Building of the Day

Standing nearly four stories tall in Tudor-Revival style, the structure’s York Street façade is simultaneously stylish and simple—suggesting the snazzy yet classic styles it holds (1). Crafted entirely of rusty-red brick stone and beige-colored traprock, the façade appears symmetrical in form and entices potential customers with its Ivy- League feel (1). Upon closer look, however, the building’s balance is often broken— randomly dispersed beige stones interrupt the continuity of the building’s rusty-red tessellation-like brick pattern (1). This asymmetrical design on both facades heightens the “boldness” of the commercial site, and its randomness is mirrored with the architect’s choice to construct three and a half stories, rather than an even four (1). The store’s historically consistent commercial use is evoked with the large glass windows that line the first floor of both facades; one on the York Street façade and five on the Broadway façade. 

The structure’s sharply pointed facade pierces the sky, asserting its dominance as York Street’s historic locus of high fashion. Rising three and a half floors, each level on the York Street facade is demarcated with its own unique window-style. The first floor sports a large, horizontal window for showcasing fashions. The other floors flaunt smaller, more vertical windows, which seem to intensify the perception of the structure’s height as viewers peer into the sky. Similarly matching with this theme, the windows on the Broadway façade become smaller and more vertical with each successive floor. The “hip-roof dormers” on the cable roof prove functional and ornamental, connecting the slate-shingled roof with the façade (1). This cable roof barely hangs over the structure, emphasizing the connection between the structure and its “hat” (7). The structure’s site is historically at the “juncture of academic and commercial areas,” and its ornamentation and design suggest the intersection of pragmatic and chic (1). The store’s formulaic, classic brick design is broken with a multi-layered, concrete entablature that wraps around the entirety of the structure, nodding to classic Greek design and heightening the structure’s didactic themes (1). The York Street façade also emphasizes the connection of the academic with the stylish, and an elaborate ornamental shield highlights the meeting of windows—this shield evokes Yale’s “crest,” as if done-up in a more fashionable, ornamental way (1). Collegiate designs follow to the top of the pointed façade, where three classic, stone stripes and a pointed accent top the structure. Worn down, original wood interior remains intact, serving as internal ornamentation that asserts the historic prestige of the site (1). 

As a New Haven icon, the Langrock Building sits atop a long history of both gender and socioeconomic inequality. Mirroring Yale University’s 20th century development as a predominantly masculine space, the Langrock Building advanced as a site primarily for the refinement of the “Yale male” (8). While the university went coeducational in 1969 (with the exception of the “Fine Arts School,” which had been coeducational since 1869), 268 York Street maintained paternalistic associations of “male education” even after women were admitted (9,10).

David Langrock, the original client for the production of the Tudor-Revival structure, laid the foundation for the site’s paternal associations in 1927, when he presented the University with the task of “reviewing the architectural plans” for his new store (2). James Gamble, the official “University architect” at the time, declared the plans must “conform with present and future Yale buildings” (2). Essentially, Gamble asserted the site must be constructed as a natural extension of the existing campus, indistinguishable in style from other Yale structures (2). In doing so, Gamble physically joined Yale with Langrock fashions—as if to suggest the preppy fashions as a uniform for the Yale male student. The original structure was a haven for all things preppy—the basement held the clothing store, while the other floors were filled with “haberdashery,” hats, shoes, and custom tailoring (2). The original store even had a barbershop (2). Langrock dedicated his store to the belief that “men should dress in a style fitting their station in life,” a phrase further emphasizing the necessity of collegiate “style” for the elite, Ivy-League man (2). Langrock, however, entirely ignores the woman (2).

As Langrock expanded his efforts into Princeton and other top universities, his New Haven location suffered and was ultimately replaced by M. Co. Men’s Clothing in 1976 and Barrie’s Booters in 1994 (5, 6, 8). While little is known about M. Co. Men’s Clothing and its styles, the declaration of the site as primarily for “Men” fits strongly with Langrock’s male-centric styles. Similarly, Barrie’s Booters Ltd. entered New Haven as part of a tradition of “men’s stores,” offering no options for female Yale students (6). From 2010 to 2021, the site was occupied by GANT, a clothing company catering to this traditional male market. In an interview with the New York Times Magazine promoting the new store, GANT's president celebrated the continued relevance of a "preppy" style favored by Yale students. He also compared New Haven's Shops at Yale favorably to other parts of New Haven, which he described as depressing [20].

Originally as a multi-use space, the site attracted significant traffic, paving the way for the structure as a central, communal and commercial hub. However, the community fostered within the space was largely restricted to elite, wealthy Yale students—not the New Haven community at large (8). Spatially, the structure’s association with privilege is heightened by its place within campus; rather than sitting in a more universally accessible spot in downtown New Haven, the Langrock Building is tucked conveniently between Branford College and Davenport College (both of which carry Yale’s pretentious aura) (12). The Langrock Building is located next door to J. Press, another Shops at Yale store with pricey offerings—the combination of the two intimidated the New Haven landscape (8). Socioeconomically, the attire offered was for the elite of the elite—prices were high and virtually unattainable to the lower classes (8). GANT has since closed and been replaced with Warby Parker [21], ending the building's association with luxury clothing and reflecting the changing tastes of the mostly educated and wealthy clientele of the Shops at Yale.