History of the College

Capital Community College (CCC) opened as Greater Hartford Community College in 1967 one year after Connecticut established a two-year community college system. A freshman class of 388 students enrolled at a two-story brick building on the east edge of historic Colt Park on Sequassen Street. Led by its first President, Arthur C. Banks Jr., the college grew on its “temporary campus” for seven years.

In 1974 fall enrollment was nearing 2,500. The college moved to a six-story building on Woodland Street, the former Phoenix Insurance Company, to accommodate rapid growth and expand into professional programs. In the same year Capital was established Hartford’s technical institute on Flatbush Avenue, founded in 1946 as the Connecticut Engineering Institute, granted its first technical degrees with Thomas V. Raimondi as its first President. In 1992 the two schools merged in a state-mandated consolidation, operating at two campuses four miles apart.

At the end of 1999 the former G. Fox & Company Department Store on Main Street was selected as the site for a single campus. In 2002 the Community College opened on Main Street after a top-to-bottom renovation of the retail building that is still revered as a downtown landmark where generations of residents shopped and worked. Major employers in insurance, health care and government are within walking distance of a campus adjacent to a revitalized public transit system and major highways. CCC is neighbor to acclaimed art, cultural and historic institutions that provide opportunities to extend classrooms into the city and its neighborhoods.

Since the late 1960s more than 325,000 students have enrolled and more than 16,000 degrees and certificates have been granted. One of 12 community colleges in Connecticut, Capital is one of New England’s most ethnically diverse campuses.

Our Chronology from 1946 to Present