Maresca Funeral Home (formerly James E. English House)

Built in 1845, this stately Italianate style villa has been operated by Maresca & Sons funeral home since 1920 (1, 2). Originally designed by Henry Austin for the residential dwelling of James E. English, who later became the Governor of Connecticut, this stately villa, with its box-design, symmetrical six pane upper window sashes, low-hipped roof with broad overhanging eaves is an image of elegance in its simplicity (1). There is considerable evidence of Austin’s rich but restrained detail, as passersby may marvel at the façade porch and its intricate, floral columns as well as the reserved but playful scallop cornice molding as they meander along the Wooster Square Historic District (3). 

Walking along the neighborhood, the James English house’s grandeur simultaneously blends in with the stately villas of the district as well as stands out as an elongated, grandiose building that serves grieving families with dignity, elegance and grace today. The James English house is a living testimony to the changing tides of residential and commercial districts, with its own conversion from the former to the latter riding the shifting waves of the revered neighborhood itself. 

1845: James E. English

1920: Maresca & Sons Funeral Home

Named after a prominent Revolutionary War general, Wooster Square was converted into a public, green square in the 1820s (3). By the 1850s, the area became a popular neighborhood given the rapid development of historical and fashionably villas. Built in 1845, the James English house was one such house that boosted the value of Wooster Square district, making it more favorable to the socially prominent. 

At the turn of the 20^thcentury, however, the rapid increase of industry and the development of the district’s trend to convert these homes to stores for commercial purposes downgraded the social standard of the neighborhood (3, 6). 

Fortunately, this negative spiral did not last long enough for the neighborhood to lose its social prominence. By the efforts of Yale architectural students who campaigned for the restoration of Wooster Park and its surrounding district, as well as the public endorsement of both the social and architectural potential for the district by the New Haven Preservation Trust led to the salvation and development of the stately historic district we have today (3, 6). 

Originally designed by Henry Austin for James E. English, this building is a prime example of Austin’s shifting aptitude from classical villas to the latest modes of the time: Tudor, Egyptian Revival, High Gothic, and as this building suggests, Italianate (5). Austin’s characteristically rich but restrained detail can easily be pinpointed in the James English House, boasting its exotic fluted floral columns and scalloped cornice molding and creating an overall unified but powerfully simplistic look fitting for English’s career as a master builder and contractor (1). 

In 1920, Maresca & Sons funeral home purchased the building to provide the finest facilities for the families they’ve been serving since 1888 (2). The funeral services has remained a family business for four generations: the current president, Neil R. Rapuano, is the great grandson of the firm’s founder and maintains the service’s tradition of dignified and compassionate service for families going through the grieving process (2). The third-floor annex made by James English allows the funeral home to welcome multiple families in an intimate manner without the burden of overlapping services, echoing the building’s modest and elegant exterior. 

Recently, Maresca & Sons extensively renovated the interior of the building and added a large wing that serves as a new entrance to provide privacy for clients (2). The remodeling of the house made the building handicap accessible, and the interior renovation allowed for unsurpassed comforts for families. President Rapuano, in an effort to preserve the grandeur of the neighborhood, acquired and restored the Willis Bristol Mansion, a stately villa situated next to the James English house (2). The restoration of both of these mansions represents the neighborhoods commitment to the preservation of the rich aesthetic and historic narrative of the district. 

In 1971, Wooster Square Historic District became the first historic district in New Haven, boasting with an impressive repertoire of architecturally distinguished buildings (3). The James English house, along with the buildings such as the Willis Bristol Mansion, were critical in the establishment of the first historic district in New Haven given how well they represent the historic character and aesthetic beauty of the neighborhood.  

Situated just east of Wooster Square, this building’s exterior echoes the large, fashionable styles of its environment while assimilating the natural beauty of Wooster Square Park. Today, the buildings located around the James English house are mainly operated for light commercial purposes, but the built environment surrounding the building stems from a range of mid- to late-nineteenth century villas and dwellings (1). Walking along the beautiful historic district of Wooster Square, the stately villas in addition to the natural beauty of Wooster Square Park create a grandiose and stately ambience. The wide streets framed with residential mansions whose doors have opened for commercial usages welcome passersby, creating an inclusive environment. The James English house, now operated by Maresca & Sons funeral home, expertly plays into the theme of converting stately residential villas into commercial use, thereby unifying the inclusive and welcoming narrative of the street. 

Upon looking at this 19^thcentury Italianate style villa, the three bay flat-roofed façade porch, supported by its rosette-patterned balustrade, immediately captures the viewer’s attention (1). This three-story brick building, with its paired twin interior chimneys, low hip roof coupled with broad overhanging eaves creates a characteristically Italianate yet simple and elegant look fitting of the building’s first tenant, James E. English, who served in the U.S. Congress and was later elected the Governor of Connecticut (1, 4). The wooden belt-course molding along the top of the second floor visually represents the original roofline before the third story was annexed shortly after the building’s construction, creating the building’s elongated exterior and spacious interior today (1, 4, 5). The building’s light brown exterior, broken up only with wooden bands of molding encompassing the house sets a simple and austere atmosphere of the Italianate villa. The uniformity of the windows around the building, with original six pane upper window sashes enclosing all sides, unify the James English house to allude to the prominence and servitude of the original tenant’s active engagement in civic affairs and the current tenant’s mission for serving families (1, 2).  

1. United States of America. Connecticut Historical Commission. James English House. By Paul Loether. New Haven, CT: Historic Resources Inventory, 1981.

2. "Our Funeral Home - Serving the Greater New Haven Area Since 1888." Maresca & Sons Funeral Home. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://www.marescafuneralhome.com/about-us.

3. "Wooster Square Historic District." New Haven Preservation Trust. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://nhpt.org/index.php/site/district/wooster_square_historic_district/.

4. "Historic Buildings of Connecticut." Historic Buildings of Connecticut. June 16, 2010. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=4519.

5. Brown, Elizabeth Mills. The historic houses of Wooster Square. New Haven: New Haven Preservation Trust, 1969.

6. "Our Story." Historic Wooster Square Association. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://www.historicwoostersquare.org/aboutus.html.

7. The James E. English House. June 16, 2010. Historic Buildings of Connecticut, New Haven. http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=4519(accessed February 24, 2018). 

8. "Insurance Map of New Haven, Connecticut - Volume I." Map. New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1886.

9. "Insurance Map of New Haven, Connecticut - Volume I." Map. New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1901.

10. "Insurance Map of New Haven, Connecticut - Volume I." Map. New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1924.

11. "Insurance Map of New Haven, Connecticut - Volume I." Map. New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1973.