The historic Whitney House on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs is being torn down after fire damaged the structure in January.
The university said the building was irreparably damaged by fire, smoke and water earlier this year. It has been deemed unsafe for occupancy and beyond reasonable repair.
The Whitney House, located on Route 195 in Storrs in front of Mirror Lake, dates to around 1800 and is one of the oldest structures on campus, according to UConn. It hasn't been in use since 2004.
Following the fire, UConn notified the State Historic Preservation Office and Town of Mansfield about its intent to demolish the structure. The university expressed their intent to plan, design and decommission Whitney House for demolition in May.
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According to an origin and cause report, the UConn Fire Marshal Unit said it appears as though the fire ignited from an electrical cable failure, or "blowout," among insulation and wood structural studs in the wall. Once the fire started, it spread fast.
Officials determined that the fire was accidental in nature. It's unknown when exactly it's expected to start.
UConn said Whitney House was once the home of Edwina Whitney, an early librarian and instructor when the institution was the Connecticut Agricultural College.
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The school said it has been used for many purposes in the time that UConn has owned it, including as the International House in the 1960s and as the home of the Rainbow Center in the 1990s and early 2000s. It was not in use at the time of the fire but it was being regularly maintained, according to UConn.
