Hack and Eraclito collection of Westleigh Inn records

1981-09-0

Collection

Identifier: 1981-09-0

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Hack and Eraclito collection of Westleigh Inn records consists of papers which relate to the former Westleigh Inn of Litchfield, Conn., owned by Joseph J. Hack, Jr., Daniel J. Hack, and Frank Eraclito. The inn was in operation from 1946 until it was sold in 1973. The collection consists of incorporation, subscriber, and stock records; menus; advertisements, ad mattes, and news clippings; photographs of building interiors, exteriors, the owners and their families, and the staff; menus; thank you notes and tributes; brochures, Christmas cards, and other emphemera; food magazines and other publications; and miscellaneous business papers.

Dates

created: 1945-1972
Other: Date acquired: 02/06/1981

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has been transferred to the Litchfield Historical Society for materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical or Historical Information

The Westleigh Inn was located in a house built in 1760 and expanded and remodeled several times over the years. The Litchfield Hotel Corporation purchased the building from the Lamb family and established the Westleigh Inn in 1946. Joseph J. Hack Jr., was president; Daniel J. Hack, vice president; and Frank Eraclito, secretary-treasurer. The Inn proved popular and counted among its guests Olivia de Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Veronica Lake, Chester Morris, and Bela Lugosi. Joseph Hack died in 1972 and the Inn was sold to Gildersleeve and Smith, Inc. in 1973, reopening as Gildersleeves in 1974. After a period of time it became the Meetinghouse Inn. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1980.