The Oxford

The Oxford is an apartment building at 36 High Street, just one block from the center of Yale’s Old Campus. Since its construction in 1910, the building has served as an apartment complex, though its tenants have evolved from New Haven working-people to mainly Yale students. While its tenants have changed, the building itself has largely remained the same. The façade of this four-story, late Romanesque revival building is composed of cut stone, whereas the sides and rear, which extend far into the lot, are made of brick. The building is largely associated with the next-door Cambridge Arms building, as the two are both owned by Cambridge Oxford LLC.

The Oxford has housed various people over the years, and the nature of the record-keeping in the New Haven City Directories would imply that these individuals are mostly living without a family. These directories, from 1939, 1955, 1961, and 1970 would imply that there was a greater population of people living in these apartments that lived and worked in New Haven, rather than attended Yale University. Various such tenants include Teresa L. Baker (personal shopper, 1955), John Powers (janitor, 1939), and A J Hardy (nurse, 1955). In addition, it appears most of the apartments could be filled, as there were very few vacancies in any of the records searched.

Since 1910, the building has served as an apartment building, and no major exterior renovations have been done to change the shape of the building, or its relationship with the lot. The sides of the building are flush, however, as an initial expectation was for the further development of nearby properties. Before the building was constructed, the site housed a two-story residence, as suggested by a 1901 Sanborn map of the neighborhood. The construction of the apartment building in this residence’s place suggests the solidification of the street as a residential nexus, as it currently serves Yale and New Haven today.

This building has served as an apartment building since its initial construction in 1910, although the people that this building has served has evolved over time. Based on preliminary research through the New Haven City Directories since the buildings construction (1939, 1955, 1961, and 1970, available at the New Haven Museum Library), the individuals who had occupied this space appeared to be middle to upper-middle class New Haven residents, some of whom probably worked at Yale University. As the building has evolved with new renovations and additions, including a sprinkler system and remodeled pavement in recent years, the building has attracted a more elite, student clientele. The building was recently sold in conjunction with the Cambridge Arms building next door to East River Partners, a New York real estate firm, for $22.5 million, approximately three times the appraised value of the buildings. Therefore, while the building used to serve as a broad-based apartment complex, it now serves as “premier off-campus living steps from Yale University”, with a wait list extending more than a year in advance. 

On High Street, the Oxford sits in the center of a vibrant residential and commercial district, near other apartment buildings, fraternity houses, restaurants, and shops. While it certainly plays second fiddle in terms of stature to the Cambridge Arms building, it is certainly an imposing building on the street. The front façade of the building is laden with numerous windows, although the street it looks out upon is not particularly busy – it is a one-way and serves as a bridge between the more popular Chapel and Crown Streets. While the building does appear small in comparison to the Cambridge, walking around the building certainly demonstrates its size, with the rear extending far into its lot, and into a small parking lot with a rear entrance. 

This building is an impressive sight on the relatively narrow High Street and requires crossing onto the opposite side to get a complete view of the building. The building has a relatively uniform structure, anchored by an arched entrance made of the same random, rockface ashlar stone blocks which compose the rest of the front of the building. The Oxford is four stories tall with a flat roof and features four distinct columns of rectangular windows along its façade, separated horizontally by floor. The outer two columns of these windows are canted, while the middle two are flush with the façade. Along the sides of the building are brick and relatively homogenous, with windows laid mostly flush along the sides of the building. The one distinctive feature on the building’s side is another canted set of windows from the second to the fourth floor, likely made of some copper material due to its immense patina. Finally, the rear of the building is similarly made of brick, with windows arranged in a nearly identical fashion to the building’s façade, but without the canted columns adorning its sides. 

Sanborn Map Company. New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, 1901. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co, 1886. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps".

–––––– . New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, 1901. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co, 1901. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps".

–––––– . New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut, 1922. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co, 1924. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps".