Town of West Hartford, Vanderbilt Hill Section
DraftsmanDrawn by
C. E. Beach
(American, 1862 - 1940)
Date1898
MediumLithography; black printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper, lined with linen
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 20 1/4 x 30 1/4in. (51.4 x 76.8cm)
Sheet (height x width): 22 1/2 x 32 1/2in. (57.2 x 82.6cm)
Mount (height x width): 22 1/2 x 32 1/2in. (57.2 x 82.6cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2012.312.131
DescriptionMap of part of West Hartford, Connecticut, from Asylum Avenue to the north, Prospect Avenue to the east, Boulevard to the south, and Quaker lane to the west. Above the title is another map, from Boulevard to the north, Prospect Avnue to the east, Park Street to the south, and Quaker Lane to the west. The area of Buena Vista is also shown, at the top left, from Farmington Avenue to the north, Everett Avenue to the east, Park Avenue to the north, and Reservoir 1 to the west. Real estate is shown on all three maps, with lots of land labeled with the owners names and showing buildings of various materials and uses. Farmington Avenue's street-railroad tracks are also depicted. In the top center of the sheet is a references key.
Label TextIn 1879, Cornelius J. Vanderbilt, Jr. began contruction of a mansion on the property known as Vanderbilt Hill, in West Hartford, Connecticut. By 1881, the house was complete, lavishly decorated and furnished with artwork and sculptures. It was still unoccupied when Vanderbilt commited suicide in 1882. The property was purchased by Ira Dimock, a silk manufacturer, in 1888, and the house appears as the Dimock house on this 1898 map. By this time, West Hartford was rapidly developing a residential suburb. Lots sold quickly in Buena Vista, a development laid out by real estate developer Frederick C. Rockwell on what was formerly Selden's Hill, overlooking the West Hartford reservoirs. In 1918, Ira Dimock's son, Stanley Dimock, would demolish the family mansion and the property would be subdivided to allow for the creation of a whole series of mansions. Vanderbilt would subsequently be known as West Hill.
NotesCartographic Note: Scale: 1 inch equals 300 feetStatus
Not on view
