34 Lynwood Pl is in the Dwight neighborhood of New Haven, which is roughly bounded by Park, North Frontage, Scranton, Sherman, and Elm Streets. Dwight is a residential neighborhood located just to the west of Yale’s campus. Its homes date mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and exhibit a wide array of styles, including Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival. Until the 1820s, Dwight was undeveloped land on the western edge of the Yale campus. As New Haven became an industrial city, speculators rushed to buy up and develop the land in Dwight to provide homes for the city’s rapidly growing population. Dwight was initially a working-class neighborhood and was home to many artisans and laborers, many of whom worked in one of the area’s carriage factories. By 1870, there were 11 carriage factories in Dwight, accounting for one quarter of the city’s total ("Dwight Street"). Carriages were a huge industry in New Haven in the 19th century, and the site of Lynwood Pl used to be occupied by the Hooker & Osborne Carriage Company. Lynwood Pl opened in 1880 (“A Virtual Jane’s Walk of Lynwood Place"). Its expensively built fire-proof brick dwellings and townhouses reflected the increasingly urban character of the area, and their use of decorative architectural styles established the buildings as fashionable and elegant. However, the rental units on Lynwood Pl were occupied by middle class tenants and were often leased to people affiliated with Yale. The post-war migration of upper-class residents to the suburbs led many of the houses into Dwight to be converted into multi-family dwellings, and the neighborhood’s socioeconomic status declined. The area become increasingly commercialized, and the population dropped by 35 percent between 1940 and 1970 (“Dwight Street"). 34 Lynwood Pl was converted to a three-family tenement in 1943. Today, Lynwood Pl is home to many Yale students and student organizations due its close proximity to campus. #34’s substantial neighbor to the north (36 Lynwood Pl), at over 8,000 square feet of living area, is the home of Chabad at Yale. Chabad is one of the largest Jewish organizations in the world, and 34 Lynwood Pl was itself home to the now-defunct Yale chapter of the historically Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu (Havemeyer). The Sigma Chi fraternity is located directly across the street at 33 Lynwood Pl. 19 and 25 Lynwood Pl are owned by Pike International, a local leasing company known for renting to students. Larger, multi-unit brick buildings stand at the corner of Lynwood Pl and Elm St, facing the busier Elm St. A large multi-unit brick building also stands at the corner of Lynwood Pl and Edgewood Ave, but the interior of Lynwood Pl features smaller single-family and multi-family detached houses. The street’s lack of through traffic means it’s relatively quiet and feels insulated from the bustle of the larger city.

ca. 1885: The building is constructed

1909: Inhabited by Leo R. Hammond of the New Haven Palladium

1917-1934: The Yale Sigma Alpha Mu chapter occupied the house for the entirety of its 17-year existence

1943: Owners Karal & Arthur Head convert the single-family home to a three-family tenement

1992: Owner William Ahern performs renovations on the three-family tenement

2008-2016: Robert R Newton and Karen von Kunes Newton own the property

2016: Matthew H. Medearis purchases the property, and the Conservative Party begins debating at the site

2018: Ownership is transferred from Mr. Medearis to the Optimates Society, of which he is an officer

The site currently occupied by 34 Lynwood Pl was outside of the original nine-square New Haven grid and remained undeveloped until the 1820s (“Dwight Street"). As New Haven developed into an industrial city in the wake of the War of 1812, speculators began to buy up the land and develop it for industrial and residential use. The first owner of the land Lynwood Pl sits on that I could identify was the carriage manufacturer Hooker & Osborne, which operated in the area from the 1850s into the 1880s (Ibid). An 1859 map of New Haven depicts the land currently occupied by Lynwood Pl as mostly empty, although there is a large building abutting the land and facing Park St (near the current site of St. Thomas More Chapel) that I presume was the Hooker & Osborne Carriage Factory (Smith 1859). An 1879 map of New Haven, created just before the construction of Lynwood Pl, shows a large, three-story structure on Park St (the factory) with a collection of smaller buildings scattered behind it on the land that would be developed into Lynwood Pl (O.H. Bailey & J.C. Hazen). An 1888 New Haven atlas labels the carriage factory on Park St, which was evidently still operating after having sold the land for Lynwood Pl. The 1911 atlas, however, drops the carriage factory label and attributes ownership of the factory building to Annie G. K. Garland (Streuli and Puckhafer). It appears that the carriage factory sold the land for Lynwood Pl and continued to operate for a decade or two as the neighborhood took on an increasingly residential character. Prior to Lynwood Pl, the site appears to have been a mix of light industry and residential homes for the factory workers and their families. The construction of Lynwood Pl is emblematic of the area’s transition to a more urban residential environment.

