Arnold Hall, Maison B Café (storefront, ground level)
06511
Maison B Café is lined up on the same block as Warby Parker, J. Press, L. L. Bean,
TYCO Print, and taco joint Tomatillo. This block is the southern side of the Broadway Island. Retailers and food businesses also line the North side of the island, along Broadway, with some notable ones including Barnes and Nobles, Urban Outfitters, Good Nature Market, and J. Crew.
The building that TYCO and L. L. Bean currently occupy, to the left of Arnold Hall, is part of 272 Elm St., a Yale graduate residential hall built in 2018 to fill in another vacant lot on that block. These two buildings, which are seamlessly attached and stylistically similar, form an expansive window-shopping environment with the rest of the block.
Maison Mathis, which opened in August 2013, was an appropriate pick for the Broadway district. The retail space in Arnold Hall had been vacant since its construction, and Broadway’s Au Bon Pain had just closed down that summer (Disare 2013). With a cozy white-navy-leather aesthetic and outdoor seating in the warmer months, the café invites tired and hungry shoppers, tourists, and students to take a seat and enjoy food slowly, in “Belgian time.”
Arnold Hall is part of Yale and the City of New Haven’s Broadway renewal and expansion project, which started around 2000 (New Haven Register 2013). It was controversial at the time, as a sign of Yale’s gentrification of New Haven and the pushing out of local businesses for national ones. Now, the Broadway district is entirely owned by Yale, known as the Shops at Yale, and it has indeed become the central retail district of downtown New Haven.
TYCO Print, and taco joint Tomatillo. This block is the southern side of the Broadway Island. Retailers and food businesses also line the North side of the island, along Broadway, with some notable ones including Barnes and Nobles, Urban Outfitters, Good Nature Market, and J. Crew.
The building that TYCO and L. L. Bean currently occupy, to the left of Arnold Hall, is part of 272 Elm St., a Yale graduate residential hall built in 2018 to fill in another vacant lot on that block. These two buildings, which are seamlessly attached and stylistically similar, form an expansive window-shopping environment with the rest of the block.
Maison Mathis, which opened in August 2013, was an appropriate pick for the Broadway district. The retail space in Arnold Hall had been vacant since its construction, and Broadway’s Au Bon Pain had just closed down that summer (Disare 2013). With a cozy white-navy-leather aesthetic and outdoor seating in the warmer months, the café invites tired and hungry shoppers, tourists, and students to take a seat and enjoy food slowly, in “Belgian time.”
Arnold Hall is part of Yale and the City of New Haven’s Broadway renewal and expansion project, which started around 2000 (New Haven Register 2013). It was controversial at the time, as a sign of Yale’s gentrification of New Haven and the pushing out of local businesses for national ones. Now, the Broadway district is entirely owned by Yale, known as the Shops at Yale, and it has indeed become the central retail district of downtown New Haven.
Mid 1800s to ~1930: 310 & 312 Elm St., a Two-Family home is constructed sometime in the mid 1800s, and the two homes functions as both family homes and boarding houses. Building demolished ~1930.
Main residents and boarding house owners are as follows:
310 Elm:
- R.C. Bright, wholesale clothes and rags dealer, and his family (1887-1911)
- Frank B. Standish, MD (1913-1915)
- Mary L. Tyrrell and daughter (1913-1915)
- Anna B. McGinness (1920-1924)
- A. I. Abrahams, tailor (1929)
312 Elm:
- Wm. H. Clark, janitor (1886-unknown)
- Leonard E. Peck, letter carrier (1898-1901)
- Anna H. Terrill (1911-1920) and family, ran boarding home
- James E Davenport, deputy sheriff & Yale patrol (~1913)
- Thomas G Shepard (~1920)
- Harry L Carpenter (~1924)
- Steven J Carney (1929)
1930 to 1938: Yale acquires the lot sometime 1930-1934 and builds a Society Hall. Now 304 Elm St. The Sachem Club, a Yale University Club, uses the space 1934-1938.
1939 to ~1980s: Knights of St. Patrick, an Irish Society in New Haven est. 1878, purchases the building to use as clubhouse.
~1980s: Building reacquired by Yale, society hall demolished, lot left empty and turned into a parking lot in early 00s.
2006-2007: Arnold Hall is built by Yale for residential, institutional, and commercial purposes.
2013-Present: Belgian eatery Maison B Café (formerly Maison Mathis) rents the storefront of Arnold Hall.
