St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Wooster Square, New Haven, Connecticut, was established in 1889 to serve a burgeoning community of Italian immigrants and is said to be the oldest Italian Catholic church in the state. New Haven’s census of 1870 listed just ten Italian residents and by 1900, the census listed more than 5,000 Italian-born residents. Most of these Italian immigrants were drawn to New Haven for employment in the growing industrial and railroad industries and the proximity to New York, where many arriving immigrants passed through. New Haven’s Italian community centered around Wooster Square, where many today know all about the many Italian groceries and nationally known pizzerias. The Italian Community acquired a c.1855 church here by 1899 and following a fire, rebuilt the church in the current form. The New Haven-based architectural firm of Brown and Von Beren furnished plans for the Italian Renaissance Revival style renovations, which was completed in 1904 with bold central tower and stucco walls, retaining many original Italianate windows. The church has served as an important cultural and institutional landmark in New Haven for over 120 years and the congregation remains active.
Buildings of New England 
Memories. Thank you for sharing these photos of the distinctive architecture of the Wooster Square neighborhood. It is nice to be reminded of the pride which so many early 20th century Italian compare and comare held for their homes and their heritage. I believe that this is the area from which families such as that of Congressman Bob Giamo and, later, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro lived. My own grandparents lived not far, in a neighborhood northeast of the Square — on a street that is no more, having been sacrificed in mid-century to the Eisenhower national highway Program of the mid-century. It was an eclectic neighborhood of Polish, Italian, Irish, Scot, and English immigrant families, common folk and business people who contributed to the work ethic and vitality of the community and the nation. Immigration, lifeblood in days gone by, but neither lost nor forgotten.
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