Graduate New Haven

1151 Chapel Street is an imposing and elegant 5 ½ story building in the heart of downtown New Haven, just blocks away from Yale’s central campus, and has maintained a reputation as a high-quality hotel since its construction in 1894, albeit with different names and ownership.¹ The building, which opened under new ownership as Graduate New Haven in 2019, reflects a variety of architectural styles, but its Romanesque Revival portico, windows, belt courses, and columns stand out and lend the building an impressive air. The hotel’s massive façade features undulating surfaces with protruding bay windows. This unevenness offers a sense of movement and lightness to the otherwise baronial, solid wall of polychrome masonry in shades of yellow and brown. An interior filled with authentic Yale sports memorabilia, first-edition books from the 1910s, gleaming chandeliers, and a display of china plates on the walls reflects the building’s history as a Yale-oriented hotel since its founding; the hotel’s emphasis today on welcoming Yale affiliates and parents is a natural continuation of its historic role (Image 9). Once one of the city’s elite hotels, 1151 Chapel Street today is a lovingly restored boutique hotel suggestive of a bygone era. The inviting yet elite-coded building transports guests and students alike to New Haven’s thriving early industrial period during which it was constructed, although its elegant design represents and reflects an urban experience once limited to New Haven’s wealthiest residents and visitors.²