Main residents and boarding house owners are as follows:
310 Elm:
- R.C. Bright, wholesale clothes and rags dealer, and his family (1887-1911)
- Frank B. Standish, MD (1913-1915)
- Mary L. Tyrrell and daughter (1913-1915)
- Anna B. McGinness (1920-1924)
- A. I. Abrahams, tailor (1929)
312 Elm:
- Wm. H. Clark, janitor (1886-unknown)
- Leonard E. Peck, letter carrier (1898-1901)
- Anna H. Terrill (1911-1920) and family, ran boarding home
- James E Davenport, deputy sheriff & Yale patrol (~1913)
- Thomas G Shepard (~1920)
- Harry L Carpenter (~1924)
- Steven J Carney (1929)
1930 to 1938: Yale acquires the lot sometime 1930-1934 and builds a Society Hall. Now 304 Elm St. The Sachem Club, a Yale University Club, uses the space 1934-1938.
1939 to ~1980s: Knights of St. Patrick, an Irish Society in New Haven est. 1878, purchases the building to use as clubhouse.
~1980s: Building reacquired by Yale, society hall demolished, lot left empty and turned into a parking lot in early 00s.
2006-2007: Arnold Hall is built by Yale for residential, institutional, and commercial purposes.
2013-Present: Belgian eatery Maison B Café (formerly Maison Mathis) rents the storefront of Arnold Hall.
The site itself has a rich history. Sometime in the mid 1800s, a building was built on the
lot, in what was then 310 and 312 Elm St. There is little information on what the building looked like, but atlas maps from tell us that it was a two-family house (Image #2) (Kelly). Advertisements in the Yale Daily News from 1926 describe 310 Elm St. as having “13 rooms for rent, suitable for boarding house or fraternity club" ("Classified Advertisements" 1926).
These two homes were occupied at times by full families, but were mostly rented out as boarding houses. Two notable residents are R.C. Bright, a wholesale clothes and rags dealer who lived with his daughter Florence Jessie Bright and possibly other family members at 310 Elm from 1887 to 1911, and Anna H. Terrill and family members, who ran a boarding home at 312 Elm St. from 1911 to 1920. Most other owners didn’t stay past a few years, or were temporary boarders. According to the New Haven Directories from 1887 to 1929, boarders included widows; businesspeople; doctors and nurses; tailors and dressmakers; and instructors, staff, and students of Yale. There was a mix of white and black boarders and residents within the space, as indicated by the directories (Price and Lee Co, 1887; Price and Lee Co, 1898; Price and Lee Co, 1901; Price and Lee Co, 1913; Price and Lee Co, 1915; Price and Lee Co, 1920; Price and Lee Co, 1924; Price and Lee Co, 1929; Price and Lee Co, 1932). Its central location in downtown New Haven and proximity to Yale Campus made it very Yale-adjacent from the start, despite not being a Yale-affiliated building.
The building at 310 and 312 Elm St. was demolished sometime around 1930, and in the span of four years, Yale acquired the lot and constructed a society hall, which was now addressed at 304 Elm St (Sanborn Map Company 1931). According to the Connecticut Historical Commission’s Historical Resources Inventory, this building was a long brick building that had two stories in the front and one in the back, with parking lot space behind and around it. It was an unusual modernistic building that contrasted with the rest of Broadway and Elm (Ryan 1980). It is notable here that prior to 310 and 312 becoming 304 Elm St., 304 Elm St. did already exist to the left of the two-story building, and was a bookshop called the Brick Row Book Shop ("Classified Advertisements" 1932). There must have been a reassigning of address numbers when the society hall was built.
The Sachem Club, which changed from a Sheffield Scientific School fraternity into a Yale University Club in 1934, occupied the society hall from 1934 until 1938, when the club closed operations (“Present Club Set-up Outlined by Sachem"). This hall was then purchased in 1939 by the Knights of St. Patrick, an Irish society in New Haven and the oldest of its kind in Connecticut, to be used as a clubhouse (“Knights of St. Patrick Buy Sachem Clubhouse).
Sometime in the early ‘80s, Yale reacquired the building. The university proposed renovating the building for a new publication center, as written in a YDN article from 1985 (Chen 1985), but the plan fell through, likely due to inadequate funding. The society hall was demolished, and Yale built a parking lot in the space in around 1990, in an agreement with the City to provide more parking space (Weintraub 1990). It stayed a parking lot until the development of Arnold Hall in 2006-2007.
