The Department Store Historic District is a historic district

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 in the Downtown Hartford

Downtown Hartford

The Downtown area of Hartford, Connecticut, is that city's primary business district and the center of Connecticut's state government.Downtown is home to such corporations as Travelers Insurance, The Hartford Steam Boiler, Phoenix Insurance, Prudential Retirement and United Technologies...

 neighborhood of the city of Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

.

It is a 5 acres (2 ha) area that, in 1995, included three contributing buildings, one other contributing structure, and one contributing object. It includes a building that is separately listed on the NRHP: the Cheney Building

Cheney Building

The R. and F. Cheney Building, also known as the Brown Thomson Building, is a commercial building designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson. It is located at 942 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut, and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.The Cheney Building was...

 which is also known as the Brown Thomson Building.

The district's significance derives from the important economic role in the city played by the three department stores whose buildings it includes.

G. Fox Building

The G. Fox & Co.

G. Fox & Co.

G. Fox & Co. was a large department store that originated in Hartford, Connecticut. The store was also the largest privately held department store in the nation when it was sold in 1965 to the May Department Stores Company. In 1992 May Department stores phased out the G. Fox & Co. name converting...

 building at 960 Main Street is a neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 structure, designed by Cass Gilbert

Cass Gilbert

- Historical impact :Gilbert is considered a skyscraper pioneer; when designing the Woolworth Building he moved into unproven ground — though he certainly was aware of the ground-breaking work done by Chicago architects on skyscrapers and once discussed merging firms with the legendary Daniel...

. Besides the department store itself, a warehouse and a bridge attaching the store to the warehouse are listed as contributing properties to the district.

In 1935, a streamlined Art Deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 canopy was added over the storefronts, but this addition in itself is historic as one of Hartford's best expressions of the style.

Brown Thompson Building

The Brown Thompson building was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...

, in the Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...

 style which he created. At one time, the G. Fox & Co. department store extended into this building.

Sage-Allen Building

The Sage-Allen

Sage-Allen

Sage-Allen was a mid-market department store chain based in Hartford, Connecticut. The store was a fixture in southern New England and anchored a number of smaller local and regional shopping centers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and, later, New Hampshire, until it ceased operation in 1994.-...

 flagship store building was built in 1898 and designed by architect Isaac A. Allen. It is located at 884-902 Main Street, near Talcott Street.

The building has been restored and now contains both retail space and luxury apartments. As part of the restoration project, an adjacent 1960s building was given a new historically sensitive façade to make it more compatible with its neighbor.

The store was known for the free-standing 'Sage-Allen' sidewalk clock, a local landmark built in 1899, that was located on the Main Street sidewalk in front of the store until the clock was damaged in a windstorm in 1992. The clock was later repaired and erected on another sidewalk in the city. Its importance as a Main Street landmark was known to the re-developers of the Sage-Allen building, and a deal was struck to return the clock to its traditional place. A clock specialist was called upon to restart the clock after its return to Main Street in the summer of 2007.