Norfolk Downs Shelter

Norfolk Downs Shelter is a historic former golf-club pavilion on Golf Drive in Norfolk, Connecticut. It was built in 1907 to serve the Norfolk Downs golf course, a public nine-hole course established in 1897 by the Eldridge sisters. The building was designed by Alfredo S. G. Taylor, a New York City architect who spent many summers in Norfolk and produced more than thirty buildings in the town. The shelter occupies the eastern edge of a large wooded parcel southwest of Norfolk village center, near the Norfolk Curling Club and Norfolk Country Club. Its design is compact and distinctive: a single-story central octagonal section is flanked by uncovered rectangular wings. The center is covered by a low-pitched octagonal roof, while the walls and chimney are constructed from rubblestone. Broad steps provide access from the east toward the southern terrace. The building originally had glass windows and interior fixtures, but those elements have since been removed, leaving the exposed, roughly finished roof rafters visible inside. The pavilion's history is tied to the development of recreational facilities in Norfolk during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Norfolk Downs course was intended for public use, but the Eldridge sisters opposed Sunday play because of Sabbath observance. This disagreement contributed to the formation of the nearby private Norfolk Country Club by other local citizens. Efforts to combine the two nine-hole courses into one eighteen-hole course did not succeed, and the Norfolk Downs course was eventually abandoned. The shelter survived as the principal physical remnant associated with the course. Norfolk Downs Shelter was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, with its significance principally connected to its association with Taylor. It is also regarded as an architectural predecessor to Taylor's Tamarack Lodge Bungalow in Norfolk. Although the subject is sometimes treated as a named place or historic property rather than a commercial brand, it has been retained here under the requested subject key. There is no reliable evidence in the supplied material that it operates as a current business, product brand, or organization.

Norfolk Downs Shelter was constructed in 1907 for Norfolk Downs, a public nine-hole golf course in Norfolk, Connecticut. The course had been established in 1897 by the Eldridge sisters on land southwest of the village center. The pavilion provided a sheltered facility associated with the course and was designed by Alfredo S. G. Taylor, a New York-based architect who regularly spent summers in Norfolk and designed numerous buildings in the town. The building is notable for its unusual compact plan and use of local-looking masonry. A central octagonal room is flanked by two uncovered rectangular wings. The central section has a low-pitched octagonal roof, and both the walls and the north-side chimney are made from rubblestone. Wide steps lead toward the southern terrace from the east. The original windows were made of glass, but the glazing and interior fixtures were later removed. The surviving interior exposes the building's unfinished roof rafters. The pavilion's history reflects a local division over the character and management of recreational space. The Eldridge sisters objected to Sunday use of Norfolk Downs because of the Sabbath. Other citizens subsequently established the adjacent Norfolk Country Club as a private club. Proposals to merge the two nine-hole courses into a single eighteen-hole course failed, and Norfolk Downs was eventually abandoned. The shelter remained after the course disappeared, preserving a tangible connection to the earlier public golf facility. In 1984, Norfolk Downs Shelter was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its documented significance centers on its association with Taylor and its place in the architectural history of Norfolk. The building is considered an antecedent to Taylor's Tamarack Lodge Bungalow, another Norfolk structure. The supplied sources do not identify a current commercial operator, owner, executive team, product program, or active brand business connected with the shelter.

• 1984

  National Register listing

  [1]Norfolk Downs Shelteren.wikipedia.org

  Norfolk Downs Shelter was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its association with architect Alfredo S. G. Taylor.

• 1907

  Shelter constructed

  [1]Norfolk Downs Shelteren.wikipedia.org

  A pavilion for Norfolk Downs was built to a design by Alfredo S. G. Taylor.

• 1897

  Norfolk Downs golf course established

  [1]Norfolk Downs Shelteren.wikipedia.org

  The Eldridge sisters established a public nine-hole golf course known as Norfolk Downs in Norfolk, Connecticut.

Historic architectural and recreational landmark associated with the former Norfolk Downs golf course and the work of Alfredo S. G. Taylor.

1. 1Norfolk Downs Shelteren.wikipedia.org