Poli was born in 1858 and was trained as a sculptor in Paris. He arrived in America in 1881 and earned recognition for his works. After moving to New Haven, CT, where he exhibited&nbsp;his sculptures, he started to promote vaudeville shows&nbsp;and started showing films using a French cinematograph, which was an early type of film projector. In the coming years, he bought theaters in New England, including three in Waterbury. Beginning in 1920, he started to build Palace Theater, which served as the model for other elaborate theaters he would build in the coming years. For the next 70 years, the theater was used for movies, musical performances, and other shows. From 1987-2005, the theater sat vacant. It was renovated into a theatrical facility in 2005.&nbsp;

Palace Theater was built in 1922 and is an important cultural and arts center in Waterbury. 

Website

Palace Theater is one of Waterbury's important landmarks. It was built in 1922 using a design of Thomas W. Lamb, who was one of the country's leading theater architects of the early 1900s. It was built by Italian native Silvester Z. Poli, who, at the height of his career owned 30 theaters; this was the largest number of theaters owned by a single person at the time. In terms of architecture, the exterior was designed in the Second Renaissance style, featuring elements such as Corinthian columns. The interior, however, is far more lavish; Federal, Egyptian, Classical, Arabic elements are combined to give the theater a highly embellished, gaudy appearance, which was typical for theaters of the time. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the theater has been in almost continuous operation since it was built.

Palace Theater

Waterbury was established in the 17th century and remains one of the leading communities of Connecticut. This tour of landmark sites in downtown Waterbury offers a nice short walk in addition to the opportunity to learn about the history of the town. 

The Mattatuck Museum dates back to 1877 and offers exhibits based on its extensive collection of works by Connecticut artists. The museum offered a variety of exhibits and sponsored events in its early decades and acquired an exhibit hall in 1912. Highlights of the museum include the collection of ten thousand miniature works donated by the Waterbury Button Company and works by Alexander Calder, Frederic Church, and Anni Albers. The museum is also home to the Max R. Traurig Library which offers 1500 volumes and is open by appointment.

Mattatuck Museum

The house was built by John's father, Greene Kendrick, as a gift. Greene was a successful manufacturer of brass items such as pins and became very wealthy. He also became involved in politics, serving as the city's representative in the state legislature. John did not succeed at business like his father but he did maintain his upper-class social standing and became a judge and served as mayor and other political&nbsp;positions.&nbsp;John's son, Greene Kendrick II—who also became mayor and worked as a judge—sold the house to the Mattatuck Historical Society in 1911. The Society became the Mattatuck Museum in 1912, opening for the first time as a museum that year.

Built around 1866, the John Kendrick House is a historic home located in Waterbury's commercial district and served as the home of the Mattatuck Museum from 1912-1987. This Tuscan villa is a fine example of the Italianate architecture style and it is believed that prominent Connecticut architect Henry Austin designed the structure. From 1912-1987, it was the location of the Mattatuck Museum, which is now located just to the north. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The house is situated next to a park called Waterbury Green, which was once an affluent residential neighborhood. The current status of the house is unclear but it can be admired from the sidewalk. 

John Kendrick House

The station was built by the New York, New Haven &amp; Hartford Railroad in 1909, coinciding when Waterbury was at its peak as an industrial and transportation center (Waterbury and other towns in the region produced clocks, brass products, and tableware). The station, therefore, represents the city's growth and prosperity&nbsp;during the early 20th century. Rail service continued to the 1970s. At that time, the two local newspapers that would merge to form the Republican-American moved in.

Known for its tall clock tower that reaches a height of 240 feet, the former 1909 Waterbury Union Station is a historic train station that is now the headquarters of the local newspaper the "Republican-American." While the building is no longer used for its original purpose, it is still a station on the Metro-North Railroad, the commuter railroad operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the state of New York. It was designed by the nationally known architecture firm McKim, Mead and White in the Renaissance Revival style. The tower is modeled after the famous tower in Sienna, Italy (the Torre del Mangia). The other notable part of the building is the waiting hall, whose facade features two-story tall arched openings. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Waterbury Union Station

From Raechel Guest's "Library Park History." For a more complete history of Library Park (including many wonderful historic photographs), read her article at http://waterburythoughts.blogspot.com/2018/03/library-park.html "When the village of Mattatuck (now Waterbury) was developed in the 1670s, Grand Street formed the southern-most boundary of the small community's residential area, with pastures for livestock in the meadows beyond. A fence ran along the boundary...The village burying ground was located on the outside of the Grand Street fence, where the library building is today. Over the course of two centuries, the burying ground was subdivided into four sections: one for the Congregational church, one for the Episcopal church, one for people of color, and one for Catholics." "The Grand Street burying ground became run down by the 1880s. Although there were still families actively caring for areas of the cemetery, much of it became overgrown with weeds. Despite being surrounded by stately homes, the cemetery was 'daily marred by acts unfit to mention' and the tombstones were being vandalized and even stolen...The City of Waterbury took ownership of the burying ground in 1891 with the intention of converting it into a park." "Of the more than 750 graves in the cemetery, the City paid for 63 to be relocated. An unknown number of others were exhumed at private expense...Most of the graves were left in place, the tombstones buried lying flat a few feet under the surface in random locations. Those with no tombstones were also left in place..." In the early 1900s, Library park was extended. A small neighborhood was razed to make way. By the 1930s, the park had been renovated to include the gazebo and brick retaining wall seen in the postcard on this page. The current library building replaced the original brick library in the 1960s.

Silas Bronson Library and Library park sit atop Waterbury's original burial grounds. Some graves were moved to other cemeteries when the first library was built here in 1893-4. However, many graves and their headstones were simply buried deeper. The park was expanded to its current size c.1920. Approximately 3 dozen gravestones that had been stored in the library's basement are installed along a brick retaining wall facing Meadow St.
The current library building was built in the 1960s on the same footprint as the original.

Tour of Historic Waterbury Connecticut

Palace Theater

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information