The John Pierpont House/Yale University Visitor's Center

The John Pierpont House, currently the Yale University Visitor Center, is the oldest building currently standing in New Haven. It was built in 1767 and is one of the three beautiful Georgian houses that sits on the north side of Elm Street. It has served as a residential building, a hospital during the revolutionary war, a faculty lounge and the Yale undergraduate admissions office. Its complex architectural structure testifies for the history it has gone through, yet its simplistic façade upholds the ideal urban lifestyle and values of historic New Haven. 

1767 – 1900 The Pierpont family

1901 – 1921 Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes

1921 – now Yale University

In the earliest documented map ever drawn on the city (Map of 1644), the land where the house currently stands on is ascribed to "Mr. Marshall." Although no such "Mr. Marshall" can be found in any historical material, considering that the map was drawn only six years after the founding of the city, we can safely assume that he was one of the early colonists in New Haven.

On Sep. 25, 1685, the deed to a section of Mr. Marshall's land was given to Rev. James Pierpont as a ministerial settlement (3). The reverend stayed at a separate location, keeping the land vacant and passed it on to his son, who later passed it on to John Pierpont. John Pierpont constructed his own building on this ground, and this piece of land has stayed in the Pierpont family until 1900, when it was purchased by Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes (1). Yale University acquired the site in 1921 and the site has remained Yale's property ever since.

In 1766, Mr. John Pierpont, grandson to the beloved Rev. James Pierpont, married his wife, Sarah Beers. At that time, John had already been constructing his own house on the north side of Elm Street. Therefore, the newlyweds moved in soon after the house's completion in 1767 to start their new lives together. The Pierponts were a hospitable couple, constantly hosting gatherings of the Pierponts and the Beers (3). Due to the proximity of the house to the church, the couple also opened the home up as a resting place for all the Sunday churchgoers from distant counties, turning this private house into a community space.

In 1779, during the revolutionary war, the British came into New Haven and pillaged the house, significantly damaging the furniture and portrait inside the residence. The British used the house as a Hospital and a station for the underground railroad. The house functioned almost like a headquarter of their operation until their eventual retreat from the city (4).

John and Sarah had four daughters who were known for having strong individuality and for exemplifying the 19th century New Haven values (3). After the death of Sarah, the house was passed onto one of the four daughters, Miss Mary, who married Hon. Eleazar Foster in 1806. Because of this marriage, the house is sometimes referred to as John Pierpont - Eleazar Foster House (5).

Mary and Eleazar had four children together, and they lived in the house after Mary's death in 1857. The last one of the four passed away in the house in 1900. That same year, Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes purchased the John Pierpont house. He commissioned large addition to the original structure to accommodate his visitors from all over the country. He was at that time the Secretary of Yale, which was the second in command of the university (6). Under his supervision, the first meeting of Yale missionary board took place in this house. Also, Yale in China was established in this house during this period (7).

Yale University officially acquired this space in 1921 and began a thorough restoration in 1929. The University continued the tradition of the John Pierpont house as a social space, and established the faculty club, hosting dances and presentations for the professors. Along with the building immediately to its west, which serves as the Graduate club, the John Pierpont House became part of the campus that blends the rigor of the academia with the liveliness of the city (8). More additions to the building were built during this period to turn this house into a classy space for its esteemed academics.

Later, the house served as the Office of Undergraduate Admissions before it attained its current primary position as the Visitor Center. Another restoration was completed in 2002 to equip this elegant Georgian building with modern infrastructure. Now, the John Pierpont House serves as both the Visitor Center in the front and the Henry Koerner Center for Emeritus Faculty in the back. This function of the house truly exemplifies the uniqueness of this space. The lavishly decorated backside provides an upscale social space for the University's most renowned faculty members. The front side of the building, the simplistic original structure, the emblem of New Haven and its rich human history, welcomes visitors from all over the world to Yale, and to New Haven.

