January 30, 2025
A historic district is a locally, state, and/or nationally recognized area of culturally and architecturally significant buildings. These buildings are usually at least 50 years old, contain many original features, and are often associated with important people, events, or architectural styles.
First incorporated as a town in 1651 and later as a city in 1893, the City of Norwalk was known for its booming oyster farming industry. Today, Norwalk’s many historic districts help to preserve its cultural and architectural legacy.
Nationally-Recognized Historic Districts

Photo Credit: Mike Mushak
Five Mile River Landing Historic District: Listed in 2009, this 7.2-acre district features Greek Revival, Federal, and Late Gothic Revival buildings.
Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District: Listed in 1988, this 4.2-acre district features buildings in Italianate, Second Empire and Queen Anne styles.
Norwalk Green Historic District: Listed in 1987, this 35-acre district features a variety of historically significant architectural styles including Colonial, Greek Revival, Second Empire, Federal, Italianate, Colonial Revival, American Four-Square, Queen Anne, Bungalow, Shingle, Stick, Georgian Revival and Gothic Revival.
Rowayton Depot Historic District: Listed in 2019, this 68-acre district features historically significant architecture, community planning and development, and transportation features.
Silvermine Center Historic District: Listed in 2009, this 100-acre district features buildings in Federal, Colonial, Greek Revival, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival styles.

Photo Credit: Connecticut Historical Commission
South Main and Washington Streets Historic District: Also known as the SoNo Historic District, this 5.5-acre district, featuring historically significant homes, businesses, and a theater, was first recognized in 1977.
The Lodges Historic District: Located at 68 and 70 South Main Street, this small historic district was designated in 2020 due to its cultural significance. These buildings served as social meeting halls for two fraternal orders, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Verneur Pratt Historic District: Listed in 2011, this 2.8-acre district was once home to Verneur Edmund Pratt, who invented the optigraph, an early microfilm reader.
Wall Street Historic District: Recognized in 2009, this 5.7-acre district features buildings from Italianate, Romanesque, Spanish Colonial Revival, Classical Revival, and Moderne styles.

Photo Credit: The Cecil Group for the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency
Whistleville Historic District: Listed in 2021, this district encompasses an 84-acre area around the South Norwalk train station. The railroad played a pivotal role in the city’s history as a distribution center for commerce. Historically home to immigrants from Hungary and Italy who worked in the city’s factories, the Whistleville Historic District features many historically significant homes and two churches.
Village Creek Historic District: Established in 1949 as one of the first racially integrated planned communities in the U.S., Village Creek is a 37-acre neighborhood featuring Modernist architecture and shared open spaces like a marina, playground, and private beach. Designed with a commitment to inclusivity, the community overcame early real estate and financial barriers, maintaining its distinct mid-century character and social progressivism.
Oysterman’s Row Historic District: Located along the Five Mile River, this district is known for its collection of 18th and 19th-century homes, which reflect the architectural styles of the period, including Colonial, Federal, and Greek Revival. These homes, originally built by sea captains and merchants, tell the story of Norwalk’s once-thriving shipbuilding and trading economy. The river provided ideal conditions for oyster farming, an industry that shaped the local economy and community identity for generations.

Photo Credit: Connecticut Historical Commission
State-Recognized Historic Districts
- West Main Street Historic District: Listed in 2005
- Pudding Lane Historic District: Listed in 2005
- Camp Street Historic District: Listed in 2007
In addition to historic districts, the City of Norwalk is home to several significant landmarks.
National Historic Landmark: Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
A stunning example of Second Empire architecture, this National Historic Landmark represents 19th-century wealth and innovation. Considered one of the earliest and most significant examples of a Second Empire home in the nation, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion was built from 1864-1868 by railroad tycoon LeGrand Lockwood.
Well ahead of its time, the mansion featured indoor hot and cold plumbing, gas lighting, ventilation, and a central heating system that burned a ton of coal a day. Later owned by the Mathews family, the estate was sold to the city of Norwalk in 1941. The mansion became a National Historic Landmark in 1971, after a group of local preservationists saved the building from demolition.
Mill Hill Historic Park
Overseen by the Norwalk Historical Society, Mill Hill Historic Park is home to several historic buildings. The Norwalk Town House, built in 1835, served as the town’s gathering place and administration building. The Governor Fitch Law Office, c. 1740, was once part of Governor Thomas Fitch’s home. It has been reconstructed at Mill Hill as a law office.
The Downtown District School House, built in 1826, was a school until 1871. A century later, it was relocated to Mill Hill and restored. Also included in the park is Norwalk’s third oldest cemetery, the Mill Hill Burying Ground; a building from A. E. Smith & Sons Pottery Company, known as The Lockup; and a barn from 1880.
The park grounds are open year-round, from sunrise to sunset. The historic buildings are open during special events and by appointment for group tours, which are offered from May – September.

