Warner Gardens History

One of the most unique places in Waterbury is Warner Gardens. Located at the top of Long Hill, the decaying complex of buildings seems more like something you’d find in the deep South than in Connecticut. Its history begins with a wartime housing shortage, includes a period of pride and achievement during the Civil Rights era, and is now approaching a transformative ending.

Warner Gardens. Photo by Gretchen Van Tassel, June 1945.
Collection of UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

[Note: updated on March 8, 2015 to include Sanborn map showing all the original buildings.]