421 Temple St. & 58 Whitney Ave.

This building’s simple structure lends it a versatility of function. It currently houses two organizations and, in a sense, has two separate identities.

From the Whitney Avenue side, this building is unassuming. The broad, brick, and largely unadorned exterior—in combination with the horizontality of the windows lining its second floor—make the eye of the casual passerby glide right by it. Anyone who takes second glance will appreciate the pleasant retail space of Katahdin Furniture. The first floor’s long and large windows, pressed up against the sidewalk, display shiny toys and kitchenware. This modest showiness helps the building fit in with the neighboring stores: a Dunkin’ Donuts and Katalina’s (a bakery) among others. 

From the Temple Street side, this building is bold. A fantastical mural covers the entire brick exterior. The verticality and vivacity of the mural counteract the horizontality of the windows and general shape of the building to create a memorable impression. On this side, the building houses Yale’s Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS). A glassy entrance and bright yellow railing, in combination with the mural, make a fun welcome for the Yale students and faculty and New Haven residents who visit the building. Ironically, the building’s distance from the street (a small parking lot acts as a buffer) in comparison to the neighboring buildings helps it “pop out.” 

1914, Henry V Brothers – residence

1915-1919, Charles H O’Connell (mechanic, music teacher) – residence

1920, Charles E Falkner – residence

1924-25, Rent A Ford Co, University Garage – businesses

1930, The Timken-Detroit Co – business

1935, Vacant

1941-45, Whitney Avenue Garage, O Schiebel (insurance adjuster) – businesses

1950-60, Southern New England Telephone Co garage – business

1960-05, Clinton’s Inc Pianos – business

1965-70, Queen Insurance Co, Safeguard Insurance Co, London & Lancashire Insurance Co, Royal Globe Insurance Companies, Royal Indemnity Insurance Co – businesses

1970, Newark Insurance Co – business

1970-85, Uarco Inc Business Forms – business

1970-90, M. E. Libson (designer) – business

1970-01, Designers for Business & Industry – business

2001-05, Clinton’s Piano Service, Mimi Design – business

2005-Present, Yale International Center, Katahdin Furniture – business, university

Few documents with information about the beginning of this site could be found, but 1888 and 1879 maps show buildings at 58 and 60 Whitney Avenue, and the New Haven Assessor’s Database reports that 58 Whitney Avenue was built in 1900 (24, 26, 8b).

As of 1911, the Emily Bushnell Estate included most of the property in between Temple Street and Whitney Avenue, including the buildings at 58 and 60 Whitney Avenue, both of which were likely houses (Information has yet to be uncovered regarding Emily Bushnell’s identity) (23). Except for a change in ownership around the year 1933, this estate owned 58 and 60 Whitney Avenue at least until 1935 (1b, 2b). Records suggest that Henry V Brothers lived at 58 Whitney Avenue as a tenant in 1914 (1). Then, Charles H O’Connell, a mechanic (potentially at the neighboring New Haven Manufacturing Company) and music teacher, lived as a tenant at 58 Whitney from 1915 to 1919 (2, 3, 4, 5, 23). Charles E Falkner lived at 58 Whitney Avenue in 1920 (6). 

In 1922, while the properties still belonged to the Bushnell Estate, 58 and 60 Whitney Avenue were converted into a single, one-story brick garage registered at 58 Whitney Avenue that would be used as a commercial space—in parallel with the development and commercialization of other plots of land between Whitney Avenue and Temple Street (8, 3b, 7b). Several garage-based businesses inhabited the space from 1922 until 1948, including Rent A Ford Co., University Garage, The Timken-Detroit Co, and Whitney Avenue Garage (7, 8, 10). For this period, the building seemed to have provided a staple service to automobile owners in the Whitney-Audubon area (9b).   

The building had come under the ownership of the Connecticut Housing Corporation by 1948. In that year, the Corporation converted the garage into a two-story office building and commercial space.

As of 1960, Clinton’s Pianos (previously Clinton’s Inc. Pianos) had come to inhabit spaces on the first and second floors of 60 Whitney Avenue (14). Other businesses had smaller offices in the 58 Whitney Avenue part of the building between 1960 and 2001 (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21). However, in 2001, Clinton’s Pianos became the sole inhabitant of the building. In 2005, it was discovered that the owner of Clinton’s Pianos was using the business, which had retail stores in several cities apart from New Haven, to participate in a $3 million scam (27, 28). Presumably, the business was shut down.

Yale had taken ownership of the building by 1994, so when Clinton’s Pianos was shut down in 2005, Yale moved its Office of International Students & Scholars (OISS), previously called the Yale International Center, to the building (29, 4b, 5b). The entrance to these offices was placed in what had been the back of the building, which was designated as 421 Temple Street, possibly so that it would be facing campus and the graduate student housing across the street (29). OISS still exists at that same address. In 2005, Yale also let a new business come into 60 Whitney Avenue: the furniture store Katahdin Furniture (6b). 

The fact that this simple building has had three addresses is emblematic of the building’s rich and varied history. In the early 1900s, this building belonged to the estate of the (presumably) wealthy Emily Bushnell while still being a home for working-class Charles O’Connell, a piano teacher and mechanic (2, 3, 4, 5, 23). After becoming a commercial space in the mid 1900s, the building has housed a garage—an every-man, economy business—and a piano store—a high-end business.

In some ways, the building has become an extension of Yale’s campus. After all, it is a Yale-owned building and OISS essentially serves as a “living room” for the international students living in the graduate student housing across the street, at 420 Temple Street (29). However, the building also serves as a point connection between Yale and New Haven. Not only does it house a retail store as well as university offices, but it also literally connects Yale students to the New Haven community through an alleyway south of the building, which students often travel through to visit the shops and stores in the Whitney-Audubon area (29). OISS also hosts programming in the building that engages the local community and works with international organizations such as IRIS. On a larger scale, the building currently acts as a link between Yale and New Haven and the world through its engagement with the international community.

Notably, the building does seem to have lost its connection with the working class—the Charles O’Connells of the world—in spite of its work with IRIS and other community organizations. The gentrification of the Whitney-Audubon area and of the area surrounding Yale has probably contributed to this shift.

On the Whitney Avenue side, the building makes a nice addition to slew of stores and office spaces in the tightly packed Whitney-Audubon area that service Yale and the greater East Rock and New Haven community. Its flat, brick exterior, which hugs the sidewalk, matches that of the surrounding buildings. On the Temple Street side, the building’s adornments make it stand out from the surrounding buildings. However, it and its neighbors are united in their purpose of serving Yale. An alleyway south of the building serves as a passageway for students to travel back-and-forth between Temple Street and Whitney Avenue—or between Yale and New Haven (29).