Yale’s encroachment onto surrounding land is no surprise or new discovery, but the rich history of this lot adds more dimension to Yale’s expansion.
lot, in what was then 310 and 312 Elm St. There is little information on what the building looked like, but atlas maps from tell us that it was a two-family house (Image #2) (Kelly). Advertisements in the Yale Daily News from 1926 describe 310 Elm St. as having “13 rooms for rent, suitable for boarding house or fraternity club" ("Classified Advertisements" 1926).
These two homes were occupied at times by full families, but were mostly rented out as boarding houses. Two notable residents are R.C. Bright, a wholesale clothes and rags dealer who lived with his daughter Florence Jessie Bright and possibly other family members at 310 Elm from 1887 to 1911, and Anna H. Terrill and family members, who ran a boarding home at 312 Elm St. from 1911 to 1920. Most other owners didn’t stay past a few years, or were temporary boarders. According to the New Haven Directories from 1887 to 1929, boarders included widows; businesspeople; doctors and nurses; tailors and dressmakers; and instructors, staff, and students of Yale. There was a mix of white and black boarders and residents within the space, as indicated by the directories (Price and Lee Co, 1887; Price and Lee Co, 1898; Price and Lee Co, 1901; Price and Lee Co, 1913; Price and Lee Co, 1915; Price and Lee Co, 1920; Price and Lee Co, 1924; Price and Lee Co, 1929; Price and Lee Co, 1932). Its central location in downtown New Haven and proximity to Yale Campus made it very Yale-adjacent from the start, despite not being a Yale-affiliated building.
The building at 310 and 312 Elm St. was demolished sometime around 1930, and in the span of four years, Yale acquired the lot and constructed a society hall, which was now addressed at 304 Elm St (Sanborn Map Company 1931). According to the Connecticut Historical Commission’s Historical Resources Inventory, this building was a long brick building that had two stories in the front and one in the back, with parking lot space behind and around it. It was an unusual modernistic building that contrasted with the rest of Broadway and Elm (Ryan 1980). It is notable here that prior to 310 and 312 becoming 304 Elm St., 304 Elm St. did already exist to the left of the two-story building, and was a bookshop called the Brick Row Book Shop ("Classified Advertisements" 1932). There must have been a reassigning of address numbers when the society hall was built.
The Sachem Club, which changed from a Sheffield Scientific School fraternity into a Yale University Club in 1934, occupied the society hall from 1934 until 1938, when the club closed operations (“Present Club Set-up Outlined by Sachem"). This hall was then purchased in 1939 by the Knights of St. Patrick, an Irish society in New Haven and the oldest of its kind in Connecticut, to be used as a clubhouse (“Knights of St. Patrick Buy Sachem Clubhouse).
Sometime in the early ‘80s, Yale reacquired the building. The university proposed renovating the building for a new publication center, as written in a YDN article from 1985 (Chen 1985), but the plan fell through, likely due to inadequate funding. The society hall was demolished, and Yale built a parking lot in the space in around 1990, in an agreement with the City to provide more parking space (Weintraub 1990). It stayed a parking lot until the development of Arnold Hall in 2006-2007.
Yale’s encroachment onto surrounding land is no surprise or new discovery, but the rich history of this lot adds more dimension to Yale’s expansion.
The building itself has a very short history. The storefront was vacant from its
completion in 2007 up until 2013, when Maison B Café became a tenant. For the hall itself, it has functioned as a residential annex of Davenport, Pierson, and Trumbull Colleges, but in 2018-2021 it functioned as the office space for The Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, American Studies and Slavic Languages and Literature Departments of Yale while the Hall of Graduate Studies was being renovated to become the Humanities Quadrangle. In 2020-2021, some of Arnold Hall was offered as mixed-college senior housing to the class of 2021 (Lee 2020). In 2021-2022, it also served as COVID isolation housing.
There is controversy around buildings like Arnold Hall. Yale’s nonprofit status exempts much of its property from taxation, and by building another Yale dorming hall and providing more on-campus housing beyond the residential college system, Yale has created more tax-free housing that does not contribute to New Haven’s revenue.
completion in 2007 up until 2013, when Maison B Café became a tenant. For the hall itself, it has functioned as a residential annex of Davenport, Pierson, and Trumbull Colleges, but in 2018-2021 it functioned as the office space for The Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, American Studies and Slavic Languages and Literature Departments of Yale while the Hall of Graduate Studies was being renovated to become the Humanities Quadrangle. In 2020-2021, some of Arnold Hall was offered as mixed-college senior housing to the class of 2021 (Lee 2020). In 2021-2022, it also served as COVID isolation housing.
