Cafe Nine

248-250 State Street building is an Italianate style architecture located on the northwest corner of Crown Street and State Street, and it is currently occupied by Café Nine, a live music venue.

Center Associates; Stephen E.F. Cosmetics ( Emil Stephen); Harris R&C Co (Richmond Harris); Timothy Bishop/Stowe and Schoonmaker Commission House.;

The building is currently occupied by Café Nine, a live music venue catering to the eclectic crowd in the Ninth Ward. Café Nine traces its roots to the Blubartz Café, which opened in 1972. It was a bar with occasional musical guests, before being converted into Café Nine in 1992. The current owner of Café Nine, Michael Reichbart, purchased it in 1976. Prior to the Blubartz Café’s opening, 248-250 State Street was owned by Center Associates. Its previous tenant was Stephen E.F. Cosmetics, which sold its products from the storefront during the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Emil Stephen, who owned the property from 1936 to 1967, operated Stephen E.F. Cosmetics. The property was vacant from 1934 to 1936, when Stephen purchased it. In the early 20th century, between 1888 and the foreclosure in 1934, the building served as the storefront for Harris R&C Co., a liquor store operated by Richmond Harris. Harris eventually owned the site, but began operations by leasing the storefront in 1905. At the time when he leased the storefront for his liquor business, the property was owned by Timothy Bishop, who passed the property on to his children before it was eventually sold to Harris. Timothy Bishop inherited the site from E. Huggins Bishop when E.H. passed away in 1882. The earliest record of E.H. Bishop owning the property is in 1868, and it is unclear who its previous owner was. Although Bishop owned the property, the storefront was occupied in the late 19th century by the Stowe and Schoonmaker Commission House. According to the Connecticut Historical Society, in 1888, the previous building on the site had been demolished and replaced by the current structure. However, examination of the Arnold Dana Collection has revealed that the previous structure was remodeled in 1888, not completely demolished. The central change in the structure was the addition of a third floor, eliminating the slanted roof and leaving the building with its current rectangular shape. In its previous incarnation, the building was the storefront for the Stowe & Schoonmaker Commission House. The building was constructed in its original form in 1817. It is unclear whether there was any structure on the lot between 1784, when Crown Street was dedicated, and 1817. Prior to 1784, the lot was on the border of the estates of Timothy Brown and William Lyon, according to a 1748 map. In a 1641 map, the lot was part of the estate of Thomas Jeffrey.

The building is on the northwest corner of Crown Street and State Street.