2022 NHPT House Preservation Award
51 Perkins Street
Built By: James Woodhouse, a shipbuilder
Date: c. 1872
Owners: David Weinreb and Marlene Edelstein
Renovation: c. 2000 by former owners Oliver Barton and Debra Riding
This year’s House Award recognizes that more humble structures may receive the same dedication to care and restoration that more grand homes may display. The New Haven neighborhood of Fair Haven, the area of awards focus this year, has a variety of well-designed homes which have witnessed generations of changing occupancies, including diverse countries of origin and associated cultural expressions. The houses, in turn, have been periodically renovated and renewed, sustaining domestic uses and neighborhood pride.
This modest 2-story Italianate house, the basic form of which is repeated along the length of Perkins Street, would likely have been occupied by working families until well into the late 20th century. The most certain date by which this house was constructed is 1872 when the owner of the parcel, James Woodhouse, a ship builder who lived nearby, sold the “land with a dwelling house” to George and Caroline Gidney, George being a dentist and/or watchman (i.e. policeman).
The single-family residence evokes through its street elevation an implied Classical temple front, complete with broken pediment contained by shallow boxed returns at both its gables. Details such as these are characteristic in domestic architecture during the Greek Revival period, which falls in New England between 1820 and 1860. However, style elements of one period almost always linger into a later period where they are joined by new elements.
In this case, the street-facing Greek Revival pediment is joined by the segmental arch of its distinctive third-floor window, as an example of a new style element. The curve of the arch of this single gable window and its trim provides a distinct visual contrast to the straight lines meeting at the ridge of the roof. This simple, clear point and counterpoint lends credibility to the historic architectural value of this modest home. The matching trim and bracket-supported sill profiles of all windows also evidence clarity of design intent. An undeniable love of form-making rings true.
New style elements are also seen in simply implied Doric columns, with their flat, jigsawn capitals, located at the top of all the narrow corner boards. Through these straightforward silhouetted capitals traditional form is maintained, in lieu of more costly fully-formed pilasters, during a period of cost-savings in the face of the looming depression of 1873–1878.
Porches were often integral to houses in this period, to escape summer heat and to facilitate communication between neighbors, though this porch, particularly given its breadth and width, may have been added well after the house was originally built. Certainly, its current circular Doric columns are later additions, showing a formality beyond simplicity. In any case, all these elements at 51 Perkins Street, are historic markers that speak well of the house and to the evolution of this typical New Haven neighborhood streetscape.
This modest yet stylish historic residence has been rejuvenated and restored recently (1990–2000), both on its interior and its exterior, led by its recent owners, Oliver Barton and Debra Riding, with the help of neighbors, while the current owners, David Weinreb and Marlene Edelstein, have submitted this nomination and taken on the next chapter of care of this classic gem. Thoughtful private ownership is the best guarantor of preservation.
2022 NHPT Merit Award
The Studio Building at Cold Spring School
62–68 James Street
Built By: Charles Webb (68 James) and Henry G. Newton (62 James)
Date: 1871–72 (68 James) and c. 1890 (62 James)
Renovation: 2015
Architect: Turner Brooks Architect
The saving and renovation of two nineteenth century houses in Fair Haven manifests the character of the Cold Spring School and the adaptive re-creation of these separate homes into a single academic facility revived the architectural fabric of a community.
When Cold Spring School was founded in 1982, its unique mission inspired its parents, staff and alumni to invest a decade and over $1,000,000, creatively tucking their alternative educational approach into a four-story brick former mattress factory on Chapel Street. In the 1990’s the school’s Board of Directors, under Dan Biemensderfer, committed to remain in Fair Haven and embarked on a long-term physical plant master plan. Implementation of that plan meant buying four sites and renovating and connecting two of those to serve the 6th grade classroom, as well as art and music studios. Dubbed the The Studio Building, this combined facility is where students participate in four of Cold Spring's special area classes — Art, Music, Spanish and Tinkering.
To redefine these simple homes, a renovation designed by New Haven architect Turner Brooks, chose discretion over demolition. He notes: "As architects we really liked preserving the integration of old workers residences with the existing industrial buildings on the same street which is typical of Fair Haven neighborhoods.”
68 James was built in a combined Queen Anne/Italianate style in 1871–72 by Charles Webb. A The later porch with a pedimented gable entry on scrolled consoles is still present on the building. 62 James Street was built by Henry G. Newton twenty years later, in the early 1890’s. This 2½ story vernacular Victorian style, popular throughout the late 19th century, is graced with an arched window with art glass inserts. Having the gable peak face the street, seen in both houses, is a typical neighborhood form. Both houses are listed in the Preservation Trust’s Historic Resources Inventory, a carefully researched description of about 5,000 historic properties in New Haven.
