Hall Memorial Chapel

Located next to Route 8, at the entrance to Riverside Cemetery, is a small Victorian chapel in need of repair. Built during the 1880s, the Hall Memorial Chapel was actively used for funeral services until 1971. The Friends of Riverside Cemetery is currently trying to raise money for the building's restoration, saving it from destruction and allowing it to be put back into use as a community resource.

Photograph by Lisa Hendricks, Wikimedia Commons, 2013

Waterbury's first burial ground was located on Grand Street, where the Silas Bronson Library is today. By the 1840s, as Waterbury was transforming itself from a small farming community to a growing industrial city, it became clear that a new cemetery was needed. In 1850, the Riverside Cemetery Association was formed.



Creation of Riverside Cemetery

Landscape architect Howard Daniels of New York City was hired to oversee the development of the cemetery. Daniels specialized in cemeteries, parks, and country estates. Daniels was assisted by John North, an English gardener who immigrated to the U.S. during the 1840s and lived in Bridgeport.

John North advertisement, Bridgeport and East Bridgeport Directory, Pomeroy & Morse, 1857-8

Work on the landscaping of Riverside Cemetery began in the summer of 1852. During the 1850s, cemetery design focused on creating a rural aesthetic within urban settings. Similar to park design, the "rural cemetery," as it was called, featured gently curving drives, carefully selected and positioned trees and shrubs, ponds and streams, and carefully shaped hills.

Rural cemeteries, typically located on the outskirts of cities, were embraced as tourist attractions. Riverside Cemetery was featured in an 1857 article about the Naugatuck Valley published in The National Magazine. The article praised Riverside's landscaping for its "perfect harmony" between the "natural beauties" of the location and the man-made enhancements. (The National Magazine, October 1857, p. 296)

View of the "Fountain Pond" at the cemetery's entrance, 1880s
Published in Book of The Riverside Cemetery, 1889

The National Magazine declared that a rural cemetery in any city or town, "if tastefully laid out, and improved in accordance with the present established style of landscape gardening," cannot fail to be a good influence on the public's tastes. The rigid straight lines of earlier cemetery design were abandoned in favor of "the better taste exhibited in a simple copying of nature." (The National Magazine, October 1857, p. 295)

The Elton Memorial, added in 1905 to the cemetery's entrance, October 2016

Riverside Cemetery was dedicated on September 24, 1853. The first burial in the cemetery, of Harriet Upson, was held two months earlier, on July 14, 1853.



History of the Chapel

Hall Memorial Chapel, located at the entrance to the cemetery, was constructed thirty years after the cemetery opened. The architect of the Victorian Gothic Revival chapel, Robert Wakeman Hill, was Waterbury's leading architect and served as the official Connecticut State Architect under four governors.

The chapel is dedicated to the memory of Nancy Austin Hall, whose husband Samuel Hall bequeathed $20,000 to Riverside Cemetery for its construction. Samuel Hall died in 1877. Construction of the chapel was completed in 1885.

Hall Memorial Chapel and greenhouse, 1880s
Published in Book of The Riverside Cemetery, 1889

Samuel Hall also left $5,000 to help fund the construction of the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the Green and $15,000 for St. John's parish which was used for the construction of Trinity Episcopal Church (demolished in 2018).

The masonry was done by the Flynt Building and Contracting Company of Monson, MA. The Flynt family owned a granite quarry at Monson which supplied the granite used to build the chapel.

The decorative carpentry inside the chapel was done by Floyd B. Smith of Waterbury and is similar to the woodwork in other buildings by Robert W. Hill.

The chapel was "thoroughly renovated" and repaired in 1893; the spire was completely rebuilt as part of this project at a cost of $5,000 (Anderson, The Town and City of Waterbury, Vol. III, p. 788). Additional repairs have been made since 1893.


Photo Tour of Hall Memorial Chapel

I visited the chapel last week and took a series of photographs showing both the beauty of the architecture and some the problems that need to be fixed.

One ongoing problem for the chapel is the proximity of Route 8, located just on the other side of the street. Vibrations from highway traffic can be a contributing factor to a building's deterioration. Pollution from vehicles can coat the exterior of a building in soot and grime.

Hall Memorial Chapel and Route 8 overpass, May 2020

Hall Memorial Chapel, May 2020

Gothic Revival column, Hall Memorial Chapel, 2011

Tree growing out of the side of the chapel, May 2020

Tree growing out of the chapel spire, May 2020

East gable wall pulling away from the roof, May 2020

Detail of east gable wall pulling away from the roof, May 2020

Stained glass window covered by a plastic barrier, May 2020

Although plastic exterior windows can protect stained glass from damage, they can also cause problems with condensation. Small round vents in the plastic can help reduce, but not eliminate, condensation problems.

Tiny vents in the plastic covering the stained glass windows, May 2020

North gable wall pulling away from the roof, May 2020

Discoloration and mildew in the northeast corner of the chapel, May 2020

Discoloration on the north wall, May 2020

Large areas of missing mortar between the stones on the north wall, May 2020

Discoloration on the chimney, May 2020

Chapel spire, May 2020

Irregularities in the shape of the spire, May 2020

Chapel interior, May 2020
The door on the right originally led to the greenhouse.

The ceiling, arches, and the movable benches are made of oak.

Chapel interior, May 2020

Chapel ceiling and lanterns, May 2020

Detail of ceiling and lantern, May 2020

Chapel interior, May 2020

Chapel wall with lanterns and memorial tablet, May 2020

The memorial tablet, dedicated to Nancy and Samuel Hall, is made of Caen stone (a French limestone) with Tennessee marble columns.

Memorial tablet, May 2020

Brick fireplace, May 2020

Ornate brickwork next to fireplace, May 2020

View of brick wainscoting and wall-mounted heater in rear of chapel, May 2020

Stained glass window in rear (east wall) of chapel, May 2020

Stained glass window in transept of chapel, May 2020

Stained glass window in transept of chapel, May 2020

Stained glass window in coat room, May 2020

Coat room / priest's entrance, May 2020

View towards the coat room / priest's entrance, May 2020

The floor shows signs of ongoing water damage.

Transept arch, May 2020

The transept was closed off to create an office at some point during the late 20th century. Originally, the family of the deceased would be seated in the transept during the funeral service.

Transept arch from the modern office room, May 2020

Transept column, May 2020

Vestibule door, May 2020

Vestibule ceiling looking up into the spire, May 2020

View into the spire, May 2020

Water damage to the brick wainscoting, May 2020

Restoration Plans

The Friends of Riverside Cemetery are actively raising money to pay for the full restoration of the chapel. The overall restoration is expected to cost well over a million dollars.

The first phase of restoration includes stabilization of the exterior, to prevent the spire and walls from collapsing, and a thorough analysis of the building to identify its problems and develop a plan of repairs.

The Friends of Riverside Cemetery are in the process of applying for grant funding for phase one from the State Historic Preservation Office.

If you would like to make a donation to support the restoration of the chapel or to maintain the cemetery, a link for donating via PayPal is available on the cemetery's website.

You can also donate by sending a check to Friends of Riverside Cemetery, P.O. Box 826, Waterbury, CT 06720-0826.

Elton Memorial and Fountain Pond, Riverside Cemetery, May 2020