Hotchkiss-Betts House

In the heart of Wooster Square, between Olive and Academy, lies a distinguished Italianate villa that features a double bow-front hugging a silver pink porch and balcony. Erected in 1854, 607 Chapel Street, otherwise known as the Hotchkiss-Betts House, was the second house designed by Henry Austin and built by New Haven builder and manufacturer Nelson Hotchkiss for Hotchkiss himself (1). The old grandeur of the building echoes the lives of the wealthy business owners in its past while reinstating its practical transformation from a luxurious single home to a well-preserved multi-unit residential and commercial space.

The front of the building lies close to the street, granting easy access to visitors as they climb up the steps to the front porch. The external door leads to a vestibule, allowing visitors to notify owners of the desired unit, while hinting at the inherent exclusivity of the building. The back of the lot features a spacious porch that opens out to an enclosed back yard. The building is occupied by residents on the ground floor, upper floor, and basement space. SALON LULU takes up two units of the building, housing its owners and providing a welcoming space for visitors to the boutique salon during business hours. As a visitor to the salon, you enter the door on the right side of the ground floor, and are beckoned into a repurposed ballroom, lined with an elegant display of guitars, hairdressing units, and an original floor-length mirror (Figure 1) for you to admire as you are styled by Thom (the owner) himself (2)!