Category:20 Starr Street, New London, Connecticut

English: The Starr Street Historic District is a small local historic district in New London, Connecticut. It encompasses 21 houses on both sides of Starr Street between Green and Washington Streets, a house on Washington Street, and a church building at the corner of Starr and Green Streets.

Before Starr Street was laid out, most of the area was occupied by Charles Culver's 500-foot ropewalk, a long, low, shed-like building in which rope was woven from strands of hemp, primarily for use on ships. Around 1832 the ropewalk burned down. The street was laid out in 1835, with the name deriving from the C. Starr and Company Soap and Candle Factory at the northern end. The majority of the houses were built in the Greek Revival style between 1835 and 1845; the most recent was built in 1895. Other houses are in the Queen Anne and Italianate styles, while the church is Romanesque Revival. Many of the houses later had Italianate door hoods added. John Bishop built five of the houses, as well as the church. Starr Street was a middle-class neighborhood, with most residents connected in some way to the whaling industry. Residents included grocers, ship carpenters, blacksmiths, teachers, ship captains, a whaling agent, a tavern keeper, a doctor, a plumber and later on, a railroad clerk and an engineer.

The block was slated for demolition in the 1970s, with some of the houses already abandoned. The Savings Banks of New London bought and restored most of the houses in 1977 and sold them to private owners, a risky project which ultimately lead to the bank's demise. The historic district, the city's first, was established in 1981 by the Historic District Commission. All the buildings are part of the Downtown New London Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

(Description sources: [1], [2], and historic sign on site)

20 Starr Street, the Albert C. Crocker House, was built in 1862 in the Queen Anne style. It is on the west (south) side of the street.