The New Haven Foundation Building

As you walk down the winding brick sidewalk of Audubon Street, you might stroll past the New Haven Foundation Building without perceiving much of it other than the shallow beige steps and the short brick wall that lines the wheelchair ramp. If you were to walk inside of it, you would find yourself in a small, poorly lit lobby next to the New Haven Ballet offices and studios, as well as the elevators that lead to the offices of the building’s other tenants. In order to appreciate the structure that is 70 Audubon Street, you would need to walk out of the building, cross the street, and walk all the way to the buildings on the other side of the street. Only then could you turn around and appreciate the New Haven Foundation Building’s magnificent five-story grid of floor-to-ceiling windows that is secured by a white steel-frame grid. This perspective would also allow you to observe the disconnect between the New Haven Foundation Building and the red brick buildings and sidewalk that it sits among.

Despite the abundance of glass that makes up the building’s façade, it is hard to see inside of it, and this impairment also contributes to the difficulty one faces in appreciating the building’s scope. Between reflections from the windows and dark shadows coming from the building’s rooms, it is hard to know what one is looking at as one walks by.

Although its design often makes it seem invisible, this building contains a plethora of outward-facing non-profit organizations who engage with the public every day. From New Haven Ballet to the Arts Council of New Haven, several community organizations have occupied the space since the early 1990s, fitting in with the other arts and service groups that dot Audubon Street.