Liberty Safe Haven

210 State St, New Haven, CT 06510

Located at the very edge of Ninth Square History District, 210 State Street is packed in a very urban part of New Haven with richly detailed and well-preserved 19th and early 20th-century commercial buildings. In the area, most buildings of different ages and styles conjoin together to form a continuous but cofounding facade with little or no set-back from the sidewalk. The diversity of the constructions incorporates a dominant number of Georgian Revival designs typical of the New England region and a scattering of Greek Revival, Romanesque, Queen Anne, Beaux-Arts, Art-Deco/Modernistic designs. But a common feature of this compact area is the use of bricks that build up from three to five stories high and reveal cornice details and ornate adornments confined to facades. The rear and backside elevations are mostly utilitarian and industrial, with loading docks and empty spaces available for parking in the center of the blocks. The restricted embellishing to the front mostly relates to the high density of buildings that cluster storefronts together, leaving no or tapered spaces in between for pedestrians to take notice of their other facets. The facades fulfill the basic aesthetic need to attract customers and pedestrians from the exterior, and therefore, decorating the rear becomes redundant and costly.



Besides this pervading logic in design and diversity of styles being encompassed within 210 State Street, its surrounding facilities make it a desirable location for housing in the densely populated Downtown East neighborhood. Besides proximity to City Hall that is near New Haven Green and being on the original grid of New Haven, the current Liberty Safe Haven sits beside a busy pedestrian commercial strip that runs alongside Orange Street. It includes a handful of restaurants, cafés, salons, the Ninth Square Market, and the Artspace gallery, which unfortunately have moved out in June 2023. This compact layout fulfills nearly all desires of entertainment — being within walking distance of cinemas, music venues, churches and Buddhist temples. Apart from walking, transportation choices are also abundant: the Union and the State Street train station are within a mile distance, while Proper public parking lot a street away offers ample space for automobiles. It’s also worth noting that the Knights of Columbus Tower and Veteran Memorial Coliseum— once the city’s largest venue of social gatherings. As citizens gather and disperse from George Street, large numbers of pedestrians would flood onto State Street shuttle bus station or drive their own cars from the parking lot. And along this route, the F. D. Grave and Son storefront has a golden opportunity to attract customers. Hence, the location is both suitable for housing and for commercial use.



However, as the building now stands to be a homeless shelter, it becomes a piece of the Downtown Crossing redevelopment project for more affordable housing. The Coliseum is imploded and envisioned to become “Square 10,” a site that provides commercial, residential, office, and educational spaces. The urban setting around 210 State Street is veiled under the Downtown Crossing initiative, which reconnects neighborhoods long cut off by failed, so-called ‘urban renewal’ efforts of the past and creates a new neighborhood within walking distance of Union Station and the Medical District. Liberty Safe Haven is a predecessor of this large citywide effort.



The immediate surrounding of 210 State Street reflects this urban reform. Large empty lots on the southern side of the construction, temporarily used as parking surfaces, are available for new infrastructures. The previous commercial buildings for Wilson’s Sea Grill and Greyhound bus station have been demolished and are now part of the parking space for the Hertz car rental service. Among the empty space and adjacent to the rear wall is a skateboard pit elevated above the ground. The exterior fence surrounding the pit with metal nets gives the impression of provisionality, which aligns with the overarching initiative in erecting new houses.



More importantly, graffiti are ever-present: from the graffiti on the fringe of the wall to the inner and outer surface of the pit to the doors and backside of Hertz’s small hut. Most words are in almost indecipherable typography, such as “skate haven” and “finding a line” sprayed onto the ramp, “skate or die” and other stickers rendered onto the brim of the pit (Image #9). Prints of “Artspace” between the graffiti indicate that some designs may be commissioned by the adjacent art gallery for the Straight Up Art Project that hopes to overturn the lack of public art in the Ninth Square community. Similar but more refined murals could be found at 44 Orange Street, a block away (Image #12), on a private building. Being a public/non-profit-owned building after its acquisition in 1999, it is more friendly towards art than landlords, who consistently refuse cultural and artistic projects downtown. Accordingly, 210 State Street not only becomes an exemplifier in creative urban renovation of old buildings into affordable housing, but also a leading catalyst in promoting a more beautiful and inclusive neighborhood through public art.

Researcher

Yiyao Xu

Date Researched

Entry Created

N/A Date

Last Updated

N/A Date

Historic Name

Style

Greek RevivalRomanesque RevivalItalian Renaissance Revival

Current Use

Era

1860-1910

Neighborhood

Ninth Square

Tours

Year Built

1898

Architect

Original architect unknown, Builders Iron Co., Inc. (Fire Escape), Jack Esterson of Studio A-WASA and TEK Architects (Interior Redesign for Liberty Safe Haven)

Current Tenant

1901-1911 Frederick D. Grave (F. D. Grave factory) 1911-1924 Frederick D. Grave & Frederick D. Grave Jr. (F. D. Grave & Son), graduate of Yale 1924-1950 Frederick D. Grave Jr. (F. D. Grave & Son), also chairman of the execute committee of The First National Bank & Trust Co. of New Haven, and his wife, Elizabeth M (student) 1950-1962 Frederick D. Grave Jr., Frederick D. Grave III, Richard M. Grave (F. D. Grave & Son), all proprietors are graduates of Yale 1963-1985 Frederick D. Grave III & Richard M. Grave (F. D. Grave & Son) 1985 Frederick III's daughter, Dorothy Grave Hoyt joins them. The building no longer serves as a factory for producing tobacco, as production has been outsourced to facility in Pennsylvania. 1993 F. D. Grave & Son moves out of the building but retains ownership. Jan Cunningham (local artist) moves in as a tenant. Early-1990s Dick Grave, a relative of the F. D. Grave family, unsuccessfully attempted to sell the building to the artists who worked there. 1997 Stuart Lathers Associates LLC rents space as a commercial office. 1999 John Hilts move in as tenant, and other spaces become rented studios for artists, including Steve DiGiovanni. The building is approved by Fire Marshal to be used as an Art Center. 1999 Liberty Community Services purchased the building to renovate it into low-cost housing units. Ownership change from previous proprietor Dorothy Grave Hoyt (F. D. Grave & Son) to Liberty Community Services (Connecticut Aids Residence). Renovations are to be done. 2003-2006 Renovations begin to take place with $7 million in funding. Ownership change to direct management dubbed 210 State Street Limited Partnership. Divided into an office for Area Cooperative Educational Services and new listing apartments for homeless tenants: L D Adams, Latasha Gallman, Connie Hall, D Riley, Wanda Soto, all below average income and under 35 of age. 2023 Current Tenants: Brian Hilliker, Debra Veiga, Connie Hall, Lamont Green, Wanda Soto, Darren Rufus, David Riley Julia, Mcknight, Linda Adams, Bruce Hankins, Shannon M Farrell, Daniel John White, Patrick Farrell, Herman Arrington, Latasha Gallman, Dorothy G Hoyt.

Roof Types

Flat

Structural Conditions

Street Visibilities

Yes

Threats

None known

External Conditions

Dimensions

42 feet by 145 feet

Street Visibilities

Yes

Owner

Liberty Community Services / 210 State Street Limited Partnership with Dorothy Grave Hoyt (F. D. Grave & Son)

Ownernishp Type

Public;Non-profit

Client

F. D. Grave & Son, Inc.

Historic Uses

RetailCommercial

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