The Cheney Building

Considered one of the finest buildings in Hartford, the Cheney Building (1875) was designed by acclaimed American architect, Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-86). Richardson was a Boston architect who popularized the Romanesque style of architecture, for both private homes and public buildings, and is perhaps best known for his Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston.  Richardson forged his own style, which came to be known as "Richardsonian Romanesque" and often included polychrome walls, rounded and Syrian arches, rusticated stone, massive walls and picturesque rooflines. The Cheney Building was originally used for an innovative mix of retail, office and residential tenants. Built for two brothers in the family that owned the Cheney Silk Mills in Manchester, the building contained small shops and four floors of luxury apartments built around a three-story atrium. For many years, the lower floors were occupied by Brown, Thomson & Company, a popular department store.