartford. The building initially housed offices and a theater, which later converted to a roller-skating rink (since demolished). Lewis Comstock, a railroad engineer and descendant of an old, successful East Hartford family, built the elaborate, classic revival structure. In 1926, Comstock erected an adjoining building to the south; a continuous first-floor storefront cornice joins the two buildings. 

Settlers first populated the East Hartford area during the early seventeenth century, although it remained part of Hartford until 1783. Main Street evolved during the late seventeenth century as a significant country road that connected the area to towns east of the Connecticut River (the river today divides East Hartford and Hartford). For nearly two hundred years, Main Street mainly served a burgeoning farming community. However, with the Connecticut River serving as a major waterway, subsistence farming gave way to the more profitable commercial agriculture (namely tobacco). 

While there exist a few buildings on historic Main Street from its agrarian era, the majority of the buildings emerged later in the nineteenth century. As industrialization and commercial enterprises developed, immigration and population increases occurred. Additionally, transportation improvements allowed for greater access to town by those living in rural communities; the city grew into a small marketplace and trading center (associated with Hartford's economic growth). Some of the development can be tied directly to the transpiration industry. For instance, the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad Company arrival in 1849 created a small population bump, including Irish immigrants. The railway's presence eventually led to the construction of a depot, a roundhouse, and several repair shops by the late 1880s. The population, which had remained relatively steady between two and three thousand for decades in East Hartford, climbed to nearly 6,500 by 1900. 

Comstock Hall arose in 1899 during East Hartford's small population boom as several railroad men invested in Main Street's commercial development. As early as the 1870s, land speculators purchased large tracts of farmland along Main Street, intending to build residential neighborhoods near the central business district. Though it took time to develop, the streetcar's arrival in 1892 helped people traverse Main Street and across the river into Hartford. As such, increasing construction of Main Street offices and nearby homes ("streetcar suburbs") transpired. One such man was Lewis Comstock, a railroad engineer and descendant of the prominent Comstock family, who constructed his first building in 1899. The building originally contained offices and a theater. But 1926, Comcsock built an adjoining building to the south that connects to the first building via a conjoining first-floor storefront.

"Comstock Hall (1899)." Historic Buildings of Connecticut. historicbuildingsct.com. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://historicbuildingsct.com/comstock-hall-1899/.

Cunnlngham, Jan. "Nomination Form: Downtown Main Street Historic District." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. December 20, 1996. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/165b56f5-5442-4417-b319-b54afc886aac. 

Reitz, Stephanie. "East Hartford Hopeful for Comstock Building Sale ." Hartford Courant (East Hartford) April 8th 1997. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-04-08-9704080384-story.html.