With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
43 Main Street, Danbury
- Danbury Museum
- Marian Anderson
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Anderson's studio was preserved and relocated here.
- Earl Norwell Thorp
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Thorp was one of the founders of the Danbury Historical and Arts Center, now known as the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.
- Description of Significance/Historical Narrative
- One of the city's oldest structures, the c.1785 Rider house, was threatened with demolition in 1941 for a gas station, and in response the local community raised funds and founded the Danbury Historical and Arts Center, now the Danbury Museum and Historical Society. There are four buildings on campus, including Marian Anderson's c. mid-1940s rehearsal studio. Anderson's Joe's Hill Road home in Danbury, Marianna, was redeveloped as a subdivision around 2000, and Preservation Connecticut was instrumental in saving the 24-by-20-foot practice studio which was relocated here. The museum also manages the Charles Ives Birthplace.
- Date of Construction
- c. 1785
- Historic Designation(s)
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n/a