Clinton Avenue School

A recently renovated three story neoclassical school, made of stone and brick with noticeable deterioration that's visible upon a closer look. This deterioration may be due to possible weathering or age. The front façade is framed by a green iron archway that is imposed on top of the windows, above the school’s entrance. The back façade’s Ionic columns are a beautiful detail and break up an otherwise seemingly homogenous set of building materials, primarily composed of brick and stone. The school currently serves children in Kindergarten through the 8th Grade.

In 1901, the Clinton Avenue School did not yet exist, as 293 Clinton Avenue was an empty lot (Sanborn Map of New Haven 1901, 93). In 1911, New Haven architectural firm Brown and Von Beren finished construction on the Clinton Avenue School (Sanborn Map of New Haven 1924, 11 and New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Phase II, Volume I: Essays and Methodology, 34). Since 1911, the Clinton Avenue School has continuously existed at 293 Clinton Avenue.

From 2004-2005, the Clinton Avenue School was renovated to become more wheelchair accessible. Between 2003-2005, Yale School of Architecture professor Kent Bloomer played a key role in the Clinton Avenue School's renovation. He designed the school's iconic green iron archway which sits above the masonry of the school's front entrance (Kent Bloomer Studios, "Truman and Clinton Schools," New Haven).

The local architectural firm of Brown and Von Beren built the Clinton Avenue School in 1911. Brown and Von Beren built the Clinton Avenue School, along with three other schools, including the Strong School in 1915, the Atwater Training School, in 1918, and Fair Haven Junior High School in 1928 in response to Fair Haven's growing population (3 and 5). Fair Haven's growing population matched the neighborhood's expansion and changing economy. In the mid-nineteenth century, Fair Haven rapidly transformed from a naval commercial economy based on importing and exporting oysters from the nearby Quinnipiac River, to a manufacturing economy (6). Companies like the National Folding Box Company were founded in 1891 and began to employ thousands of people (7).

The advent of the horse railway allowed Fair Haven to become one of the city's first streetcar suburbs (8). By 1910, Fair Haven grew to a population of 20,000 (9).

Between 1910 and 1945, industry continued to expand and attracted Irish, Italian, and Polish immigrants to the community (7). Unfortunately, external forces would soon place Fair Haven's prosperity in peril. In 1937, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation yellow-lined the neighborhood due to its older, declining infrastructure (10). The HOLC's decision to provide Fair Haven with the second lowest rating for loans was most likely also due to the fact that many residents were working-class, Irish, Polish, and Italian immigrants. Ethnic and racial prejudice influenced many of the HOLC's ratings, as it regularly red lined African-American neighborhoods throughout New Haven and the nation, effectively hindering African-Americans' ability to purchase suburban homes. Unfortunately, Fair Haven's prosperity and expansion were fleeting, as deindustrialization and middle-class flight began to afflict the community between 1945 and 1970 (5). Moreover, New Haven began to experience urban renewal, and these efforts destroyed nearby neighborhoods like Wooster Square and attracted displaced, low-income residents to Fair Haven because of its close proximity to their former homes (11). Although seemingly trivial, the HOLC's rating system more than likely predisposed Fair Haven towards a cycle of blight, deindustrialization, and loss of middle-class residents, thus weakening the neighborhood's tax base.

As New Haven continued to suffer from deindustrialization, urban decline, and middle-class flight throughout the latter third of the twentieth century, the Clinton Avenue School responded with necessary social services. Former Clinton Avenue School principal John F. Leary responded to the Quinnipiac Terrace Housing projects' increasing occupancy with a willingness to offer the residents' children enrollment at the school (12).

At the same time that Fair Haven was declining, a new population began to call the neighborhood home. By the 1960s, Latinos began to move to Fair Haven in large numbers. Affordable rents helped Latino merchants to establish businesses, including Crazy Chicken Barbeque and La Casa Green, which have since closed (13).

