Isham-Terry House

The Isham-Terry House, a Connecticut Landmark located in Hartford, was built in 1854. This Italianate Villa was bought by Dr. Oliver Isham in 1896 to be used as a physician’s office and home where he lived with his two sisters, Julia and Charlotte. After Dr. Oliver Isham’s passing, the home was inherited by both sisters whom made very few changes and modernizations to preserve its historic and family significance. In the interest of preserving the ornate and historic family home and objects within, the Isham-Terry house was donated to the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society in 1980.

Today the Isham-Terry 15-room mansion remains largely unchanged, providing a rare glimpse into a turn-of-the-century New England lifestyle. The house is home to a collection of antique gas fixtures, custom made Terry clocks, historic photos, automobile memorabilia, and even surgical instruments and medicines from Dr. Isham’s office.

Grand Light restored all of the historic lighting fixtures in the house ranging from wall sconces, chandeliers, and table lamps. The restoration of these historic fixtures included cleaning, repairing mechanical flaws, the addition of custom code compliant escutcheons to the wall sconces, and the light burnishing of existing patina to achieve desired finish. Crystal components adorning the three large chandeliers totaled approximately 450 pieces, which were individually hand cleaned and polished by Grand Light artisans before being re-pinned on-site during installation. In addition to restoration, Grand Light technicians modified the original gas piping to accommodate electrical wiring to run through the entirety of each fixture to allow for modern electric lamp technology.