About
This 13-story glass building is a real head turner. It's 225 feet long and has only two curved sides.
Built from 1961 to 1963 near the Connecticut River and highways I-84 and I-91, it's a masterpiece of the Harrison and Abramovitz architectural firm. Located in Constitution Plaza, its unique shape is called an elliptical lenticular cylinder, which is just a fancy way of saying it resembles a boat or fish.
The Phoenix life insurance company used to call it home, but now it's Nassau Financial group headquarters. And in 2005, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Published
October 18, 2025
Sources
- https://www.courant.com/2013/10/18/hartfords-iconic-boat-building-marks-50th-anniversary-2/
- https://historicbuildingsct.com/phoenix-mutual-life-insurance-company-building-1963/
- https://todayincthistory.com/2024/02/02/february-2-the-worlds-first-two-sided-building-3/
- https://www.courant.com/2013/10/04/pictures-the-phoenix-boat-building-in-downtown-hartford/
- https://newenglandtravels.blogspot.com/2010/07/hartfords-boat-building.html?m=1
- https://m.facebook.com/nassauboatbuilding/
- https://todayincthistory.com/2024/02/02/february-2-the-worlds-first-two-sided-building-3/amp/
- https://www.publicartct.org/artwork/phoenix-mutual-life-insurance-building/
- https://www.ctmq.org/the-boat-building/
- https://saybruspartners.com/iconic-boat-building-in-hartford.html
- https://nfg.com/iconic-boat-building-in-hartford
- https://connecticuthistory.org/the-phoenix-building-hartford/
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Life_Insurance_Company_Building
- https://nfg.com/boat-building-construction
