336-338 Orange Street sits on the Northeast comer of Orange and Grove streets, between a major automobile traffic road (Orange Street), a medium traffic pedestrian street (Grove Street) and the former Farmington Canal site (which became a railroad in 1848 and is now used as a public art space). The building' s principal entrance lies on the corner, but an entrance to a second commercial space also lies on Grove Street, and a residential entrance opens to Orange Street. The building, a brick and wood construction, has been referred to by both its Orange Street address and its Grove Street address, but the address 41 Grove seems to have taken preeminence in most official documents.



The Immediate Neighborhood



A map from 1748 shows the area as being relatively sparsely developed. Though Orange Street led to Mill River, a source of economic life for the city, the street itself did not have a commercial feel to it- occupational records show mostly farmers, with some weavers and priests occupying the small lots along Whitney, Grove, and Orange Streets. This development pattern continues in neighborhood maps from 1824. Not until an 1851 map does major change occur, with the New Haven & North Hampton Railroad Line being redirected to cut through the plot. Following this, the area seems to have been developed more completely. The neighborhood begins to see a growth in the number of factories during the late 1880s, as well, and a carriage factory, folding chair factory, and foundry are all present by 1888. The presence of these factories most likely attracted a new type of residential, and in 1911 the neighborhood seems to have taken on a more working class immigrant population. Based on the types of religious institutions and names evident in earlier documents, the area seems to have housed a generally white, native, protestant population. Beginning in 1911, however, maps show the presence of a German Lutheran Church, and the Mishkan Israel Congregation. Finally, by 1923, the neighborhood seems to have taken on a distinctly Jewish and Italian/Catholic character. Most of the names of property owners from this time are ethnically Jewish or Italian, and one sees a dramatic rise in Catholic institutions, including St. Mary's Academy, St. Mary's Church, and the Catholic Community House.



History



The current building on 336-8 Orange Street was built by Lewis Fitch in 1868. Fitch was most likely a clerk in his relative' s clothing store, since records show that a clothing business run by Horace Fitch existed at the time on 225 Chapel Street. The original mortgage for the lot was $2,200, and the family seems to have had a certain financial means - at least two other properties are attributed to the Fitches in the Orange Street neighborhood during the late 19'" century, one of which lay on Grove and Chapel. In 1900, after 32 years in the house, Lewis Fitch's daughter sold the property. The first records of commercial use for the building date from the Dieter Bros. grocery store, which is listed in the New Haven phone book from 1905 until 1913, and it seems likely that the building has been used for commercial purposes since then. Currently, the ground floor houses "Salon Glitter", a hair and beauty salon that caters mostly to a black customer base. The current plot of land defines the strange shape of its neighbor. The property of 41 Grove, is shown as a relatively square plot alone in city records until 1921, when a triangular piece of land (45 Grove) first appears as an attachment to the original property. The parcel may have been owned in the original plot of land but not developed due to its unattractive location and positioning; the parcel faces the former canal site and the back of 340 Orange street, meaning it had no access to the street. Any sort of light or ventilation access would also have necessitated opening windows towards the railroad tracks, which may have further discouraged residential development. Currently the building that covers the site appears to be used as a storage space for Sitar, the restaurant that occupies 45 Grove Street.



In addition, Sanborn Maps from 1923 indicate a uniform build out along Orange Street. Most likely, it was at this time that the building gained the addition facing Orange Street, that now houses an extension to the commercial side of the building, and additional residential space. When one enters "Salon Glitter" this division is made apparent - the side of the store that faces Orange Street is used for men's haircuts, and is divided from the women's side of the store by a party wall. The addition also fundamentally changed the orientation of the store - the new entrance, instead of facing Grove Street, faces the intersection of Grove and Orange. Based on this decision, and newspaper accounts of vehicular traffic from the early 1900s to the 1930s, it seems likely that the intersection was a busy one.



In 1972 the property immediately surrounding the building was the subject of a buyout from the City of New Haven. This was done by the State Street Redevelopment and Renewal Project, and involved the sale of property owned by Sylvia and Claire Blumefeld, Dionigi Russo and the Penn Central Transportation Co. Most likely, this property acquisition was part of the effort on the behalf of the city to develop the large parking lot that currently exists on Grove Street. The effort was probably an attempt to attract suburban commuters, and perhaps shoppers, to the depopulating city. Finally, the building appears to have undergone a cheap renovation since 1983, when the Historic Resources Inventory evaluated 41 Grove Street. This renovation have changed the size and number of windows on the upper two floors, and removed the third story bay window. Based on the quality of these changes, the landlord was hesitant to invest significant funds into the property. Perhaps this reflects a devaluing of the property in the past twenty years.