While the Dwight neighborhood was home to many working-class residents when it was first developed in the early and mid-19th century, Lynwood Pl was not constructed until 1880 and was home to wealthier residents. The departure of the Hooker & Osborne Carriage Company, which had occupied the land, is likely because of the rising value of land so close to Yale and the downtown, rather than the decline of the carriage industry, which was still thriving at that time. The houses of Lynwood Pl were constructed mostly of brick. This made the homes more desirable, as they were resistant to fire. The first known resident of 34 Lynwood was Leo R. Hammond (Streuli and Puckhafer), president and treasurer of the New Haven Palladium company, which published The New Haven Palladium from 1829 to 1910. For a time while it was publishing, it was the oldest daily newspaper in New Haven and “the principal organ of the Republican party” (Dana Neighborhood Archive). Although the newspaper ceased publishing while Mr. Hammond lived at the address, he was undoubtedly a gentleman of high social standing, which would have been typical of the residents of the single-family homes on the block. He was also evidently wealthy enough to construct the brick addition to the building that survives to this day. The influence of Yale on the building can already be seen by the early 20th century. The now-defunct Yale chapter of the historically Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu inhabited the building from 1917-1934 (Havemeyer). Lynwood Pl’s proximity to Yale campus was already making it a prime destination for students, just as it is today. The socioeconomic status of the area declined after the Second World War, and renovations to 34 Lynwood Pl reflect this. It was converted from a single-family home to a three-family tenement in 1943 (Building Permit Records). With less than 2,000 total feet of livable space (Assessor’s Office), each of the three units would have been quite cramped, especially if large families were inhabiting them. It’s safe to assume that those renting these smaller tenements had less means than the residents who came before, like Mr. Hammond or the Yale fraternity. The conversion of 34 Lynwood Pl back into a single-family home reflects another change in the social history of the area. Yale students and organizations once again flock to Lynwood Pl, just as the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity did in the early 20th century. It seems likely that the economic recovery of New Haven as it reinvented itself as a service economy and the growth of Yale have made the street a more attractive locale for students and drove the former working-class tenants further afield. The social history of Lynwood Pl parallels that of New Haven itself quite closely. It was built during the heyday of the city’s industrial boom, its wealthier residents left for the suburbs around the Second World War, and now the growth of Yale has established the street as a decidedly student-dominated environment.

34 Lynwood Pl is in the Dwight neighborhood of New Haven, which is roughly bounded by Park, North Frontage, Scranton, Sherman, and Elm Streets. Dwight is a residential neighborhood located just to the west of Yale’s campus. Its homes date mostly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and exhibit a wide array of styles, including Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival. Until the 1820s, Dwight was undeveloped land on the western edge of the Yale campus. As New Haven became an industrial city, speculators rushed to buy up and develop the land in Dwight to provide homes for the city’s rapidly growing population. Dwight was initially a working-class neighborhood and was home to many artisans and laborers, many of whom worked in one of the area’s carriage factories. By 1870, there were 11 carriage factories in Dwight, accounting for one quarter of the city’s total ("Dwight Street"). Carriages were a huge industry in New Haven in the 19th century, and the site of Lynwood Pl used to be occupied by the Hooker & Osborne Carriage Company. Lynwood Pl opened in 1880 (“A Virtual Jane’s Walk of Lynwood Place"). Its expensively built fire-proof brick dwellings and townhouses reflected the increasingly urban character of the area, and their use of decorative architectural styles established the buildings as fashionable and elegant. However, the rental units on Lynwood Pl were occupied by middle class tenants and were often leased to people affiliated with Yale. The post-war migration of upper-class residents to the suburbs led many of the houses into Dwight to be converted into multi-family dwellings, and the neighborhood’s socioeconomic status declined. The area become increasingly commercialized, and the population dropped by 35 percent between 1940 and 1970 (“Dwight Street"). 34 Lynwood Pl was converted to a three-family tenement in 1943. Today, Lynwood Pl is home to many Yale students and student organizations due its close proximity to campus. #34’s substantial neighbor to the north (36 Lynwood Pl), at over 8,000 square feet of living area, is the home of Chabad at Yale. Chabad is one of the largest Jewish organizations in the world, and 34 Lynwood Pl was itself home to the now-defunct Yale chapter of the historically Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu (Havemeyer). The Sigma Chi fraternity is located directly across the street at 33 Lynwood Pl. 19 and 25 Lynwood Pl are owned by Pike International, a local leasing company known for renting to students. Larger, multi-unit brick buildings stand at the corner of Lynwood Pl and Elm St, facing the busier Elm St. A large multi-unit brick building also stands at the corner of Lynwood Pl and Edgewood Ave, but the interior of Lynwood Pl features smaller single-family and multi-family detached houses. The street’s lack of through traffic means it’s relatively quiet and feels insulated from the bustle of the larger city.

