Harold's Formal Wear

A one-story, concrete-block masonry building has stood at 19 Elm Street since 1946. It has housed four tenants – Porter’s Market, Meat King Market, H. M. Bullard’s Furniture, and, since 1968, Harold’s Formal Wear.



Previously, a larger building stood on the site. Research at the Whitney Library provided some information on its use. It was owned by a fraternal order that kept space in the building. There was space enough to rent units to tenants. In 1940, tenants included R. Anderson, Optician, and the Apollo Singing Society. In 1946, the fraternal building’s last year, the Singing Society still rented space, along with the Dawn Club Bible Students Association and the First Church of Christ, Spiritualist.[1]



On June 4, 1946, a permit was filed with the City of New Haven to construct a “one story masonry building” on the site.[2] The building, a low-slung, concrete, commercial structure, was designed by noted New Haven architect R. W. Foote and built by Fusco-Amatrudo contractors to be the home of Porter’s Market at a cost of $70,000. A grocery store remained on the site for sixteen years. By 1960, that store was named Meat King Market. [3]



In 1963, the building was bought by H. M. Bullard’s furniture company. According to the New Haven Directory, 19 Elm St. was used as a “clearance center,” suggesting that it was a showroom.[4] A mid-1960s photograph (Fig. 1) shows a building on the corner of Elm Street and State Street. Atop is a billboard for Bullard’s, and in the extreme left of the frame, if I'm not mistaken, the edge of the building at 19 Elm can be seen. Notably, the image on the billboard is of a building never on the 19 Elm site, suggesting Bullard’s had more than one property.



In 1967, 19 Elm changed hands again. It was bought by Harold Pellegrino as the site for his formal wear store. A permit was filed for an extensive interior renovation on December 5, 1967.[5] The renovation was meant to clear the interior for its new purpose as a clothing store. The architect of record was Alden Berman and the contractor Red Pellegrino. The renovation was slated to cost $79,000. As a result of the remodeling, the building was downgraded from a fire resistive (Type II) building to an ordinary masonry (Type IV) building.



On October 7, 1975, Pellegrino filed another permit, for the addition of a small masonry module in the rear of the building to house a computer room. The addition was built by contractor Robert Fers and cost $3,000.[6]



The last notable modification to 19 Elm Street was filed with the Building Office on June 20, 1980. It called for a complete rebuilding of the façade, including the removal of a concrete bulkhead, and the construction of a new aluminum frame and plate glass windows. Almost certainly, this renovation led to the construction the swooping faux-awning that makes Harold’s such a distinctive building on the block. The project’s contractor was Anthony Aceto, A&L Contractors, Inc., and the cost was $30,200.[7]



As of October, 2013, Harold's Formal Wear continues to occupy 19 Elm Street.



[1] New Haven Directories, Whitney Library, New Haven Museum.



[2] Permit dated 6/4/1946, New Haven Building Office.



[3] New Haven Directories, Whitney Library, New Haven Museum.



[4] New Haven Directories, Whitney Library, New Haven Museum.



[5] Permit dated 12/5/1967, New Haven Building Office.



[6] Permit dated 10/7/1975, New Haven Building Office.



[7] Permit dated 6/20/1980, New Haven Building Office.