Mystic River Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Mystic River Historic District is located in the village of Mystic
, Connecticut
(on the Groton
side). The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on August 24, 1979. The historic district is an approximately 235 acres (95.1 ha) area that includes much of the area of the place now known as West Mystic and includes many buildings from the 19th century.
The historic district includes properties along Route 1, West Mystic Avenue, Route 215, High Street, Pearl Street, and Cliff Street. The famous Mystic Pizza
is located in the district.
According to the 1979 National Register nomination, the importance of the district "...derives from the completeness of the 19th-century community here preserved. Seldom are houses, public buildings, stores, and factories of a 19th century town all in place, in good condition, and still in use, as they are in Mystic.
The variety of architectural styles that the prosperous seafaring citizens employed in building up their community provide fine examples of the ongoing, 19th-century development of taste and design."
In 1978, the district included about 470 sites and structures, of which 265 were houses built in Greek Revival
, Italianate
, or Queen Anne architectural styles that originated and grew to be popular during the 19th century. Two historic sites in the district are:
The district's boundaries are similar to those of a local historic district that was designated in 1974, but it includes some more modern structures than were included in the local designation and its boundary lines are less irregular.
It includes the former train depot of West Mystic.
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
(on the Groton
Groton, Connecticut
Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,907 at the 2000 census....
side). The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 24, 1979. The historic district is an approximately 235 acres (95.1 ha) area that includes much of the area of the place now known as West Mystic and includes many buildings from the 19th century.
The historic district includes properties along Route 1, West Mystic Avenue, Route 215, High Street, Pearl Street, and Cliff Street. The famous Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming of age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor.The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screen writer, Amy Holden Jones...
is located in the district.
According to the 1979 National Register nomination, the importance of the district "...derives from the completeness of the 19th-century community here preserved. Seldom are houses, public buildings, stores, and factories of a 19th century town all in place, in good condition, and still in use, as they are in Mystic.
The variety of architectural styles that the prosperous seafaring citizens employed in building up their community provide fine examples of the ongoing, 19th-century development of taste and design."
In 1978, the district included about 470 sites and structures, of which 265 were houses built in Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
, Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
, or Queen Anne architectural styles that originated and grew to be popular during the 19th century. Two historic sites in the district are:
- site of Fort Rachel, where in 1814 a single 12 pound cannon repulsed British attack on Mystic
- site of massacre of Pequot Indians in 1637Mystic MassacreThe Mystic massacre took place on May 26, 1637, during the Pequot War, when English settlers under Captain John Mason, and Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to a fortified Pequot village near the Mystic River...
, location not precisely known
The district's boundaries are similar to those of a local historic district that was designated in 1974, but it includes some more modern structures than were included in the local designation and its boundary lines are less irregular.
It includes the former train depot of West Mystic.
See also
- Pequot FortPequot FortPequot Fort is the site of a former fort used by the Pequot tribe in present-day Groton, Connecticut used during the 1637 Pequot War. The fort was located on top of Pequot Hill along Pequot Avenue just north of the village of West Mystic...
, located just north of the district - National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut