Abby Salisbury House

1850 - Madam Abby Salisbury - residential

1866 – Henry White – residential/law practice

1889 – Thomas Bennett - residential

1902 – Elford Brady Trowbridge - residential

1935 – Yale University - commercial

The first recorded resident of the lot that is presently 258 Church Street is John Cooper, who came to New Haven in 1638. Cooper served as New Haven's chimney sweep,

Madam Salisbury commissioned her house in 1850, on a lot that had previously been utilized as residential space. The Salisburys lived next door to the Woolseys, who resided directly south of what is presently 258 Church Street. Theodore Dwight Woolsey, the tenth president of Yale, eventually married the daughter of Madam Salisbury. In 1866, after Salisbury’s death, Henry White purchased the house. White graduated the Yale Divinity and Law School and established a successful probate and real estate firm. It is unclear whether or not White practiced out of 258 Church Street, but it is highly likely that much of his case work carried over into his home. Whites’ specialization in real estate also led White to index New Haven land records as a hobby throughout most of his professional life. In doing so, White distinguished himself as a prominent real estate lawyer throughout the city. After the death of both White and his wife, Thomas Bennet, president of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, purchased the house in 1889. The next change in ownership was to Elford Pary Trowbridge in 1902. Trowbridge graduated from Yale in the class of 1887 and worked as a paymaster for New England railroads. It was in 1935 that Yale purchased the building from Trowbridge and began to convert the space into the commercial site it is today. Prior to housing a Willoughby’s Coffee and Tea and the Walker Loden Gift Shop, Yale leased 258 Church Street to Hunt’s Inc., Haydon Dukeshire, a dress shop, an advertising agency, and a beauty parlor.

The southwest corner of Grove and Church streets houses a diverse mix of occupants. Several offices fill the area surrounding 258 Church Street. Yale has purchased the entirety of these buildings, using them as offices and service centers for a variety of departments. Directly west of 258 is the Yale residential college Timothy Dwight, housing Yale undergraduate students. The coffee and gift shop complex on the corner starkly contrasts with its surroundings in terms of function, yet it does not seem out of place. In both architectural style and commercial properties, 258 Church Street matches very closely with the buildings opposite it on the northeast corner of Grove and Church. In a sense, this building is simply an extension of the commercial district that is Whitney Avenue. 

The original residence, owned by Madam Abby Salisbury, was fairly similar in form to the building as it stands today. Contrary to the commercial front that stands today, the 1850’s house was topped with a flared mansard roof, created in a Second Empire style. Flemish gabled dormers in heavily ornamented styles protruded from this roof in a much more extravagant fashion than the same do presently. Windows with decorated window heads and canted corners fell directly under the roof on the second floor. A portico ornamented the bottom story with columns and cornice and a large bay window was constructed on the north facing side of the building. After the building was purchased by Yale in 1935, Douglas Orr was tasked with remodeling the structure for commercial use. Most of the ornamentation was removed during this process and edges were straightened to give the building a simpler and more modern appearance. Glass bays were added to display commercial goods and encourage “window shopping”. Despite such changes to the building’s exterior, the present form of the building is not commercial. Elements of residential style are still apparent through the form of the second floor windows and dormers.