Residents Of Danbury's Spring Street Look To Improve Neighborhood

DANBURY, Conn. – Danbury and residents of the city’s Spring Street neighborhood are working to restore the image of the Spring Street neighborhood, according to a story in The News-Times.

The Octagon House on Spring Street in Danbury is on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents and government are trying to clean up the street and restore it to its former luster.
Photo Credit: *Historicbuildingsct.com*

Tom Renner

01/08/2014 5:00 a.m.

The city has received a $174,000 federal Community Development Block Grant, and another $374,000 in federal money is expected in the spring. The money will be used to install sidewalk, and improve lighting and drainage, repave the street and other improvements.

Spring Street has been home to the Dorothy Day Hospitality House, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen, since 1981.

The street is home to the famous Octagon House, an eight-sided, three-story residential complex that was abandoned by its owner in a few years ago. The house, built in 1853, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was owned by John T. Earle, an innovator in the hatting industry. The family remained the owners of the home until 1918.

The area has developed a dark reputation in the past few decades, including drug use, prostitution and decay among the buildings. Beaver Street and New Street, which connect with Spring Street, are also frequent areas for drug use and prostitution, the story said.

Click here for the complete story in The News-Times.

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