Over the years, the Clinton Avenue School's student population has changed to reflect the community's changing racial demographics. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, the Clinton Avenue School serves 577 students, grades K-8 and employs approximately 42 teachers, with 441 students receiving free or reduced lunch. 422 students are Latino, 102 students are Black, 47 students are White, 3 students are Asian, and 3 students identify as 2 or More Races (14). The school's curriculum has also adapted in response to changing demographics, as the school experiments with various types of bilingual education to meet its students’ needs (15).

The school sits a quiet residential street, surrounded by small single and multi-family homes and not too far from a local deli.

This 3-story Neo-Classical school building, composed of brick and stone, has a flat roof, and large cylindrical columns, which add to the building’s sense of grandeur (1). The Ionic columns that immediately frame the school's back entrance possibly allude to the connection between education and the educational achievements of Greece during the Classical Period. The building was renovated over the course of 2004-2005 to include wheelchair lifts and elevators, to become more wheelchair accessible (16, 17, 18, 19). Between 2003-2005, Yale School of Architecture professor Kent Bloomer worked alongside New Haven architect Kenneth Boronson to renovate the Clinton Avenue School (20). The school now boasts its iconic green iron archway which is imposed over its windows, just above the masonry of its front entrance (2). The green iron archway is a callback to an earlier period where building ornamentation was common and was commonly placed on buildings with cultural of social importance, including many of Yale’s residential colleges that were built between 1910 and 1930 (20).

1.    New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Addendum to Inventory Forms—Phase I through Phase IV, (New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1984), 2.

2.    Kent Bloomer Studios, “Truman and Clinton Schools, New Haven.” http://bloomerstudio.com/projects/gates-railings/truman-and-clinton-schools-new-haven/

3.    Sanborn Map Company of New York, Insurance Maps of New Haven Connecticut, Volume 3, 1924, 11.

4.    Sanborn-Ferris Map Co., Insurance Maps of New Haven, Connecticut Volume 1, 1901, 93.

5.    New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Phase II, Volume I: Essays and Methodology, 34

6.    Carey Goldberg, Inside New Haven's Neighborhoods:  A Guide to the City of New Haven. (New Haven: City of New Haven in Cooperation with the New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1982), 23-24.

7.    Goldberg, Inside New Haven's Neighborhoods, 33.

8.    New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Phase II, Volume I: Essays and Methodology, 29-30.

9.    New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Phase II, Volume I: Essays and Methodology, 29.

10. Home Owners’ Loan Corporation Map of New Haven, 1937.

11. New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Phase II, Volume I: Essays and Methodology, 35.

12. November 30, 1976 Letter from John F. Leary, Principal, Clinton Avenue School, to Kenneth Redmond, 1977-1978, Elementary School Organization, Box Titled “Education, Board of Education,” Folder Titled, “Educational Organization Elementary School Organization 1977-1978,” New Haven Public Library.

13. Goldberg, Inside New Haven's Neighborhoods, 20.

14. National Center for Education Statistics on the Clinton Avenue School (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Clinton+Avenue+School&City=New+Haven&State=09&SchoolType=1&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=090279000550).

15. Aliyya Swaby, “Clinton Avenue Gets Fluent” October 24, 2014, New Haven Independent. http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/clinton_ave_gets_fluent/.

16. Building Permit Application Livable City Initiative Building Division, April 20, 2004, Records of the City Plan Commission, Office of City Plan Commission, New Haven

17. “Livable City Initiative Building Division” January 11, 2005, Records of the City Plan Commission, Office of City Plan Commission, New Haven.

18. “Transmittal Memorandum; Re: Boronson Falconer, LLC—Clinton Avenue School, New Haven, CT—Accessibility Modification Request” from Bruce J. Spiewak, AIA to Dan Veronick, Public Safety Official, December 22, 2003, 1 and 2, Records of the City Plan Commission, Office of City Plan Commission, New Haven.

19. March 30, 2004 “Expansion and Restoration of the Clinton Avenue School Phase III” Exterior Elevations A5.11, Records of the City Plan Commission, Office of City Plan Commission, New Haven.

20. Philip Langdon, “Delight in the Detail” September 10, 2006, Hartford Courant.