Mary J. Klem Tenant Building

59 Dixwell Ave, formerly known as the Mary J. Klem Tenant building, is an impressive example of Colonial Revival style architecture, sitting imposingly on Dixwell Avenue, just one short block from the bustling Broadway Shopping District in Downtown New Haven. While its simple brick design evokes a return to an “idealized past,”[1] the building stands as a grand structure, juxtaposing its rectangular brick structure with tall white columns, ornate window bays, and a small porch that elevates the building off the street. Originally gifted to Mary J. Klem by George Klem, it was used as a tenant building for nearly four decades. From 1935 to 2010, the Keyes Funeral Home called the building home. Sadly, the magnificent structure has stood vacant and neglected since 2010. The neglect shows, as many windows are broken, and the ornamentation of the door, columns, and window bays show severe deterioration.

[1] http://historicbuildingsct.com/?page_id=2694

1913: The first known tenants of the building were Mrs. Rachel C. Ferguson and Edward Harris

1918: The Nemderoloc Association (“colored men spelled backwards”[1]) likely used the building as a club for African-American men

1927: Mrs. Elizabeth Webb

1933: James M. Raine

1934: The building was vacant for one year

1935-2010: The Keyes Funeral Home moved in, and stayed at this location until 2010. However, despite housing a funeral home, the building was still home to tenants during these years.

1937: Leonard S. Rogers

1949: John Keyes, Lewellyn Gittens

1955: Gerald D. Cutting

1960: Fred Jones, Mrs. Bessie Washington

1967: James L. Savage, Clarence Ligon

1972: Harry Fulmer

2010-Present: Vacant

[1] Gravenor, Kristian. "Black history to be wiped out with demolition on St. Antoine." Coolopolis. January 14, 2014. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://coolopolis.blogspot.com/2014/01/black-history-to-be-wiped-out-with.html.

The Mary J. Klem Tenant building is located on Dixwell Avenue, just one block from the lively Broadway Shopping District. As one approaches the building, he or she will pass the UPS Store, a day care center, and an apartment for Yale undergraduate students. Apart from those three structures, the surrounding area is largely made up of deteriorating houses. In fact, the Mary J. Klem building marks the transition from buildings that are in use to those that are vacant and dilapidated. None of the houses—in-use or deteriorated—are as striking or grandiose as the Mary J. Klem building. It is probable that in the next few years the street will gentrify, as it is around the corner from Lake Place, a hot bed of Yale off-campus housing. The building next door to 59 Dixwell (referred to as “The Barbershop” in a separate entry in the NHBA) already houses Yale students.  

The Mary J. Klem Tenant Building was originally built for the dressmaker Mary J. Klem in 1897-1898 on land given to her by George Klem, a compositor for TM&T Company. While their relationship is unknown, I infer that George was Mary’s father. Despite owning the building, Mary never resided at 59 Dixwell. She used the building as a tenant structure while she lived at 26 Elm Street[1] or 230 Orange Street[2] (according to two different sources). At some point before 1911, she sold the building to a Mr. C. McDermott, who used it as a tenant building as well. The first known residents were Mrs. Rachel C. Ferguson and Mr. Edward Harris in 1913. Because of the historical tradition against a man and a woman living together before marriage, I imagine that these two were separate tenants living on separate floors. The two-storied structure of the building allows for multiple tenants to live in the building at the same time. Many different tenants lived in the building until 1933, the last year a tenant inhabited 59 Dixwell Ave. That was Virginia native[3] Mr. James M. Raine.

After Raine left, the building was vacant in 1934. One year later, in 1935, the Keyes Funeral Home moved in. The Keyes Funeral Home was located at 59 Dixwell until 2010 – the last year that a New Haven Register obituary listed the Keyes Funeral Home at 59 Dixwell Ave. It seems that at multiple times throughout the 20^th Century, the building doubled as both a funeral home and a tenant building. Based on my research, the building housed residents—along with the Funeral Home—until the 1980’s. The 1984 Connecticut Historical Commission reported Earl Williams as the owner of the building. Thus, I infer that when Mr. Williams took ownership of the Funeral Home, he ended the practice of housing tenants in the same building as the Funeral Home.

 The last obituary in the New Haven Register noting services at the Keyes Funeral Home at 59 Dixwell Ave was that of Vivienne Taylor Atkins, published on Sunday, March 28, 2010. Shortly thereafter, the Funeral Home moved to 95 Dixwell Ave, where it is referred to as either the Keyes or Keyes-Hallman Funeral Home. 59 Dixwell Ave has been left vacant ever since.

In 2016, Kadir Catalbasoglu, owner of the beloved Brick Oven Pizza on Howe Street, purchased the building at 59 Dixwell Ave with the intention to turn it into an apartment complex for students.[4] According to the New Haven Independent, he is pairing with SEEDnh architect Fernando Pastor on the project. The construction was supposed to start in February 2017 and take one year to complete, but construction has yet to begin on the project. I do not know if Mr. Catalbasoglu still plans on renovating the building, or if he even still owns the building.

[1] Historic Resources Inventory, Building and Structures. Connecticut Historical Commission

[2] New Haven Directory (New Haven: Price & Lee Co. 1899)

[3] "All results for Raine." Raine - Ancestry.com. Accessed February 26, 2018.

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?gss=sfs28_ms_f-2_s&new=1&rank=1&msT=1&gsfn_x=0&gsln_x=0&cp=0&catbucket=rstp&MSAV=1&MSV=0&uidh=000&gl=allgs&gsln=RAINE&o_xid=80137&o_lid=80137&o_sch=FindAGrave.

[4] Ricks, Markeshia. "Ex-Funeral Home To Get Live Tenants." New Haven Independent.

November 18, 2016. Accessed February 26, 2018. http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/funeral_home_to_get_live_tenants/.

The Mary J. Klem Tenant building is located on Dixwell Avenue, just one block from the lively Broadway Shopping District. As one approaches the building, he or she will pass the UPS Store, a day care center, and an apartment for Yale undergraduate students. Apart from those three structures, the surrounding area is largely made up of deteriorating houses, and a parking lot across the street. In fact, the Mary J. Klem building marks the transition from buildings that are in use to those that are vacant and dilapidated. None of the houses—in-use, or deteriorated—are as striking or grandiose as the Mary J. Klem building. It seems probable that in the next few years the street will gentrify, as it is around the corner from Lake Place, a hot bed of Yale off-campus housing, and the building next door (referred to as “The Barbershop” in a separate entry in the NHBA) already houses Yale students.