Litchfield enquirer., 1872-05-09
BATTERsoM's REMOVAL
 FROM HARTFORD. r arlsi
MR..


 The following gossip in the Boston fost, fasr which ai ; could hardly h have 1 been ss case had it been without fOsndation ln fact: sssa.ss ; resSs.l 5
 The acceptance of the capitol plans of MT. Upiohn of New York was surprise to many. Most expected one of MT. Bat terson's half dozen designs would be cho- sen. Popular sentiment, as far as can learn, was very favorable to to his planss as we'll as those of Messrs. Emerson and Felmer of Boston. I think tho affair has been very injudiciously managed fromthe beginning. Much time was lost before any specifications were issued or archl, tects invited to compete. When the plans were received they were all found too expensive and two or three months lost in getting new designs. In the list of architects invited to compete m tne second contest Messrs. Byrant & Rogers of Boston were omitted, though their or iginal plan was one of the finest, npot the finest of alL The best architects in the country should have been offered every inducement to compete. They. were not, and as the result of the fifteen or twenty plans submitted nearly all are in one or more particulars unsatisfactory. Even the one selected is now undergoing exten- sive notifications. The commission cho- sen was singularly in-adapted for their duties. Governor Jewell is an excellent judge of leather, Gen. Franklin knows all about making guns, Mir. Barnum is fa- nous as an iron manufacturer and Judgo Shipman distinguished jurist, but none of them have ever made architecture study, or have been practical builders. A competent architect should have been appointed, and practical builders consult ed to give us a capitol worthy of the State. It will probably be some time before the work begins in earnest. The new build ing will be secular gothic in style, one hundred and fourteen feet by three hun dred feet. The failure of MT. Patterson to secure the adoption of his capitol plans has so disgusted him that he is about to leave the city, and move his extensive marble and granite works to New York. MT. Patterson Is 8 man of considerable prominence, and has been so used to sue cess in everything he has undertaken that he cannot bear failure. He owns several hundred thousand dollars worth of valua- ble property in various parts of the city, and the day after the adoption of Mir. Up johns plans, he offered the entire lot for sale. MT. Patterson is one of the most energetic and public spirited citizens ever in Hartford, and his departure will be felt greatly. His stone works give employ ment to large number of men, and he is largely identified with the insurance in- terests of the city, having organized the Travellers and Railway passengers as- surance companies, of both of which he is president. He is the owner of the extensive granite quarries at Westerly, 70 Szs s-.ko -L.o1 l. IA I.-- s.~ quarries in Maine and Massachusetts. He visited Europe some years ago, and returned with one of the most valuable collections of oil paintings ever imported. He has induced many skilled workmen from Italy and Germany to emigrate to this country, and by their aid has been enabled to contract for some of the finest statuary, including the national monu- | ment at Gettysburg and numerous sol diers' monuments in this and other states. From his Westerly quarries he has fur nished for the Masonic Temple in New York, and the Connecticut Mutual build ing in this city, besides other buildings of less importance. He is @ great or | ganizer and has been able to carry on at the same time the most varied and exten- sive enterprises. He will move all his stone cutting works to New York, where he now has yard, and will employ sev- eral hundred men in the various branches of the work. His property here consists of 8 spacious block on High street, used as the office of the Railway Passengers Assurance company, Hutchings' printing house and offices, really the handsomest building of the kind in town; large va, cant lot on Asylum Street in the heart of the city, and supposed to be worth $1 ,OOO a front foot; the old Hartford skating rink; his stone-cutting works on North Main street; and his elegant residence and extensive grounds on Albany avenue. MT. Patterson is in the prime of life, and with the ability he possesses undoubtedly has great business career before him. ..