Memorial Park
The Coe Memorial Park Civic Center was built in 1973 on the Park to provide a civic meeting center and offices for the town recreation department much to the dismay of the descendants. A monumental stone sculpture fountain designed by Massachusetts’ artist Edward Monti (who in 2004 worked on a Holmstead-planned public art installation in Quincy, MA Merrymount Park)was erected in the Park in 1981 and dedicated to all Veterans of the Vietnam War era. A plan for revitalization of the Park was proposed in 1983, (with the misinformation that the Olmsted Brothers had originally designed the Park); portions of the plan have been executed.
In 1997, the Coe Memorial Park Subcommittee was established by then-Mayor Mary Jane Gryniuk to oversee the management of the Park.
Located on the previous site of the Coe’s grand Victorian home, the Park was created as a living memorial to the Coes by their children, Edward Turner Coe, Adelaide Eliza Coe Godfrey, and Ella Seymour Coe. Adelaide's husband, William H. K. Godfrey, was also one of the property's owners. Over the years, it has taken on the roll of a New England town green for those who live in Torrington. It serves a commemorative function as well as providing as gathering place in the heart of the town to celebrate holidays and other events, as well as offering a welcome refuge in an otherwise densely developed area.
Coe Memorial Park is the beneficiary of a Trust established in 1922 by Adelaide Coe Godfrey, one of the Park’s original donors. The Trust solely provides the funds necessary for the care, maintenance, and improvement of Coe Memorial Park.
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