The original building consisted of an 18’ x 30’ three-story brick structure with a rectangular plan. The roof is gabled but low-pitched enough that it almost appears flat from the street. The house has two chimneys on its right side: one on the front side of the roof ridge and one on the back side. Only the top portion of the façade (the attic) exhibits formal symmetry with its three small double hung windows, which are located directly beneath the dentilled cornice line underneath the gable. A band of cut stone lined with dentil trim separates the second and third stories. A segmental cut stone voussoir lintel sits over another double hung window on the second story. The image taken in 1979 for the Historic Resources Inventory Form shows a double casement window, which may have been replaced in the 1992 renovation (Connecticut). To its right sits perhaps the most striking feature of the façade: a large Palladian window with bright white heavy wood moldings. The Conservative Party crest is mounted on the wooden central portion of the window underneath the decorative arch. The left side of the first story features a stone-framed doorway. Its impressive, scrolled pediment and solid entablature are supported on two paneled pilasters, each of which has a light affixed to it. A wrought iron gate with decorative spiral patterns around its edges and center screens the entrance in front of the deeply recessed door. A set of six stairs with a metal railing leads up to the door. The two first-floor windows to the right of the door feature lattice wooden panes and have identical segmental cut stone voussoir lintels to the second-story windows. A wrought-iron railing sits on a narrow ledge directly outside of these windows, which itself lies above the cut stone that comprises the bottom of the façade. Looking at either side of the building reveals the 15’ x 13’ two-story brick addition at the back built in 1909. The wooden porch that was added between 1911-1923 (Sanborn) is also visible from the side of the house, along with a portion of the small, grassy backyard. The building is clearly in some form of neoclassical style. Italianate seems to be the most appropriate label given the building’s low-pitched roof, pedimented door, cornice, and overall appearance.

“A Virtual Jane’s Walk of Lynwood Place.” The New Haven Preservation Trust, January 5, 2022. http://nhpt.org/nhpt-blog/2021/3/9/a-virtual-tour-of-lynwood-place.

Atlas of the City of New Haven Connecticut. Philadelphia, PA: G. M. Hopkins, 1888.

Buff, Braxton. Interviewed by Nate Olson. September 28, 2023.

City of New Haven Assessor’s Office. “Vision Government Solutions.” https://gis.vgsi.com/newhavenct/Parcel.aspx?pid=16819

City of New Haven Building Permit Records. “City Squared.” https://www.citysquared.com/#/app/NewHavenCityCT/entity/Parcel/16248/Document

City of New Haven Land Records. “Search IQS.” https://searchiqs.com/ctnha/Login.aspx

Connecticut Historical Commission Historic Resources Inventory. “34 Lynwood Place.” September 7, 1979. Accessed at New Haven Museum, September 2023.

Dana Neighborhood Archive. Volume 38, p. 34-35. New Haven, CT,

1930s. Accessed at New Haven Museum, September 2023.

“Dwight Street.” The New Haven Preservation Trust. http://nhpt.org/dwight-street.

Havemeyer, Loomis. Yale’s Extracurricular & Social Organizations 1780-1960. New Haven, 1961.

Map of the City of New Haven, Conn ... by SW Searle. Eneas Smith, 1859. https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/15827427.

New Haven City Directory, Volume 84. New Haven, CT, 1923. Accessed at New Haven

Museum, September 2023.

Optimates Society. http://www.optimatessociety.com/.

Sanborn Map Company. “Insurance Maps: New Haven, Connecticut. Volume 2.”

(New Haven, CT: 1923, Updated to 1930)

Streuli and Puckhafer. Atlas of New Haven Connecticut. Boston, MA: Walker Lith. & Pub. Co., 1911.

The City of New Haven, Conn. O.H. Bailey & J.C. Hazen, 1879. https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/15827455.