Owner to donate two Colt buildings to planned Coltsville National Historical Park in Hartford

HARTFORD — The expected donation of 19th century factory buildings to the planned Coltsville National Historical Park in Hartford will be a vital step, local and federal leaders said Monday, in making the area under the blue onion dome a destination as well as a window into a cradle of American ingenuity.

Closing the deal on the 1855 foundry and forge buildings will be the final step in formally establishing a national gathering place to tell a Connecticut and American story of entrepreneurship, work, and community, members of the state's congressional delegation said at a news conference inside Hooker Brewery in the Colt Gateway Complex.

The current property owner, Chevron, has agreed on "a clear path forward" to donate the two buildings, each of which is about 8,000 square feet, to the National Park Service, officials said. Sitting at the base of the iconic building topped by the starry dome and Rampant Colt, the two low-slung buildings are to be converted into a visitors center at a price to be determined.

President Obama signed a bill in 2014 authorizing, but not formally establishing, the park. U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, recounted the importance of Samuel Colt's work in developing the revolver and other guns. He also noted the amazing perseverance of Colt's wife, Elizabeth, who not only carried on and expanded manufacturing after her husband's death, but made Coltsville a community with workers' housing, libraries, and recreational facilities.

Credited by other officials as the relentless point man on the national park effort, Larson said realizing the designation has been a group enterprise, bringing together "countless community leaders, organizations and businesses who have worked tirelessly to bring this dream to fruition over the last two decades."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who promised to lobby for federal funding for the visitors center, spoke about Samuel Colt's vision in building his assembly line and his focus on interchangeable parts and integrated, precision manufacturing. "The basis for American triumphs in two world wars," Blumenthal said.

"The example of caring for history and taking care to make sure that history is kept alive in this way is a tradition that Connecticut honors like no other state," he said. "We are the Constitution State. We care about history and we make it come alive in projects like this one."

The forge and foundry buildings were the only surviving structures from an 1864 fire that destroyed the original Colt factory complex. Built of brownstone and brick with slate roofs, the buildings are in tough shape and have been empty for years. Asked for a price tag on converting the structures into a visitors center, National Park Service spokesperson Michael Reynolds said he had no estimate beyond "multiple millions." The plan is to cut a ribbon on the project next year, Reynolds said, but there is no timeline yet for project completion.

"The forge and foundry brownstones are beautiful and significant buildings," Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said, "and it’s appropriate that they will be assets of the National Historic Park."

"This is where Connecticut established itself as a cradle of the Industrial Revolution," Bronin said.

"While the adaptive reuse of Colt is now part of its history," said Larry Dooley of Colt Gateway, who has spearheaded development of offices and about 200 apartments in the complex since 2006, "Colt’s unique identity has always been grander and more comprehensive than we, as real estate developers, can accurately convey."

Earlier this year, officials announced $1 million in federal funding to restore and integrate Colt Gardener’s Cottage and Carriage House into the park.

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who also had lobbied for the national park designation, said the U.S. remains a manufacturing and economic colossus with little to fear from rivals, including China. Lieberman said the historic park can inform people about history while also conveying a message of optimism about America's future.

"The spirit that was kindled here by Samuel and Elizabeth Colt in Hartford burns bright in America in 2023," Lieberman said