Murphy Building

134 Church St.

Many people remember the G.C. Murphy 5 & Dime store that occupied the building for many years. Before 1935 the site was home to the F.W. Tolles Furniture Store.

If you were to die around the turn of the century, the best place to do it would be near one of the boroughs furniture stores! Along with the chicest home furnishings, these establishments housed the most modern embalming and undertaking facilities. The Tolles firm was responsible for Naugatuckians of Protestant faith and competitor McCarthy was responsible for the Roman Catholics.

In 1874 Freemont Tolles assumed ownership of an established furniture and undertaking business. In 1892, Tolles expanded his business with the brand new Tolles Block at the corner of Church St. & Park Place. The 3-story brick building had over 19,000 square feet of floor space, it was the largest furniture/undertaking building in the Naugatuck Valley at the time. Equally as impressive as its size, the building feature large plate-glass display windows, hot water on all floors and electric lights. It also boasted the first elevator in the borough. Tolles took great pride in his horses, funeral carriages, and other equipment required to provide families with the very best funeral procession.

Unfortunately, the Tolles block was lost to fire and was replaced with the current Murphy Building. However, the c. 1935 Art Moderne Murphy Building is a contributing structure to the Naugatuck Center Historic District. In May 2019, the Murphy Building housed Tooth & Nail tattoo, llc, Studio Z & Domino's Pizza.