Willimantic is a census-designated place located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It is a former city and borough. Known as "Thread City" for the American Thread Company's mills along the Willimantic River, it was a center of the textile industry in the 19th century. Originally incorporated as a city in 1893, it entered a period of decline after the Second World War, culminating in the mill's closure and the city's reabsorption into the town of Windham in the 1980s. Heroin use, present since the 1960s, became a major public health problem in the early 2000s, declining somewhat by the 2010s. Though the city was a major rail hub, an Interstate Highway has never passed within ten miles, despite early plans to connect it.
A footbridge is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians. While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a height above the ground", a footbridge can also be a lower structure, such as a boardwalk, that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. Bridges range from stepping stones–possibly the earliest man-made structure to "bridge" water–to elaborate steel structures. Another early bridge would have been simply a fallen tree. In some cases a footbridge can be both functional and artistic.
The Air Line State Park Trail is a rail trail and linear state park located in Connecticut. The trail is divided into sections designated South, North a piece of the East Coast Greenway, and the Thompson addition. An additional 3.6 mile spur to Colchester is sometimes designated as part of the Air Line trail. At the Massachusetts state line, the trail connects to the Southern New England Trunkline Trail, a 22 mile long trail to Franklin, MA built on the same right-of-way. Since 2018, the town of Portland, CT has also maintained a 2.3 mile portion of the Airline Trail, connecting to the southern end of the state park at the town line with East Hampton.
The Riverside Avenue Bridge is the only cast-iron bridge in Connecticut and one of a small number still in use in the United States. It carries Riverside Avenue over the New Haven Line railroad tracks in the Riverside section of Greenwich, Connecticut. The bridge was part of an earlier span built in 1871 over the Housatonic River by the New York and New Haven Railroad, and when that bridge was replaced, part of it was erected in Riverside in 1895. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic portion of the central business district of Willimantic, in Windham, Connecticut. The district encompasses the commercial business district of Willimantic and is roughly linear along Main Street and Riverside Drive between Church Street and Bridge Street. It was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Its area was increased in 1992 to include the Hall and Bill building on North Street, built in 1889 by one of Willimantic's leading printers.
The Prospect Hill Historic District encompasses a large residential area in the Willimantic section of Windham, Connecticut. Located north of the Main Street commercial district, it was developed between about 1865 and 1930, and is one of the state's largest historic districts, with more than 800 contributing buildings. It is roughly bounded by Valley, Jackson, Bolivia, Washburn, Windham, and High Streets, and contains one of the state's largest single concentrations of Victorian-era residential architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Ponakin Bridge is a historic Post truss bridge spanning the Nashua River in northern Lancaster, Massachusetts. The bridge was built in 1871, and originally carried the main north–south road, which was bypassed by the construction of Massachusetts Route 70. It is now unsafe and closed even to pedestrians. The bridge, with a design once common but now extremely rare, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Linden Street Bridge is a historic bridge on the abandoned Central Massachusetts Railroad over Linden Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. It is a riveted lattice through truss bridge, built in 1894 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, and is one of only three such bridges left in the state. The bridge is 98 feet 3 inches (29.95 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, with an inside truss height of 21 feet 11.5 inches (6.693 m), and rests on granite abutments. The design of the bridge was based on that of the Northampton crossing of the Connecticut River by the same railroad. The line has been out of service since 1975.
The Housatonic River Railroad Bridge is a historic bridge carrying Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line trackage across the lower Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The bridge is also used by Amtrak for its Northeast Corridor services. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, which also refers to the bridge as the Devon Bridge. It is also referred to as the Devon Railroad Bridge by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The Glen Falls Bridge is a historic bridge that formerly carried Brunswick Avenue over the Moosup River in Plainfield, Connecticut. Built in 1886 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one of a shrinking number of surviving 19th-century lenticular truss bridges in the state. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It has been closed to all traffic for many years.
The William Jillson Stone House is a historic house museum at 561 Main Street inside Jillson Square Park, in the Willimantic section of Windham, Connecticut. Built in 1825-27, it is a rare local instance of a stone house, built by one of the area's early industrialists. It is now maintained by the Windham Historical Society, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The Willimantic Freight House and Office is a historic railroad freight facility on Bridge Street in the Willimantic section of Windham, Connecticut. Built in 1870, the freight office, a fine example of Second Empire architecture, is now the only surviving element of the city's 19th-century railroad buildings; the freight house has been demolished. The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 as an important reminder of the city's importance as a major railroad junction in eastern Connecticut.
The Willimantic Elks Club is a historic Elks lodge at 198 Pleasant Street in the Willimantic section of Windham, Connecticut. Built in 1925 for a lodge founded in 1914, it is one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in the region, and has been a major site of social events in the community since. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The Blackledge River Railroad Bridge is a Warren truss bridge that was built on the site of a c. 1870 railroad bridge. The original bridge was completed and opened by August 3, 1877. Likely built by the Colchester Railway Company, the bridge was part of the 3.59 miles (5.78 km) of track from Colchester, Connecticut, to Turnerville. The line was leased to the Boston & New York Air Line Railroad and reported improvement in 1879 and a new 110-foot long (34 m) iron bridge by 1881. The line was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1882. After dominating the region, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad petitioned for changes to the Air Line and the approval came on July 7, 1911.
Comstock's Bridge, also known as the Comstock Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge located in East Hampton, Connecticut, spanning the Salmon River, Built in 1840, it is one of only three historical covered bridges in the state. It is open to pedestrian traffic in a small park off Comstock Bridge Road. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1976.
The Main Street Bridge formerly carried Main Street over the Rippowam River just outside downtown Stamford, Connecticut. It was designed and manufactured by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company in 1888. It is a two-span wrought iron lenticular truss bridge, each span 60 feet (18 m) long, although there are supporting piers every 12 feet (3.7 m) feet. The abutments and central pier are cut granite and other stone, faced in concrete.
The Frog Bridge is a bridge located in Willimantic, Connecticut which carries South Street across the Willimantic River. It is known as the Frog Bridge because it has four copper frog sculptures on each end of the bridge, sitting on concrete thread spools. The sculptures were designed and created by artist Leo Jensen of Ivoryton, Connecticut.
The Jillson Mills is a mill complex in Willimantic, Connecticut. The mills produced cotton thread throughout the lifespan of the operation of the mill.
The Fink truss is a commonly used truss in residential homes and bridge architecture. It originated as a bridge truss although its current use in bridges is rare.
The Depot Street Bridge is a historic bridge in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, carrying Depot Street over the Naugatuck River. Built in 1935 with federal jobs relief funds, it is one of a small number of surviving Parker through truss bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
