The Exchange Building in New Haven is a significant historic commercial building which was constructed in 1830. When it was purchased by the Bank of Boston it was in an extremely deteriorated condition. The old wood framed floors were structurally inadequate. The entire first floor façade had been demolished and replaced with storefront construction, and the windows had been replaced with new windows in an incompatible style. The elegant cupola and dome which could be seen in historic photographs of the building were long gone.

The combined goal of Smith Edwards Architects and our client was to insure the continued survival of this fine old commercial building and to provide an appropriated headquarters for the Bank of Boston.

The solution was to completely gut the building, leaving only the exterior walls as a shell. A new poured concrete structure and slab was introduced using the existing wood floors as formwork. On the exterior, a complete restoration was undertaken. Careful investigation of historic photographs and documents allowed us to rebuild the granite piers and belt cornice which matched the building’s original first floor façade. New energy efficient windows were installed which matched the building’s original windows. The crowning touch, quite literally, was the reconstruction and installation of a new cupola and copper dome to match the original.

Bank of Boston Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
Bank of Boston Connecticut
Completed 1990