Hartford building recognized nationally as historic could be days from demolition

HARTFORD — The decade-long dispute over tearing down a 137-year-old funeral chapel at Hartford’s Beth Israel Cemetery — recognized nationally as historic — came to an abrupt end this week that clears the way for demolition, perhaps within days.

In a letter this week to the State Historic Preservation Office, the U.S. National Park Service determined the Deborah Chapel — contrary to the long-held belief locally — is just outside the boundaries of the Frog Hollow Historic District.. Being part of the historic district, which was established in 1979, was essential to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong taking up the fight for the structure, the last hope for preservationists who wanted to save the brownstone-and-brick building.

“A close examination of the original nomination, specifically the verbal boundary description and the (U.S. Geological Survey) map with (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates, documents that the Frog Hollow Historic District does not include any portion of the Beth Israel Cemetery,” according to the letter dated Monday.

The park service’s opinion was sought in preparation for a lawsuit by Tong that was expected to go to trial in September over a long-sought demolition by the owners of the chapel, Congregation Beth Israel, of West Hartford.

The congregation argued for years that the 3-story building at the corner of Ward and Affleck streets was a target for vandalism, which spread elsewhere in the cemetery. The land also was needed, the congregation said, for future burial plots.

In a statement, Tong’s office said: “While we continue to hope that all sides can work together to prevent the destruction of this historic building, the state no longer has any jurisdiction in the matter.”

Matthew Hoberman, an attorney for the congregation, said late Thursday plans are already being made for scheduling a date for the demolition, but he could not say whether that would be within days or weeks.

“I don’t see any other obstacles in our way,” Hoberman said. “If someone had a viable plan to move the building, we have no objection to that. No one’s come forward to date, and I don’t expect anyone will be coming forward in the near future.”

Hoberman said the congregation is relieved to be putting the matter behind it.

“It’s unfortunate that we had to go through the process that we had to, but it’s worked out in a way that favors us,” Hoberman said. “Now, we can use the cemetery for our congregants, the way it should be used.”

‘A loss to who we are’

Preservationists said the demolition of the building will mean a significant loss for the city’s cultural heritage.

Todd Levine, a historian at the state preservation office, said he believes an error in the original nomination led to the chapel not being included in the historic district. The chapel’s architecture and age is consistent with structures included in the district.

“These places are a reflection of who we are as Nutmeggers,” Levine said. “It’s a loss to who we are, our identity, when we lose historically significant buildings. I thought we were in a position to save this building, and that’s unlikely now.”

The cost of relocating the structure may have ultimately proved to be an insurmountable challenge, a condition insisted upon by Congregation Beth Israel.

Mary A. Falvey, executive director of the Hartford Preservation Alliance, said there was a ground swell of support in the neighborhood for preserving the structure and people willing to try to work to make it happen.

“This building could have been saved,” Falvey said. “But the congregation wanted it gone.”

The fight by preservationists to save the chapel gained national attention last year when it was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of 11 most endangered properties in the country out of a field of 120 candidates.

The Romanesque Revival-style structure was built in 1886 after a fundraising campaign by the Ladies Deborah Society, an organization of Jewish women dedicated to performing good works in the community.

The National Trust noted the chapel was “a rare and early American example of an intact Jewish funerary structure which embodies the strong leadership of women within the 19th century Jewish and communal organizations.”

A hazard, not historic

Congregation Beth Israel argued the chapel hasn’t been used for a mortuary and funeral services for 75 years and its last occupant, a caretaker in an upstairs apartment, moved out in 2006.

Since then, the building has deteriorated and has been the target of vandalism, which has spread to the neighboring cemetery, the congregation said. The cemetery has become a dumping ground for trash, Beth Israel said.

Taking down the structure would help alleviate the problems and relieve the congregation of the financial burden having to constantly secure the vacant building from intruders, Beth Israel said.

Developers had been approached, including neighborhood-based organizations, but there was no interest, the congregation said. Offers to sell the building for $1 as long as it was relocated found no takers.

The debate over the chapel’s future came to a head after the city’s historic preservation commission refused to approve a demolition permit in 2019. Beth Israel sued, and the courts sided with the congregation. In November, the courts ordered the commission to grant the demolition permit and once issued by the city would clear the way for demolition after 90 days.

In a last-ditch effort, Preservation Connecticut, the former Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, petitioned the state historic preservation council. The council then asked Tong to intervene. A demolition was temporarily held off by an injunction.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.