One of the finest examples of Italianate residential architecture in the state of Connecticut can be found in Fairfield in the Sturges House. This property was built in 1855 for Henry Sturges Thorp a New York City merchant from a Fairfield family and his wife Julia Ann Thorp, likely as a summer home away from the city. Both Henry and Julia died in 1869 and the property was acquired by Frederick Sturges, the son of Jonathan Sturges a wealthy businessman and philanthropist who had a stunning early Gothic Revival mansion nearby. The Sturges House as it is now known, is a landmark example of the Italianate style with broad overhanging eaves, massive belvedere at the roof, round arched windows, and the tripartite blind windows capped by an elaborate cornice.