New Haven History

Former Lupoli Brothers Funeral Home – H. L. Hotchkiss House and Stable // 1841 & 1935

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A rare example of the Art Deco architectural style in New Haven, the former Lupoli Brothers Funeral Home on Chapel Street in Wooster Square is more than meets the eye! This Art Deco jewel box was originally constructed in 1841 as a large, single family home and modernized nearly 100 years later in its current design. In 1841, Henry Lucas Hotchkiss (1810-1861), a businessman and president of the L. Candee Rubber Company, had a two-story Greek Revival style home built on this lot for his wife, Lucy. The home was originally two stories, but a third floor was added in the 1860s, around the time the rear stable (still extant) was constructed, for another owner. In the early 20th century, as the Wooster Square neighborhood became a center of Italian-American life and business in New Haven, the property was purchased by Liberato Lipoli (1862-1934) who moved to Connecticut from the Piedmont region of Italy. A year after their father’s death, sons Mario, Gennaro, Antonio and Louis Lupoli, established a funeral parlor catering to the local Italian American community. In 1935, the Lupoli Brothers hired local architect, Lester Julianelle to reimagine the former Hotchkiss House in a modern style. The result is the refaced building with Classical Revival and Art Deco elements including the iconic entry reading, “Lupoli Bros” in the iconic lettering. The Lupoli’s closed the parlor here in 2008 and the building was converted to eight condominium units.

Willis Bristol House // 1845

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The Willis Bristol House on Chapel Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the finest and most architecturally distinctive residences in New England. Built in 1845 for Willis Bristol (1804-1875), a partner in the shoe manufacturer of Bristol & Hall, the home was designed by Connecticut architect, Henry Austin, who designed many of the other great mansions in Wooster Square around this period. The Bristol House is Italianate in style with Exotic Revival detailing which has often been described as Moorish Revival, but it is actually more Indian Revival, an extreme rarity in 19th century New England. It is believed that Henry Austin was influenced by an illustration of columns and capitals at the Ellora Caves in India published by Henry Repton in Designs for the Pavilion at Brighton (1808) and through this worked picked up a fascination with Indian architecture that was to influence his designs in the mid-19th century. Many of Austin’s designs in Wooster Square feature these Indianesque columns on their porches. The Willis Bristol House remained in the family until 1876 and was subsequently used as a congregation house, school, beauty parlor, and presently as apartments. The owners should be commended for preserving and protecting this ornate and unique residence for all to enjoy.

James E. English House // 1845

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The oddly proportioned James E. English House stands on Chapel Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood and remains one of the most interesting mid-19th century residences in the city. Built in 1845 for James Edward English (1812-1890), a prominent businessman who later became Governor of Connecticut and U.S. Senator. James English started his career as a carpenter and expanded to open the English & Welch Lumber Company. He was a savvy businessman and helped restructure the New Haven Clock Company into one of the largest clock manufacturers in the region. From his success, he purchased property in the new fashionable Wooster Square district and moved into this residence which was designed by architect, Henry Austin, who designed many other homes in the neighborhood. English got engaged in politics and served as the 43rd and 45th Governor of Connecticut and later as a U.S. Senator (1870-1871). Upon returning to Connecticut, James English continued his lumber business and with his own product, expanded his Wooster Square home, vertically. In the mid-1870s, the house, which was originally two stories, was given a third floor, creating the strong vertical proportions we see now. Today, the James E. English House operates as the Maresca & Sons Funeral Home, one of the many prominent Italian-American-owned businesses that helped revitalize the neighborhood in the 20th century.

Wooster Square Brownstone Row // 1871

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This extraordinary row of brownstone homes is located on Chapel Street in New Haven, Connecticut, and overlooks Wooster Square as its southern anchor. Built in 1871, the symmetrical row of six rowhouses are clad with brownstone facades which read more like Brooklyn townhouses than what is typical in New Haven, which is why these are so special. The row was designed by New Haven architect, David R. Brown, who got his start as an apprentice under Henry Austin, and became a prolific local designer. The row was likely constructed by one owner on speculation and subsequently sold to individual owners, who have maintained the structure over 150 years since. The Brownstone Row is Italianate/Second Empire in style with window surrounds, bracketed cornice and cupolas on the flanking homes with the center two residences capped by mansard roofs.

