James Howard built the house at 67 (according to the 1922 map) or 51 (according to a 1924 Courant article) in 1860, and he, his wife Anna Gilbert, and his daughters Alice Howard and Julia Howard would occupy the house by 1861. Daughters Edith Howard and Mary Howard were born at the house. Although unconfirmed, it appears that the Howards built a substantial addition on the house between 1880 and 1896. In 1924, Alice (now Bennett), Edith, and Mary sold the house and property to Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company with the provision that title to the property would not transfer to the company until the last daughter died, which happened in 1949, when Edith passed away that September. In October 1949, the company petitioned the city for permission to park 83 cars at the property. It is not clear when the company demolished the house, but it likely happened during the last major expansion of their building, which also led to the closing of the leg of Collins Street between Garden Street and what is today Fraser Place.
|
