Henry F. Ludorf

Henry F. Ludorf
Polish National Home, Hartford, CT
Born	1899 Chicago, Illinois
Died	1968
Nationality	American
Known for	Architect

Henry F. Ludorf (1888–1968) was an American architect who specialized in churches and schools mostly for Polish-American Catholic clients in New England.

Childhood and architectural education

Ludorf was born in Chicago in 1899 and graduated from the Pratt Institute of Architecture and the Columbia University School of Architecture. He then worked for two years as a partner of C. C. Palmer before establishing his own firm in 1921. His offices were located at 100 Hanson Place in Hartford, Connecticut.

Architectural practice

Although Ludorf was a prolific designer of churches and schools his most memorable building is the 1929 art deco-styled Community Center of the Polish National Home in Hartford. This building was described in the Hartford Courant as "a stately Art Deco cube with a stylish, comfortable and inviting interior" for which Ludorf "became known for Art Deco buildings in other East Coast cities."[1]

Personal life

Ludorf was chairman of the Ella Burr McManus Trust Fund and the Connecticut Commission on the Fine Arts.[2]

Works include

• St. Adalbert Church, Providence, RI
• St. Anne Church, Hartford, CT
• St Louis Church, Hartford, CT (destroyed by fire)[3]
• St. John the Evangelist Church, New Britain, CT (basement only)
• St. John the Evangelist Rectory, New Britain, CT[4]
• Holy Name Church, Stamford, CT
• St. Peter and Paul Church, Wallingford, CT
• St. Benedict Church and Rectory, Stamford, CT
• St. Mary Church, Bridgeport, CT (renovation, church has been replaced)
• St. Stanislaw School, Bristol, CT
• SS Cyril and Methodius School, Hartford, CT
• St. Joseph School, Webster, MA
• St. Mary School, Middletown, CT
• Polish Community Center, Northampton, MA
• Roosevelt School, New Britain, CT
• Embassy Theatre, New Britain, CT
• Polish Orphan Asylum, New Britain, CT
• Swedish Bethany Church, New Britain, CT
• Community Center of the Polish National Home, Hartford, CT[5]
• Bushnell Tower, Hartford, CT (with I.M. Pei)

References

Ludorf, Henry F. "AIA Architect Roster Questionnaire, 1946" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2017.

1. Condon, Tim (October 30, 2005). "Welcoming Home". Hartford Courant. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
2. "Architect Detail: Ludorf, Henry F." CT Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
3. "Related Projects". CT Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
4. "Some Attractive New Britain Residences Designed by Mr. Henry F. Ludorf". Modern Connecticut Homes and Homecrafts: A Book of Representative Houses, Interiors, Gardens, Decorations, Furnishings and Equipment Appropriately Described and Illustrated by Several Hundred Beautiful Engravings. New York: American Homecrafts Company. 1921. p. 58. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
5. http://historicbuildingsct.com/?cat=47&paged=3 Community Center, Hartford