The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Acquired photos added to museum archive collection
TORRINGTON — The Torrington Historical Society is pleased to announce an exciting new acquisition for the museum collection: a photo album kept by local businessman and sign painter, Charles Harris.
The album, which dates to the 1915-1930 period, contains more than 80 photographs, mostly images of Torrington businesses, streetscapes, and events. This album was purchased with funds from The Cara and Carl Muller Fund for Community Support, a fund of the Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation.
“This is an important addition to our photographic archive of Torrington” said Gail Kruppa, Assistant Director/Curator. “Charles Harris kept this album to document the many signs he created but in taking these photos, he also documented businesses, buildings, streetscapes, and events of early 20th century, a time when Torrington was undergoing a period of growth and expansion.
“Whether images of men at work in the Harris sign shop, buildings long gone, or a young boy posed near a Park Theater sign, the viewer is drawn to the details, large and small,” she said. Historic photographs are powerful for their ability to transport us back to an earlier period. Though the album is a testament to Charles Harris and his sign painting business, it is also a snapshot into the Torrington of yesteryear. “
The society is grateful to Cara and Carl Muller for understanding the importance of acquiring this album for the museum collection. Future plans call for an exhibition based on photographic images from the Harris photo album.
For more information about the Society, visit www.torringtonhistoricalsociety.org