Goodfellas

This simple brick building once housed Cowles Tolman's motor car company, a dealer of Franklin automobiles. Since the 1960s, it has been used as a luncheonette and food market, with interspersed periods of vacancy. Around that time, a highway ramp was built from I-91, which empties onto Trumbull Street, the on-ramp connecting to State Street. This was detrimental to the existing urban fabric, and created an isolated triangular patch of surviving buildings, including 702 State Street. Today, the address houses Goodfella's, a popular Italian restaurant that marks the beginning of the Upper State restaurant district.

Around the corner, there is a vestigial segment of Trumbull Street, shaded by a sloping viaduct. This block features a preserved lineup of nineteenth century residential buildings, which serve as a reminder of one community that was demolished in the name of 20th century highway expansion projects in New Haven.

Quick Facts:

Year built: Between 1911 and 1923

Architect and/or builder: Unknown

Style: Box structure with Greek Revival elements: a heavy pediment over the entrance and cornice along the roofline

Building materials: Brick

Program (building function): Currently a restaurant, formerly used for auto parts retail, then as a food establishment