The John Pierpont House sits to the north of the New Haven Green, on the north side of Elm Street between College Street and Temple Street. Along with this short segment is a variety of architectural styles, from the federal style of the First United Methodist Church to the Venetian façade of Hendrie Hall. In between these elaborate architectures are three small white Georgian houses, one of which is the John Pierpont House. These houses possess neither the grandeur nor the complexity of the significant structures along the street. However, they contrast the bustling commerce all around the green, creating an enclave of "the simpler times." The highly organized and humble imagery of the John Pierpont House highlights the 18th-century urban morals of order, simplicity, and rectitude, upholding the values of the city from its earlier days.

The building, as it is now, is a complex structure that has endured multiple additions and restorations. There is a white picketed fence that separates the house from the sidewalk. This feature exudes a sense of privacy that suggests the original residential purpose of the house. Behind the fence is the original house. After multiple restorations in the 20th century, the house is currently made out of the original wood structure (which one can still see on the balcony) and clapboards. Measuring at five bays wide and two bays deep, it has a 2 ½ story frame dwelling with a pitched roof (1). The original shingled roof was replaced by the current metal roof in the 1870s (2). The original house looks extremely organized and harmonious. The fenestration, for example, is symmetrically arranged. The door is situated at the center of the front side, framed by an entablature up on top and one pilaster on each side. During Victorian times, a two-story porch sits right above the door. However, it was taken down in a modern restoration (2). The chimney pierces through the roof of the building, adding grandeur to the entire structure while culminating the extremely idealistic desire within the symmetrical design. Inside the house, the wing scolding and the fireplace are still intact. However, there's no way of knowing how much of the interior is original.

The east wing was later added on to the original structure. According to the comparison between two city maps from 1824 (Map of 1824) and 1879 (Map of 1879 by O.H. Bailey and J.C. Hazen), the West Wing was added in between those two years. It is a narrow 2-story brick house with a pitched roof (1) that is mostly concealed behind the original structure when viewed from the street. There are large rectangular double-hung windows, similar to the ones seen in the original house. The east wing was expanded in 1900 by Delano and Aldrich and again in 1963 by the office of Carleton Granberry, reaching farther into the back of the lot. (2)

The west wing was added in 1900 by Delano and Aldrich. Like the east wing, it is also a two-story brick building with a pitched roof (1). It is, however, significantly wider, with a separate front entrance facing Elm street. The fenestration on this wing is of a different style. In addition to the standard rectangular windows, it also features arched windows and entrances. There is one chimney on each of the two wings, echoing the symmetric design of the front side. On the back side of the building, the structure features a very Federal look. It has a prominent pediment on top, as well as some Roman arches and a beautiful French door on the first floor.

An appendage to the back (the rear addition) connects the east and west wing. This two-story structure was built in 1950 by Robert T. Coolidge (2). It is a brick structure with a gabled roof. The doorway on the back features an elaborate arch and two pilasters. The second floor features a porch with metal railing. The backside of the house, in general, forfeits the organized, simplistic look of the front, and embraces a more bourgeois façade with more intricate decoration and more complex spaces.

The four parts of the building create a courtyard in the middle of the structure. It is a square space that connects the original house to the rear addition. The courtyard is decorated with Doric columns and pilasters and is surrounded by beautiful white walls. Everything about this courtyard is highly symmetrical, pristine and pure, showcasing the timelessness of such an idealist way of living.

1.     New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Buildings and Structures Hist -6 New 5 77, (New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1984), 2.

2.     Elizabeth Mills Brown, New Haven- a guide to architecture and urban design (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 103.

3.     Dana Collection, 21 Elm Street (New Haven: New Haven Museum), 88.

4.     “The John Pierpont House (1767)”, Historic Buildings of Conneticut, Oct. 2^nd 2008, http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=1149.

5.     Dana Collection, 21 Elm Street (New Haven: New Haven Museum), 90a.

6.     “The Three Anson Phelps Stokes: Anglo-American Philanthropists”, Chickenbones: A Journal, http://www.nathanielturner.com/ansonphelpsstokes.htm.

7.     New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, Buildings and Structures Hist -6 New 5 77, (New Haven: The New Haven Preservation Trust, 1984), 3.

8.     Elm Street and Yale University Building in 1919 (New Haven: New Haven Museum).