Henry Cowell House // c.1869

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The Henry Cowell House, one of the great Italianate style residences in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, tells the story of the neighborhood from enclave of wealthy merchants and businessmen to vibrant immigrant area, to reborn middle-class neighborhood. The residence was built for Henry Cowell (1829-1904), a professional photographer and businessman who owned multiple properties in New Haven. The Cowell family, who lived in the house through the turn of the century, bequeathed it to a French order of nuns in 1912 who turned it into the St. Joseph’s Guest House, a residence affiliated with an area church. The Sisters of Holy Ghost managed the Cowell and neighboring Max Adler House, and constructed an addition between the structures to serve as a chapel and classrooms in 1929. The properties, which also served as housing for single women, were sold and converted into condos in the 1980s, with the current condo board taking great steps to preserve the significant buildings. The Henry Cowell House retains its boxy form with cupola at the roof, stucco walls scored to resemble ashlar masonry, and ornate entry porch.

Jonathan King – Oliver B. North House // 1852

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A true expression of the Italianate Villa style, the King-North House on Chapel Street in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven is among the communities finest mid-19th century residences but suffers from some serious deferred maintenance. The residence was built in 1852 for Jonathan Williams King (1813-1863) a merchant who moved to New Haven from Cincinnati and hired famed Connecticut architect, Henry Austin, to design this home for him and his new bride, Ann Margaret Smith. The stuccoed mansion features a central tower, broad overhanging eaves with brackets, porches, and arched windows. After Jonathan King’s death in 1863, the property was purchased by Oliver B. North, owner of a saddlery and carriage firm. The property became a multi-family property in the 20th century and has suffered from some unsympathetic alterations and neglect, but remains a highly significant gem in Wooster Square.

Hotchkiss-Shoninger House // 1854

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The Hotchkiss-Shoninger House on Chapel Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square district is one of three residences in a row developed and designed by the duo of architect, Henry Austin, and lumber dealer/developer, Nelson Hotchkiss. The finest of the three residences, this house, was built in 1854 and features a double bow-front facade, brick walls covered in stucco, and ornate two-story central porch with brackets and colonettes. Nelson Hotchkiss moved into this home from his first Austin-designed house and resided here for a number of years before moving back to the first home again. The second owner Frederick Betts, was an insurance commissioner, and in the late 19th century and early 20th century, the home was owned by Bernard Shoninger, a German-born, Jewish organ maker.

Town House on the Park // 1964

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By the turn of the 20th century, the growth of industry around Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, forced out the wealthy residents which had lived there, to be replaced by recently arriving Lithuanian, Italian, and Italian-American families who established a thriving immigrant community here, which still exists today. After WWII, suburbanization saw families leaving urban centers, and to attempt to draw back in tax dollars, city officials began to plan for urban renewal areas, where “slum clearance” would redevelop areas with new and modern housing and offices with federal tax dollars. Strong neighborhood support for preservation of the area, paired with a sympathetic Planning Department, saved much of the core of the Wooster Square neighborhood with a few exceptions. The former Greene Street School and a number of residences along Greene Street and Hughes Place were razed in the 1960s and replaced by Town House on the Park, a Mid-Century Modern townhouse development. The project is comprised of thirty-six, three-story dwellings in a rowhouse configuration designed with their ground floor below grade as so to reduce their scale from the street. The development was designed by architect William Mileto and was given an award by House+Home Magazine in 1964 and featured in other publications as a good example of infill housing in a dense urban environment. What do you think about Town House on the Park?

Max Adler House // 1879

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The Max Adler House on Greene Street in New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood is a flamboyant example of Victorian-era residential architecture that is hard to classify as an architectural style. The residence was constructed in 1879 for Max Adler (1841-1916) a German-born Jewish immigrant who grew up in New Haven and became a leader in industry at a young age. Max founded the Strouse & Adler Corset Company, which is said to be the first corset factory in the United States. The company did very well and he was able to erect this residence overlooking Wooster Square park for his family. Architecturally, the house has a mansard style roof, a feature of the Second Empire style; applied stickwork in the wooden bays, porch and dormers, a feature of the Stick style; and embroidered panel brickwork and terra cotta, elements of the emerging Queen Anne style. The Adler House has been lovingly preserved and is one of New Haven’s finest Victorian-era residences.

Former St. Casimir’s Church // 1872

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Built in 1872, this Victorian Gothic style church on Greene Street in the Wooster Square area of New Haven, Connecticut, has had a varied history that tells the full story of its neighborhood. The church was originally constructed as the Davenport Congregational Church and was designed by New Haven architect, Rufus G. Russell, who formerly worked many years for Henry Austin, the city’s leading architect, before opening his own firm. In the early 20th century, the neighborhood demographics shifted to a more diverse area of recently arriving immigrants who worked in nearby industry and the edifice was occupied by an Italian Baptist church. 1927, the church was purchased by a local Lithuanian congregation, who re-established the building as the St. Casimir Catholic Church. For nearly 100 years, the church remained an active use anchoring the iconic Wooster Square park until the congregation closed, leaving the building’s fate unclear. Luckily, developers purchased the property, which is located within a local historic district, and converted the church into residential units.

Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory // c.1880

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The Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory is a historic factory complex at 78-84 Olive Street in New Haven, Connecticut that has been adaptively reused into apartments, serving an important second life. Developed between 1876 and 1923, the complex was the largest and oldest of New Haven’s several corset manufacturers, and remained in continuous operation for that purpose until 1998. The company was originally founded in 1861 as J.H. Smith and Company, and was the nation’s first manufacturer of corsets. The business was purchased the following year by Isaac Strouse, who took on Max Adler, a local dry goods retailer, as a partner. The company adopted the name Strouse, Adler in 1899 and was incorporated in 1927. The complex eventually closed and was converted to apartments, serving an important need for housing in the region.

Hotchkiss-Stephens House // c.1843

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The Hotchkiss-Stephens House on Wooster Place overlooks the iconic Wooster Square park in New Haven, Connecticut, and is significant as an early neighborhood residence altered after the Civil War in the fashionable Italianate style. The brick residence is said to have been originally designed by Ithiel Town for Russell Hotchkiss (1781-1843), an early merchant in the neighborhood. Hotchkiss lived in the home just a year before his death in 1844. His second wife remained in the home for some years after his death, along with children and two Black female servants according to census records. The property was later purchased by Edward Stevens (1824-1884), a manager at the New Haven Clock Company, who had the property modernized with a full third floor with bracketed cornice, iron balconies and garden fence, and its stunning two-story castiron side porches.

Mayor Robertson House // 1836

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This large, brick, Greek Revival style residence sits on the corner of Wooster Place and Greene Street in New Haven’s iconic Wooster Square neighborhood, and stands as an important example of the style along with its significance of its early owner, who became a prominent local politician. In 1836, Dr. John Brownlee Robertson (1809-1892) married a second time to Mabel Heaton, following the death of his first wife, Mary, a year prior. Mabel’s father Abram Heaton, was an early investor who helped develop Wooster Square into the high-quality neighborhood in the early-mid 19th century, and upon this prominent corner lot, had this residence built for his newlywed daughter and son-in-law. The five-bay, two-story house features its original fluted column portico and a shallow hipped roof and was converted to a two-family around the turn of the 20th century.

Elliott-Russo House // c.1835

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Located at the corner of Wooster Place and Chapel Street in the iconic Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, this early Greek Revival style house is a physical landmark showcasing the evolution of the neighborhood in the 19th and 20th centuries. The residence was built around 1835 either for or purchased early on by Matthew Griswold Elliott (1805-1892), a businessman who later engaged in politics and became Vice President of the New Haven Savings Bank and a director of the New York and Hartford Railroad. In 1890, the property was purchased by Paulo “Paul” Russo, an Italian immigrant who was born in 1859, in Viggiano, Italy. His family moved to New York in 1869 and then New Haven in 1872. Paulo opened a small market in New Haven which became the first Italian-owned business in the state of Connecticut. In 1893, Russo became the first Italian to graduate from Yale Law School and he helped foster and grow the local Italian-American community around Wooster Square. After Paul Russo, Michael D’Onofrio, also of Italian descent, purchased the home and along with his wife, brothers, and friends, D’Onofrio transformed the building into a funeral home for over a decade before the house was converted to condominiums. The Elliott-Russo House is a landmark example of a hipped-roof, Greek Revival style residence with smooth flushboard siding, pilasters dividing the bays, and unique Greek meander motifs in the window lintels.

Olive Street Rowhouses // c.1865

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The Wooster Square area of New Haven, Connecticut, is comprised of a lovely collection of houses and institutional buildings from the 1830s through the late 19th century, showing the ever-changing taste of architectural styles from Greek Revival to Italianate to Second Empire and Queen Anne. These rowhouses on Olive Street serve as bookends to long rows of houses on Court Street, a narrow, one-way street radiating from Wooster Square. The buildings were developed by the Home Insurance Company, a fire insurance firm and developer that helped fuel the development of residential New Haven in the 1860s by investing in real estate, primarily with fireproof masonry buildings. These Italianate style rowhouses were built in the 1860s after the Civil War and were sold on speculation to middle-class families. All buildings retain the original bracketed cornices, brownstone sills, lintels, and basement facing, and projecting porticos at the entries.