Underneath that blue dome lies the east armory of a factory once owned by a man who changed American history, the innovator of the revolver, Samuel Colt. Sprawling around the crumbling red brickwork of the old Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, once the largest private armory in the world, are the remnants of Coltsville, the utopian village he built for his workers.

A model of 19th century industrial paternalism, Coltsville included a church, a social hall for dances and lectures, workers’ housing, a giant landscaped park home to deer and peacocks, sculpted botanical gardens, and thousands of feet of greenhouses filled with tropical fruit and flowers. Samuel Colt felt such responsibility for the welfare of his workers outside the factory that he went so far as to build Potsdam Village, to replicate the feel of the German village from which he imported his skilled craftsmen to work in his willow ware factory.

The National Park Service began having on-site presence in 2015, with workshops and tours, including up into the Blue Onion Dome which affords magnificent views of downtown Hartford, the Connecticut River and Colt Park, formerly the back yard of Armsmear, Samuel & Elizabeth Colt’s mansion. By 2016, an NPS ranger had taken up residence in the South Armory and was giving walking tours of Coltsville.

The old South, East and North armories are under renovation and the two 1855 brownstone buildings, the oldest structures on site, will become the National Park Service Visitor Center. The armories themselves have been or are being renovated into apartments, offices and education facilities.

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Top Sheldon-Charter Oak Hotels with WiFi

Exterior

Hampton Inn & Suites Hartford/East Hartford

East Hartford

United States

Margarita

NT$3,421 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 28 - Nov 29

Exterior

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Bradley Airport by IHG

Windsor Locks

United States

Gregory

NT$3,708 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 15 - Dec 16

Free daily buffet breakfast

Springhill Suites Marriott Airport

Windsor Locks

United States

Dorine

NT$3,845 total

includes taxes & fees

Dec 19 - Dec 20

Exterior

Hampton Inn & Suites Rocky Hill - Hartford South

Rocky Hill

United States

Skylar

NT$3,706 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 30 - Dec 1

Lobby

Best Western Manchester

Manchester

United States

Troy

NT$3,160 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 30 - Dec 1

Exterior

Best Western Plus New England Inn & Suites

Berlin

United States

John

NT$3,162 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 30 - Dec 1

Terrace/patio

Hilton Garden Inn Hartford North/Bradley Int'l Airport

Windsor

United States

Merna

NT$3,706 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 28 - Nov 29

Exterior

Holiday Inn Cheshire - Southington by IHG

Southington

United States

Jeffrey

NT$3,634 total

includes taxes & fees

Nov 23 - Nov 24

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Top Sheldon-Charter Oak Hotel Reviews

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Hartford - Bradley Airport

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Hartford - Bradley Airport

10/10 Excellent

"Did not use shuttle. "

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