Olde New London

On my return from New London this weekend, I took a slightly less direct route back to I-95, going through downtown New London.

On a previous trip to the area, I'd seen a set of very stately buildings with colonnaded fronts, and I wanted to try to find out a bit more about them. It turned out to be Whale Oil Row, a series of homes built for sea captains.

There's also a neat old theater, the Garde, which is done in a Mediterranean style.

The New London library was also there, and on the porch, there was a plaque to the founder, Henry Philemon Haven. What I was struck by was that the plaque was made by Augustus St. Gaudens, perhaps the top sculptor of his day, and designer of some of the most beautiful coins the U.S. has produced.