FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 9, 2007

LARSON RALLIES COMMUNITY BEHIND IMPROVED COLTSVILLE NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK APPLICATION

HARTFORD � U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-1) last night hosted a forum to update the public on the status of Coltsville�s application to become a National Historic Landmark and explain the improvements that have been made to the application. Larson gathered the public and private stakeholders in the project, including: Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, Connecticut General Assembly House Speaker James Amann, Jim O�Connell from the National Park Service, Rebekah MacFarlane from Colt Gateway, and historian Bruce Clouette.

�As I have said all along, recognizing Coltsville�s heritage and the role of Samuel and Elizabeth Colt in shaping Hartford and revolutionizing American business will be an important step in revitalizing the city,� stated Larson. �The whole community, including federal, state, and local government officials have worked together to make great improvements to the application for National Historic Landmark status. I will continue to work closely with everyone gathered tonight to see this project through to its successful completion.�

The renewed application for National Historic Landmark status expands the scope of the area being considered to include not only the former Colt factory buildings, but the former worker houses on Huyshope and Curcombe Streets, Colt Park, the Colt mansions on Wethersfield Avenue, and the buildings at the Church of the Good Shepard.

Larson initiated the effort to federally recognize the historic significance of Coltsville in 2002 with Senators Chris Dodd and Joseph Lieberman. They successfully passed the Coltsville Study Act into law in 2003, requiring the National Park Service to make recommendations about adding Coltsville to the system.

 

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