Travelers Tower

 

The Travelers Insurance Company was founded by Hartford’s masonry magnate, James Goodwin Batterson in 1863 as the first casualty insurance company in North America. Its current location is the company’s fourth headquarters in the city. In 1919, the tower was completed under the direction of New York City architect, Donn Barber, who also designed the Connecticut State Library, Supreme Court Building and the Hartford Times building.

 

At 34 stories in height, the Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styled tower reaches 527 feet above street level and has a flashing red beacon during the daytime as an aid to air navigation. At night, when it was first built, tower is lit by white light. The Travelers Tower was the tallest structure in New England and the seventh tallest in the United States.