Brooks created a visually ‘quiet’ connecting addition between the two former residences that provides the necessary central entry, circulation and mechanical systems and uses windows mimicking those of the original homes. The unification of using a neutral grey/green for all the walls and outlining white trim, both new and old, gives the twinned shape a quiet presence. Brooks also designed the more recent ‘Community Building’ next door on James Street, bracketing the two smaller scale residences in what is a happy relationship of diversity in building type and scale to the street.
The interiors, once divided into the bedrooms and the uses of a home, are either opened up for studios or left divided for discrete uses. The rear façade has its walls opened facing the common school yard. In fact, the domestic scale of the houses contributes a comfortable association with the outdoor play yard, as a home to its familial backyard.
Architect and board member David Thompson, describes the renovation; “The decision to renovate these two former residences, rather than raze them and start anew, made sense for the school for any number of reasons. Although their renovation involved significant infrastructure costs, the bottom-line project costs were appreciably less than what would have been spent on a new building. The two buildings carry on a rich dialogue with the neighborhood, as they have for the last century. From a preservationist’s perspective, perhaps the school’s most significant achievement here has come about as we search for yet another way to embrace the world as it is, as it was, and as it can be.”
Architecture is both new and old, as is Fair Haven itself. The Cold Spring School started its life by integrating into Fair Haven, with full community access and a robust scholarship program supporting diversity seldom found in private education. That commitment to Fair Haven began with the conversion of a 19th century mattress factory. The subsequent recreation of two homes into a new identity is a wonderful example of an ancient preservation theme, putting new wine into old vessels.
A community, both its architecture and its people, are a tapestry, made richer by its complimentary identities. The sensitivity reflected in embracing of all the potential that each building and person has is the key to our future as a culture. The Cold Spring School is living that future.
2022 NHPT Landmark Award
Grand Avenue Bridge at the Quinnipiac River
City of New Haven Department of Engineering
Mayor Justin Elicker
Original Design Engineers: H. C. Keith and C. W. Kelly
Built By: Berlin Iron Bridge Company (ironwork) and Charles Geary (masonry)
Date: 1896–1898
Renovation Designer: Hardesty & Hanover LLC Renovation
Contractor: Mohawk Northeast, Inc.
Reopening Date: January 17, 2022
The Landmark Award is presented to the City of New Haven Department of Engineering for their role in the recent restoration of the 1898 Grand Avenue bridge across the Quinnipiac River, connecting Fair Haven with Fair Haven Heights. Landmark Awards are typically given to buildings, but this will be the first time a Landmark Plaque will be secured to a work of civil and structural engineering.
Sometimes known as the Dragon bridge, named after the early settlers’ term for the fishing village and seals or ‘sea-dragons’ seen along the Quinnipiac River, it is documented as a key landmark in the Quinnipiac River National Historic District, established in 1984. The bridge was returned to service on January 15, 2022, following a $28 million renovation that required two years for completion. Opened in 1898, the “rim bearing design” swing bridge replaced an earlier non-movable wooden structure, the first from 1791, and has since become an iconic part of the neighborhood.
The 205-foot swinging span has a challenging job description. It is subject to New England’s harsh winters and steamy summers, and the salt content of the environment is not favorable to its mechanical components, working constantly to corrode the structural steel. The bridge must cope with heavy traffic, carrying more than 8,000 vehicles every day. Added to that is the need for the bridge to be rotated by large electric motors whenever the river traffic has to pass. So it is not surprising that the Grand Avenue bridge requires periodic attention in order to continue functioning reliably.
Major repairs were made in the 1940s, but by the 1980s the bridge required another significant intervention. Initial plans were to replace the bridge with a higher concrete span that would not need to move for river traffic, but the projected collateral damage to the historic character of the neighborhood aroused the local residents to plea for a less destructive solution. Soon the State Historic Preservation Office became involved and went so far as to threaten action against the proposed bridge. Fortunately the City reconsidered its plans, and the agreeable result was a nearly new structure, exactly reproducing the original design in 1984, preserving the historic built environment of the area.
The most recent rebuilding included elements not addressed in 1984: a new flexible deck of steel and concrete, new “splash proof” electric motors and related mechanism, completely rebuilt approach spans and abutments on both sides of the river, and a refurbished bridge tender’s house with updated control equipment. A new, wider ‘promenade’ sidewalk is included on the south side. As a further gesture of goodwill to the neighborhood, the residents’ suggestions for a suitable paint color were solicited as part of the project. The chosen color echoes the verdigris-like green hue of weathered civic monuments.
The rebuilding and restoration were carried out by the New Haven Department of Engineering, Giovanni Zinn, City Engineer; Zachary Shapiro, Chief Structural Engineer; bridge designer Hardesty & Hanover and contractor, Mohawk Northeast. The City coordinated with the Fair Haven and Quinnipiac East/Fair Haven Heights Community Management Teams and other groups.
Thus, the New Haven Preservation Trust proudly presents its 2022 Landmark Award in recognition of the City of New Haven’s commendable stewardship of this historic structure, reliably serving the Fair Haven community for more than 120 years, and exemplifying the principles and goals of historic preservation.