Field Trips To Connecticut

Supreme Court Building

HARTFORD — Connecticut’s Judicial Branch is offering tours of the State Supreme Court Building in Hartford to youth and adult groups. The historic building housing the court also includes the Museum of Connecticut History and the State Library.

Visitors will be offered a lecture in the historic State Supreme Court courtroom on the history of the famous building across from the State Capitol. Recently the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects listed the Supreme Court Building among its five favorite buildings. The building was opened in 1910.

Visitors are invited to bring cameras. They will be invited to sit at the historic Supreme Court bench, an ideal photo opportunity.

Visitors are also encouraged to tour the Museum of Connecticut History located just a short walk from the courtroom. The main hall of the museum is Memorial Hall. It includes portraits of governors who served the Nutmeg State.

In the back of Memorial Hall is an important Connecticut historical object — The Connecticut Charter, the same charter hidden in a white oak tree in 1687 to keep the British from retrieving it. Not far from the Charter, under a glass tablet, is the 1818 State Constitution that created the three branches of government in Connecticut, legislative, executive, and judicial.

To schedule tours, call the manager of communications, External Affairs Division of the Judicial Branch at 860-757-2270 or email James.Senich@jud.state.ct.us.