Windsor sits just north of Hartford at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers, and holds the distinction of being Connecticut's first English settlement, founded in 1633. By 1970, the town had grown far beyond its colonial origins into a full-fledged Hartford suburb, and its school system was working hard to keep pace with a residential population that had expanded steadily through the postwar decades.
Kennedy Road School was Fontaine Bros.' contribution to that effort. The 30-classroom building was purpose-built as a comprehensive elementary facility, with six of its classrooms designated for special education programs serving students with disabilities as well as kindergarten and pre-primary age children. The full program also included a gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, health unit, and a Major Resource Center designed to support teacher preparation, remedial reading instruction, and art. For a 1970 elementary school, this was a remarkably complete and forward-thinking program, reflecting a district that understood its obligations to every student it served.
The architect was Henry E. Fairchild of Kane, Fairchild, Farrell, White & Rollis, a Hartford firm with an established presence in Connecticut institutional and civic work. The design produced a low-profile campus organized around connected pavilions with generous exterior glazing, well suited to its residential Kennedy Road setting. Fontaine Bros. executed the $2.75 million project with the regional experience and attention to public budgets that had characterized their school work across the Connecticut River Valley for decades.
The building continues to serve Windsor's students today as the Oliver Ellsworth School, named for one of Windsor's most celebrated native sons, the third Chief Justice of the United States and a drafter of the U.S. Constitution. More than 55 years after Fontaine Bros. completed it, the school remains an active part of the community it was built to serve.
Client: Town of Windsor
Project Type: New Construction Architect: Henry E. Fairchild, Kane, Fairchild, Farrell, White & Rollis
