There are cities and regions of the country that have become synonymous with architectural styles prevalent in their communities. Think of Brooklyn’s brownstones or the shingle-style beach homes of the Hamptons. Art deco reigns in Miami’s South Beach, and adobe-inspired residences dot the desert southwest.

Conversely, Connecticut’s architectural heritage is as diverse as its regions and towns and population. From the coastline to the big cities, to the rolling country hills beyond, travelers will pass by authentic Colonial-era homes, iconic shingle-style coastal houses, ornate Victorians, Mid-Century modern homes, charming Tudors and sleek contemporaries—a veritable feast of architecture styles, some dating back centuries.

A tour of Connecticut’s post-colonial architectural past should begin at the beginning, in the Niantic neighborhood of East Lyme. Known today as The Thomas Lee House, it’s one of the oldest wood-framed homes in Connecticut, with the original part of the structure dating back to 1660, according to the East Lyme Historical Society. The house was reportedly expanded in 1700, doubling its size. It was expanded a third time in 1765, creating the house as it has been preserved and restored since. In 1915, the property was opened to the public, with a ceremony featuring guest speaker President William Howard Taft.

THE COLONIAL FARMHOUSE

Nestled among the rolling hills of Roxbury in Litchfield County is a Colonial-era farmhouse at 88 Old Roxbury Road. Jeff Phillips, a Realtor with William Pitt Sotheby’s in Washington Depot, Connecticut, is the co-listing agent for the property—listed for $2.785 million in mid-January 2022.

“This was the original homestead in the area, with past owners’ names still used as road names today,” Phillips explained.

The original part of the house dates back to 1790—six years before the town was incorporated—and in the centuries since, it has been expanded three times, with the most significant renovation work completed in the 1990s, according to Phillips.

Today, it affords four bedrooms and 3,623 square feet of interior living space that perfectly balances the rustic antique charm of its yesteryear with the contemporary functionality and amenities of a luxury-market home. For example, it now has an open-plan kitchen, breakfast room and “keeping room,” with wide-plank flooring, antique posts and beams, a cathedral ceiling, and lots of light, courtesy of rustic Palladian windows and exterior doors that open out to the grounds.

“The light is absolutely mesmerizing,” Phillips remarked about the space. “The way the sun comes through the original windows, it bounces all around the room at all times of the day. It is very peaceful.”

The property also includes an antique smokehouse and barn, with pastures and paddocks for horses. Beyond the site of the house and barn, the land is topographically varied, with a stream, pond and pine forest.

The 23.94-acre lot on which the house is sited is also special, Phillips pointed out. The house is set back, down a quiet lane. “It’s one of the most perfect flat pieces of land—a gentle, rolling parcel, rare in the Litchfield hills.” Iconic to Connecticut, fieldstone walls mark boundaries, and the property abuts the Roxbury Land Trust. Not only will it never be developed, it affords fascinating nature watching and walking trails.

THE PREENING VICTORIAN

During the Victorian era in America, architecture became more ornate, fancier and formal. Entertaining spaces were at top-of-mind, evidenced by large parlors with high ceilings and fascinating millwork. To beat the summer heat, architects of the time incorporated prominent front porches and sleeping porches, extending the practical living space of a home.

Grand Victorian homes dotted the Connecticut coast and in the interior of the state, often near or in the state’s major cities of the era.

The Victorian home at 26 Barton Hill Road in East Hampton is a fine example of a Victorian mansion. Built in 1872 in the Second Empire style, it remained in the same family until 1971. In 2015, it was restored and became The Bevin House, a bed-and-breakfast. It is currently listed for sale. Realtor Jack Pragosa of Agnelli Real Estate is the listing agent. At deadline, the asking price was $1.35 million.

NEW ENGLAND PRACTICALITY

From Greenwich to Stonington, Connecticut’s coastline is known for its shingle-style architecture, born out of the necessity of unkind salt air and coastal storms. Shingle-shake homes have proven durable and beautiful for more than century. Considered “cottages” then, many of the grandest shingle-style homes date back to before the turn of the century.

Victoria Fingelly, a Realtor with Higgins Group Private Brokerage, is the listing agent for the nine-bedroom 8,880-square-foot shingle-style home that sits waterfront on the Sound at 1227 Pequot Avenue in Southport. The house debuted in 1908 and is complemented by a stone-and-shingle carriage house.

POPULAR REVIVALS

Pre-WWII and through today, architects across Connecticut unveiled an array of architectural homages to Tudor, Greek and Georgian Revival styles.

Locals and tourists visiting the southeastern part of the state may know the Capt. Nathaniel B. Palmer House, a museum in Stonington, which dates back to 1854 and blends Greek Revival and Victorian Italianate styles.

A fine example of a Tudor-inspired home is found at 49 Toilsome Hill Road in Fairfield. The 6,744-square-foot manor, built in 1930, conjures images of the English countryside, but with all the amenities you may expect from a luxury-market home. The property is currently listed for sale, with an asking price set at $1.649 million. Julie Vanderblue and Melissa Montagno of Higgins Group Real Estate are the seller’s representatives.

Built in 1934, 200 Clapboard Ridge Road in Greenwich exemplifies the period’s proclivity for Georgian Revival architecture. The six-bedroom brick home sits lakefront on 8.14 acres in the private Khakum Wood Association. Listing Realtor Janet Milligan of Sotheby’s represents the seller of the property she refers to as “a legendary grand dame landmark,” built by Architect Mott Schmidt, who built magnificent mansions for the Rockefellers, Astors, and Vanderbilts. The property is listed for sale, with an asking price set at $17 million.

A NATURAL PART OF THE LANDSCAPE

Architect Philip Johnson began construction on The Glass House in 1949. He’d chosen New Canaan to build his Mid-Century Modern masterpiece, which exemplifies the architectural style, leveraging natural elements like wood, stone and—to an extreme case here—glass. The use of glass breaks down the visual and stimulatory barriers between living space and a home’s natural surroundings. There is a starkness, simplicity and practicality to Mid-Century Modern architecture, and authentic furnishings of the era are highly desirable among collectors today.

Today, The Glass House is a National Trust Historic Site, with 49 acres and 14 structures that host art exhibits. Tours of the property are given seasonally, from April through November. It’s a popular attraction; reservations are recommended.

THE MODERN-DAY CONTEMPORARY

Contemporaries aren’t particularly prevalent in Connecticut, but residential buyers with an affinity for the style will find they come to market from time to time. The architectural style, which germinated in the decades leading up to the 1970s, when it flourished across the nation, is defined by the use of earthly construction materials, angular lines, and a reverence for the natural setting, akin to Mid-Century Modern architecture.

There’s a contemporary home for sale in Madison at 37 Forest Hills Drive. The three-bedroom home was built in 1978 and completely renovated in 2016. The property is listed for $1.45 million by Maureen Walker, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway, New England Properties.

The home’s interiors are bright, thanks to an abundance of windows and skylights, and an extra-special feature of this contemporary is its heated indoor swimming pool.