There is controversy around buildings like Arnold Hall. Yale’s nonprofit status exempts much of its property from taxation, and by building another Yale dorming hall and providing more on-campus housing beyond the residential college system, Yale has created more tax-free housing that does not contribute to New Haven’s revenue.
Maison B Café is lined up on the same block as Warby Parker, J. Press, L. L. Bean,
TYCO Print, and taco joint Tomatillo. This block is the southern side of the Broadway Island. Retailers and food businesses also line the North side of the island, along Broadway, with some notable ones including Barnes and Nobles, Urban Outfitters, Good Nature Market, and J. Crew.
The building that TYCO and L. L. Bean currently occupy, to the left of Arnold Hall, is part of 272 Elm St., a Yale graduate residential hall built in 2018 to fill in another vacant lot on that block. These two buildings, which are seamlessly attached and stylistically similar, form an expansive window-shopping environment with the rest of the block.
Maison Mathis, which opened in August 2013, was an appropriate pick for the Broadway district. The retail space in Arnold Hall had been vacant since its construction, and Broadway’s Au Bon Pain had just closed down that summer (Disare 2013). With a cozy white-navy-leather aesthetic and outdoor seating in the warmer months, the café invites tired and hungry shoppers, tourists, and students to take a seat and enjoy food slowly, in “Belgian time.”
Arnold Hall is part of Yale and the City of New Haven’s Broadway renewal and expansion project, which started around 2000 (New Haven Register 2013). It was controversial at the time, as a sign of Yale’s gentrification of New Haven and the pushing out of local businesses for national ones. Now, the Broadway district is entirely owned by Yale, known as the Shops at Yale, and it has indeed become the central retail district of downtown New Haven.
TYCO Print, and taco joint Tomatillo. This block is the southern side of the Broadway Island. Retailers and food businesses also line the North side of the island, along Broadway, with some notable ones including Barnes and Nobles, Urban Outfitters, Good Nature Market, and J. Crew.
The building that TYCO and L. L. Bean currently occupy, to the left of Arnold Hall, is part of 272 Elm St., a Yale graduate residential hall built in 2018 to fill in another vacant lot on that block. These two buildings, which are seamlessly attached and stylistically similar, form an expansive window-shopping environment with the rest of the block.
Maison Mathis, which opened in August 2013, was an appropriate pick for the Broadway district. The retail space in Arnold Hall had been vacant since its construction, and Broadway’s Au Bon Pain had just closed down that summer (Disare 2013). With a cozy white-navy-leather aesthetic and outdoor seating in the warmer months, the café invites tired and hungry shoppers, tourists, and students to take a seat and enjoy food slowly, in “Belgian time.”
Arnold Hall is part of Yale and the City of New Haven’s Broadway renewal and expansion project, which started around 2000 (New Haven Register 2013). It was controversial at the time, as a sign of Yale’s gentrification of New Haven and the pushing out of local businesses for national ones. Now, the Broadway district is entirely owned by Yale, known as the Shops at Yale, and it has indeed become the central retail district of downtown New Haven.
Current Use
University/College, Two-Family HouseEra
1980-TodayArchitect
Newman Architects
Structural Conditions
Street Visibilities
Yes
Threats
None knownExternal Conditions
Dimensions
9m x 15m building (585 sq. m.), 39m x 22.5m lot with courtyard (877.5 sq m.)
Style
Colonial / GeorgianModernistNeighborhood
BroadwayYear Built
2006
Roof Types
GableResearcher
Amelia Lee
Street Visibilities
Yes
Owner
Yale University
Client
Yale University
Historic Uses
ResidentialSchoolMixed UseInstitutionalthe sign and street-facing gate for Arnold Hall and its courtyard.
Alayna Lee, “Yale to Offer Mixed-College Housing,” The Yale Daily News, February 12, 2020, https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2020/02/12/yale-to-offer-mixed-college-housing/.
The look into Arnold Hall courtyard, from the gate. The arched walkway has decorative brick on the left, an homage to Robert Arnold on the right, and white arched ceilings in between the two red brick arches.
Amelia Lee, 2023.
The mockup view of Arnold Hall, which looks almost exactly like how it currently looks.
Newman Architects, “Design Build Projects” (Issuu, January 23, 2019), https://issuu.com/newmanarchitects/docs/newman_architects_design_build.
view from the other side of the archway, looking from inside the courtyard, on the east side. You can see an entryway to the building, the symmetrical windows, the dormer windows, and the stone ground tiling.
Amelia Lee, 2023.
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