15 Orange Street is a four-storey brick mixed-use architecture.

New Haven Paper Co., a warehouse; Arnold Roberts Paper Co and Rouke Eno Paper Co.; Nemrow Brothers Inc. wholesale grocers; American News Co Grocers; Crown Tabaco and Candy, Norge Grill; South Orange Street Associates; Heidi’s Uniform shop; Graffio Jewelers; Miso Restaurant, Jmart.

The building was originally two separate structures. The two were combined by the addition of a staircase in 1987 that connects the buildings on all four floors. The upper three stories are apartments.



The land along this area of Orange Street has always been a mix of residential and commercial. In 1812, Union School was located on this site. It was a two story building with a school on the first floor and Hiram’s Lodge, on the second. The building was highly recognizable because of the cupola structure on the top. In 1841, Elihu and John Myers were grocers on the 15 Orange site, which starts a 150 year pattern of food stores on this land. There were a lot of houses on the street at this time and a stable was located in the back of the lot. The current buildings were built around 1910 as completely separate entities.

Currently, there are a Japanese restaurant, Miso, and an Asian food store called Jmart, on the first floor.



New Haven Paper Co. was in the 15 Orange building and the 21 Orange Street building was a warehouse. Warehouse space was added to the back of the first floor of 15 Orange in the early 20s that connected the two buildings. The back warehouse was used by the New Haven Paper Company, who was there until 1926. After this, it was succeeded by two other paper companies, Arnold Roberts Paper Co and Rouke Eno Paper Co. The paper business left the site in 1934 at which point it was vacant for two years during the Great Depression.



In 1936, the Nemrow Brothers Inc. wholesale grocers moved into the 15 Orange Street property. They were there until 1968, after which it became American News Co Grocers. This store was then replaced by a convenient store, Crown Tabaco and Candy, which was there until 1986. Next door, in 21 Orange, was Norge Grill. It opened in 1965 after renovations to make the space suitable for a restaurant. Norge Grill was a community staple for many years. It was vacant from 1987 through 1989 during construction.



In 1987 the alley between 15 and 21 Orange was filled in with a central entrance and stairway connecting all four floors. Sapienza & Lessig, located in West Haven, CT, designed the addition. South Orange Street Associates, who owned the building and had an office there, commissioned the renovation. Along with filling in the alley to unite the two structures, windows were added into the sides of the building to allow more light into the apartments and an elevator was put in along with the stairs. After this, 15 Orange became one single address. The new addition gave the 15 apartments on the top three floors a separate entrance at the front and back of the building. Heidi’s Uniform shop moved into the right side of the building and the left was a photography store.



Miso Restaurant did its own renovations to the site in 2002 when it moved in. The Japanese restaurant added a patio and eventually a partial covering designed by the architect Dean Sakamoto. They also did a lot of aesthetic changes to the front and inside of the restaurant. Jmart opened in 2005, replacing Graffio Jewelers. There are still 15 apartments on the top three floors.

The structure is in Haven’s Ninth Square district. There is a parking lot on either side of the building and highway 91 is visible as it cuts into the city a few blocks down further down orange in the opposite direction of the New Haven Green.

The building was originally two separate structures. They are both brick supported by heavy timber construction.