IVORYTON

Ivoryton is one of three villages in the town of Essex, named for the ivory trade that once processed ninety percent of all ivory imported into the United States here.

The Ivoryton Playhouse, built in 1911 as a recreation hall for factory workers, became a professional summer theater in 1930 and has operated continuously since — one of the oldest self-supporting playhouses in the country.

A preserved company-town landscape in the Connecticut River Valley — Victorian executive houses next to worker tenements, a National Register historic district, and a playhouse where Katharine Hepburn and Marlon Brando once performed.

Tip: The Ivoryton Playhouse runs year-round now, not just summers. Check for smaller studio productions alongside the mainstage season.

Neighborhoods: Ivoryton • Centerbrook • Essex Village