Busy day at the Old Campus of the American School for the Deaf

1. The school’s architects were William Boring of New York City and Isaac A. Allen, Jr. of Hartford.
2. W. R. C. Corson said that the group of buildings being planned would be near the Main Street side of the new property.
3. Corson noted that the plans would need the approval of the State Board of Education before the school could make a final decision on them.
4. Corson also said that the architects were making preliminary estimates on the cost of construction at this point.
5. Frank R. Wheeler told the Courant that 170 students were returning today, and they expected five more were on the way. A number of students remained on the waiting list.

1. The article listed E. S. Dodge first and Parker, Thompson & Rice second, before adding that they were “acting as associate workers.” It isn’t clear if this meant the two architectural firms were partners of if E. S. Dodge was the primary architect.
2. The article said that the “sale was completed and the deed was passed” on July 22, 1919, but the Courant reported that the deed had been filed at the town clerk on July 17.
3. The school could use any “untouched” buildings on the campus through July 1, 1922, if needed. I assume that meant any building not being demolished by the Hartford Wrecking Company.  Needless to say, the school hoped they’d be in their new buildings long before that date.
4. Corson’s description of the role of the State Board of Education wasn’t exactly what had been reported when Marcus Holcomb signed the appropriations bill, but presumably Holcomb delegated that job to the State Board of Ed.

Summer vacation at the American School for the Deaf began on June 13, 1919.

The bust of Laurent Clerc remained in its location on the campus, facing Asylum Avenue, but it would be taken to the new campus in West Hartford as soon as possible.

1. The Courant article referred to Cogswell Hall on the school campus as “Coggswell Hall.”
2. “Returning pupils seem to greet the new scenes with philosophy.”

1. Cogswell Hall was located at the approximate location of the Cogswell Building, which is the former Scottish American Insurance Company and is now part of the campus of The Hartford. The original Cogswell Hall was demolished.
2. W. R. C. Corson was chair of the building committee for the school’s board of directors
3. E. S. Dodge was Edwin Sherrill Dodge. Along with the Hartford Fire Insurance Company building, he also designed the Edwin Booth Memorial in New York City and Cabot Hall, Harvard University. He and his wife Mable Ganson Evans were mentioned in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.
4. Parker, Thompson & Rice was likely Parker, Thomas & Rice. This firm was formed by partners J. Harleston Parker, Douglas H. Thomas, and Arthur W. Rice, and their other projects included the R. H. Stearns Building in Boston and the Baltimore Gas & Electric Company Building in Baltimore.
5. William Boring had been a partner in Boring & Tilton, and in that capacity he co-designed the Immigration Station at Ellis Island.
6. Isaac A. Allen, Jr. was supervising architect for Frederick Newman for the construction of the Linden Apartment House in Hartford. After establishing his own firm, he worked on houses for J. W. Felty (734 Propsect Avenue, Hartford) and Moses Fox (West Hartford).
7. Frank Wheeler was the principal of the American School for the Deaf.
8. Marcus Holcomb was still governor today, and he remained in office until January 5, 1921.

Under the subhead “Problem for Psycho-Analysis,” the article had this to say:  “Residents of the ‘Hill’ say that they view the passing of the school with a mixture of emotions.  They have regarded the young unfortunates with a kindly pity and have visited the school and seen the class room work and the exhibits and witnessed the football games and other athletics with interest.  At the same time, they look forward with anticipation to the advent of the insurance company.”