A Window on History

A Window on History But the view of Hartford's Old State House will cost you

During the 18th century, the English had to pay taxes on the windows in their houses. When another kind of window tax was proposed in Hartford, Conn., last year, the good citizens responded enthusiastically. The beneficiary of the revenue, after all, was not the British war chest but a restoration fund for the nation's oldest statehouse, a building that dates back to 1796. The method of taxation was unorthodox: $5 for every window with a view of the historic building.

A three-story federal-style structure of red brick and stone, the Old State House in downtown Hartford was designed by the new nation's foremost architect, Charles Bulfinch, who later did extensive work on the nation's Capitol. Having served as the seat of state government from 1796 to 1878 and the city hall from 1879 to 1915, the building was declared a landmark in 1960 and turned into a museum of Connecticut history. Since then, however, maintenance funds have been scarce, and city officials began to talk of razing the deteriorating edifice to make way for office buildings.

Alarmed, local residents formed the Old State House Association in 1975 and organized a fund drive with a goal of $850,000 for restoration, and $1 million for an endowment to maintain it. They raised $1,530,000. Although large corporate donations accounted for the bulk of the money, the group decided to press for wider community involvement. "Some of us were talking about how in the early days, the neighbors of the Old State House had a grounds committee that took care of the building," explains former University of Connecticut President Homer Babbidge Jr. "Since most of the neighbors are now in skyscrapers, we could not ask them to come out and clean up. So I brought up the idea of asking everyone who had a window view of the grounds to pay a voluntary tax."

A "viewing rights committee" was established forthwith, and Yale University Junior Alison Wondriska, 20, took a window-to-window census. Calling on small restaurants and shops as well as firms located in nearby high-rises, Wondriska determined that 1,600 windows had full views of the site. Some people gave even more than their share, and the window tax campaign raised some $8,700 within eight months. Next week Connecticut will celebrate Rededication Day to mark the completion of work on the building.

Some of the companies paid the $5 fees themselves; others asked for contributions from their employees. Henceforth, the tax will be collected annually, and contributors will receive tax stamps in the form of decals which they can paste on their windows--presumably in spots that will not obstruct the view.

As with any tax law, though, complications exist. "There are questions to be raised," says Babbidge. "Will the viewing rights tax not be seen as an insidious first step toward taxation of intangible wealth? Doesn't simple fairness suggest that windows of differing size be assessed differently? How about pedestrians, bus riders and loiterers: are they to be freeloaders while the middle class is once again taxed to subsidize their pleasures?" Such problems aside, there is still some comfort for the assessed: the window tax is taxdeductible.

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