Saint Martin de Porres Academy

208 Columbus Avenue is a classic 3 story 19th century school building made of brick and sandstone with a large arched entryway welcoming all of the students who walk through the doors every morning. It is easy to tell the school is a bit rundown by the aged window frames, front doors, and chain-link fence that surrounds the front of the building. However, the inside of the building has been recently renovated to maintain all educational conditions. The school currently serves as a 12-year academy for students who struggle financially in order to support and give them proper educational opportunities. 

This building was originally constructed as a part of the Sacred Heart Community Complex involving a church, convent, rectory, and school all on one connected plot of land. 

This site has always been a part of a larger community of the Sacred Heart complex with a fellow church, convent, and rectory. Since the structure was built, there was a small amount of reconstruction in 1946 to add new fire doors and stairs. There has been no design change (only maintenance) to the exterior in order to maintain the 19th century school image. 

This 19th century school was originally part of Sacred Heart parish, New Haven which was founded by St. John the Evangelist in hopes of creating a community whose focus was on religion and worship. In 1874, the pastor of the community, Father Hugh Carmody, bought and opened what was initially a congregational church for its first catholic mass. Over time, people began to flood into the community of Sacred Heart parish; so, in 1881 the second pastor of the church purchased acreage on Columbus Avenue for a future school and convent. However, it was not for another five years until 1886 that ground began to break in creation of these materialistic and religious additions. With a new pastor on site, Father McKeon, a rectory was built on the land in 1890, a school in 1894, and in 1897 the convent was finished. In fact, as the pastor’s first appearance for public action, he blessed the cornerstone of the school shortly before 675 students entered the school’s halls for the first time under the steady watch of the Sisters of Mercy. Additionally, during McKeon’s time as pastor, the Sacred Heart community flourished with different activities and groups engaging around the Hill neighborhood-including Children of Mary, Men’s League of the Sacred Heart, and the Catholic Club.

In 1939 after a major fire, the church was repaired while the other buildings on the lot remained intact. In 1946 however, there was a combined redecoration of the church, school, convent, and rectory in order to keep up with societal changes. After this redecoration, life continued to flourish in the area but it was not until the early 2000’s that life began to deteriorate for the Sacred Heart community. With heavy financial burdens, the school had to shut down, the convent was relocated, and the church itself could no longer afford the renovations to maintain the needed conditions. Luckily, in 2007 the old Sacred Heart school building was rented out to be a temporary home for the Saint Martin de Porres Academy and in July 2017, the school and its surrounding properties were purchased by the academy. (2) On the other hand, the church, convent, and rectory remain vacant only representing the original Sacred Heart parish that used to be.

The new academy which lives on 208 Columbus Avenue is a prime example of what the Hill neighborhood in New Haven represents. As the president of the academy stated in one of her opening statements to the public, the neighborhood is one of the “most underserved in New Haven” (3) and the academy has high hopes of increasing the educational standards for the area. The academy is for students with limited income and resources in order to support them throughout their primary school days to successfully get them to college. The academy also hopes to expand their school by building new athletic fields around the school site itself. (3) 

The Saint Martin de Porres Academy stands in a residential neighborhood encompassed by a commercial business district with high building density alongside a nearby community park and health center. The building itself sits on a lot with the old Sacred Heart church, convent, rectory and a small outdoor basketball court which are all surrounded by a chain-link fence. A few blocks away lies the New Haven Police Headquarters and the New Haven Union Station, while a few blocks in the opposite direction lies the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven and the Yale New Haven Hospital. 

208 Columbus Avenue highlights a Renaissance Revival style building standing 3 stories tall with a low hip-roof made of asphalt shingles and a modillion cornice that forms a full pediment in the front 3 story center pavilion. The center pavilion encompasses the style of the building with a stylized Palladian window on the third floor, a brownstone fascia with the original school’s name “Sacred Heart” molded into it, and a large arched entryway. Made of brick and sandstone, the building remains in good structural condition and fair external condition considering that it retains all of its original integrity. Thus said, this building holds high standards as it is one of few 19th century school buildings to remain in its original state without having been modernized and condensed like many of its similar structures. Inside, the building has large, open classrooms with tall windows to provide natural lighting for the students, while on the outside each window is seen as a common 2x2 style window with brownstone heads and sills. The only alterations done to this structure are new fire doors in the rear of the building and interior design changes and remodeling. However, the new owners from the Saint Martin’s Academy hope to raise enough money to repair the old school building and expand by developing a playing field for an athletics program. (3,4) 

"A Brief History of Sacred Heart Parish." Saint Anthony Church. Accessed February 21, 2018.

http://www.stanthony-church.org/history/a-brief-history-of-sacred-heart-parish. (1)

Google Maps. Accessed February 23, 2018. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.2998154,-

72.9317847,218a,35y,180h,39.46t/data=!3m1!1e3.

"200 Columbus Ave." Vision Government Solutions. Accessed February 20, 2018.

http://gis.vgsi.com/newhavenct/Parcel.aspx?pid=15331.

"Saint Martin de Porres Academy Acquires Permanent Home." Saint Martin de Porres Academy.

July 07, 2017. Accessed February 20, 2018. https://www.saintmartinacademy.org/saint-martin-de-porres-academy-acquires-permanent-home/. (2)

"St. Martin de Porres Academy in New Haven secures permanent home in the Hill

neighborhood." New Haven Register. Accessed February 19, 2018.

https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/St-Martin-de-Porres-Academy-in-New-Haven-