The Wauregan Blooms Again

Carol W. Kimball

Norwich landmark, the Wauregan Hotel, rebirth
Rose City

Kim11-005

Scrapbook

8: Communication Artifact

Documentary Artifact

The Day

New London, CT

10/30/2006

Carol W. Kimball

At the corner of Main Street and Broadway in Norwich, sometimes called Rose City, the Wauregan Hotel was the idea of a group of 1853 investors. Designed by architect Evan Burdick, the five-story brick building opened Feb. 27, 1855 and was billed as the finest hotel in New England outside of Boston. Its 90 guest rooms were lighted by gas and its lobby equipped with Jackson's Bell Telegraph. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln signed the register. Other notable guests were Grover Cleveland and Gypsy Rose Lee. In the late 1900s it declined and became a boarding house for welfare clients, was condemned in 1990 and stood vacant for a decade. The city proposed to tear it down. Fortunately individuals and agencies combined to prevent this and after a five-year battle, at the cost of $21 million, this fate was averted. A restoration has taken place via the developer Becker & Becker.

Burdick, Evan
Lincoln, Abraham
Cleveland, Grover
Lee, Gypsy Rose
Lathrop, Arthur (Mayor)
Plummer, Dale
Becker & Becker

Norwich
Rose City
Wauregan Hotel
condemned
restoration
developer Becker &I Becker