The Istanbul Café

The site upon which 245 and 247 Crown Street were to be built has a history almost as rich as the buildings themselves. The corner plot upon which is sits was owned by the prestigious Atwater family. The Atwaters were one of the great entrepreneurs and developers of nineteenth century Connecticut. There was even a portion of the city known as the “Atwater Block” which contained a segment of Grand Ave that runs parallel to St John St. The block was full of various businesses including Atwater’s stationary and common goods shop. This particular location, however, served as a private residence for members of the Atwater family. Jeremiah Atwater built the Atwater House at what was then 25 College Street, currently 218-224 College St. The rest of their property, including the future location of 245 Crown Street was utilized as a private garden area. Atwater’s choice to develop this property led to eastern expansion of Crown Street, the greatest expansion seen since 1775.



Blakeslee was a name not quite as old as Atwater but equally as prestigious by the time they bought the Atwater House and the land it sat on in 1911. C.W. Blakeslees & Sons was founded in 1844. The family itself had swept through New Haven County even earlier, bringing with them a slew of new pioneers. The business was primarily concerned with construction. They possessed numerous quarries in the area and are responsible for a number of the early docks built in New Have during the early twentieth century. Descendent s of this clan carry on the legacy through two major Connecticut business: Blakeslees Prestress, Inc. and Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, Inc. Naturally, C.W. Blakeslees & Sons also dealt in real estate as well.



The Atwater House was immediately put to commercial use. Keeping with the changing trend of the block from residential to business, they separated the main unit into three distinct segments. Two stores bordering an internal auto lot.  Blakeslee also extended the two stores, attaching two wood frame fixtures at the front of the building, facing College St. In 1915, Blakeslee constructed two adjacent brick buildings of a similar design to what had been the Atwater House, 245 and 247 Crown Street. These one story structures were then leant to commercial use.  They rented out the space to two tenants: Chong Lee Laundry and Kassin M H Tailor.



These two businesses proved to be incredibly resilient throughout the years. Kassin M H Tailor remained in 247 Crown well into the 1970s. Chong Lee Laundry underwent a name change in 1950 when it became Wugin Lee Laundry. Whether the laundry gained new tenants or merely altered its title remains unknown. What is known however is that the Chong Lee Laundry was a common name in New Haven during this time. There existed several other Chong Lee Laundries within a five block radius of the one located at 245 Crown Street including a location southeast on College Street.  The laundry changed names again in 1965 to Quong Yu Laundry. The success of these two businesses may have been due in part to their incredibly convenient locations. In the early 1920s when they were still being established, a wave of construction hit the area surrounding these two buildings with auto lots and gas stations. By the 1950s the few dwellings that still existed in the surrounding area had been sacrificed to make way for the motor age.



In the 1970s the laundry finally disappeared to be replaced by the Paramount Barber Shop. This tonsorium lasted about a decade until 1981 when both 245 and 247 Crown Street are listed as vacant. These two units remain unoccupied for a decade. It was verified that C.W. Blakeslee and Co. owned the lot where 245/247 Crown Street sat well into the 1950s. No clear record of them selling the property exists until it is bought in 1990. The reason for the buildings’ disuse can be inferred by knowledge of the general state of New Haven, particularly Crown Street in the 1980s. An economic downturn hit the area in the 1980s resulting in transient tenants and a rising number of bankrupt and abandoned businesses. It is also during this time that Blakeslee was selling off large portions of its property to different real estate organization as it moved towards a focus on construction alone.



When the building was revived in 1990 many changes had occurred. The most striking was its transformation from two units to one. Directory listings for both 245 and 247 exist until 1984. When the property was bought by the China Hut Restaurant the address was listed simply as 245 Crown Street. It can be inferred that during this time the façade, which now currently exists on the street side of the building was added since there is no record of its construction post-1990.



The China Hut Restaurant and its predecessor, another restaurant called El Nino, enjoyed short stints in the location before the Istanbul Café was established in 1998. The head chef, Adnan Efé bought the restaurant in 2001 and has owned it ever since. The Istanbul Café boasts a position as the only Turkish restaurant in New Haven. The restaurant offers its customers an authentic feel and menu. One feels as if they were transported into another world when they enter the café. Still benefiting from its placement next to several public autolots and among the bustle of New Haven activity, 245 Crown Street enjoys a diverse customer group of students, locals, and professionals, taken in by the exotic appeal, and uniqueness of the Instanbul Café. 



Other Resources



Blackslee Arapaia Chapman. “Highlights in Company History”. http://www.bac-inc.com/site/genl/profil/histor/histor.htm. 10/1/12



Blackslee: Precast Prestressed Concrete Construction. “About Us”. 2004 http://www.blakesleeprestress.com/about/index.cfm. 10/1/12



Istanbul Café. “Ábout Us”. http://www.istanbulcafect.com/about_us.html. 10/1/12



*Also spoke to a woman at the library. I neglected to get her name but she shared with me her personal experiences with the area and her knowledge of the founding of New Haven and the Blakeslee Family.