Photo Credit: Norwalk Earth Day 2024
The Norwalk Green
Norwalk Green is a public gathering place that dates back to the 1600s. Each year, a Summer Concert Series and Annual Holiday Tree Lighting are held in the park. Norwalk Green can also be rented for private events.
Overlooking the Green are two historic churches, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (c. 1930) and the First Congregational Church (c. 1917). The churches hold seasonal farmers’ markets.
Adaptive Reuse

Photo Credit: Tod Bryant
Not all historic buildings become museums. In the SoNo community, there are many great examples of adaptive reuse of historic buildings. The Maritime Aquarium was once an abandoned ironworks factory from the 1860s. The SoNo Lodges, featuring lofts, apartments, and workspaces, were once social meeting halls for two fraternal orders, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Brim & Crown apartments were once the Hat Corporation factory from 1929 and Shirt Factory Lofts were once the Le Roy Shirt Factory from 1921.
Preservation Efforts in Norwalk
Maintaining Norwalk’s historic character is a community effort. Local government, non-profit organizations and residents alike all play a role in preserving the city’s history. Some key players in this effort include:
Norwalk Historical Society: A non-profit organization incorporated in 1899 to research, preserve, and promote interest in the history of Norwalk, the Historical Society’s educational exhibits, programs and lectures highlight Norwalk’s rich history and diversity. The Norwalk Historical Society manages and operates the Norwalk Historical Society Museum and Mill Hill Historic Park.
Norwalk Preservation Trust: Founded in 2003, Norwalk Preservation Trust is a non-profit organization that advocates for Norwalk’s architectural heritage and serves as a preservation resource for property owners, residents, and developers, as well as other organizations and government agencies.
Historic Facade Improvement Grant Program: This program provides financial assistance for restoring and maintaining the exterior facades of historic buildings. Learn more here.
Historic Preservation Regulations: These approved regulations aim to further protect Norwalk’s historic structures and districts. View pages 314-315 in article 4 here.
Norwalk Preservation Trust
The Norwalk Preservation Trust has been working to preserve Norwalk’s historic buildings and neighborhoods, the architectural legacy, since 2002. The Preservation Trust works with homeowners, developers, and business owners, as well as state and local governments, to provide advice and support on historic preservation issues. The efforts have supported an update of the Norwalk Historic Resource Inventory and some of the historic preservation elements of Norwalk’s Plan of Conservation and Development. The Trust worked to establish Norwalk’s demolition delay ordinance to allow property owners time to consider preservation over demolition, and the Norwalk Trust has invoked that ordinance when necessary. The Norwalk Preservation Trust have led 13 tours of Norwalk’s historic buildings and sponsored many lectures and workshops. These efforts and others have earned NPT recognition and awards from the U.S. Congress, the Connecticut General Assembly, the Governor of Connecticut, Preservation Connecticut, and the City of Norwalk. NPT is always looking for volunteers, members, and even those willing to serve on the Board of Directors. To learn more about NPT and how to support historic preservation in Norwalk, visit thier website.
Why It Matters
“Norwalk is a very old city, but little remains of our early history. What is left of our historic buildings, neighborhoods and streetscapes tell the story of the last three and a half centuries of our city and its residents. Streets lined with old buildings, or even a single charismatic house, are the soul of a community. When we have been away, they welcome us back and let us know that we’re home. They hold stories that most of us will never know, but their presence alone speaks to us of place and community. The more of these buildings we lose, the more we lose what makes Norwalk – Norwalk.” — Tod Bryant, President of the Norwalk Preservation Trust.
What You Can Do
- Join and support the Norwalk Preservation Trust, the Norwalk Historical Society or Historic Rowayton
- Have your historic house plaqued by the Norwalk Historical Society
- Join or follow online Preservation Connecticut, statewide historic preservation nonprofit, Connecticut Preservation Action, a statewide lobbying nonprofit with a Have your historic house plaqued by the Norwalk Historical Society and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The National Historic Preservation Organization
- Follow the news of historic preservation-related topics and support them.
Stay Connected & Support Historic Norwalk
Norwalk’s historic districts and landmarks tell the story of our city’s past while shaping our future. By preserving these sites, we ensure that future generations can appreciate Norwalk’s architectural and cultural heritage.
Want to stay updated on preservation efforts, historic events, and volunteer opportunities? Sign up in the footer below for updates from Norwalk Tomorrow and be part of the movement to protect our city’s history!