Pizza House

For this assignment I researched the building located at 89 Howe Street. It is a small brick building, located at the corner of Howe Street and Edgewood Avenue.



Records of the properties ownership, found at Sterling Manuscripts and Archives, date back to 1836, before there was any construction on the site. Between 1836 and 1905 when the present building was constructed, the property changed ownership a number of times. It was held for long periods of time in the hands of Robert K. Beach who handed it over to family members for short time periods throughout the 19th century. The first owner of the property once a building was placed on the site was Charles S. Leavenworth.



According to documents from 1984, the building was designated part of the Dwight Street Historic District. It was described as ‘ca. 1905 Commercial. Brick with concrete block storefront. 2 stories. Flat roof. Metal-trimmed fixed window panes with narrow casement side lights typical of early commercial style.’ It was one of the last buildings to be constructed between 65 and 115 Howe Street, which seems odd, as it is on a corner and would thus receive more traffic.



Between its construction and eventual purchase by today’s owner in 1964, the building again exchanged hands a number of times. It was used by the Caloric Furnace Company from 1920 – 1926 and The Mack Truck Motor Company from 1926 – 1927; It was contracted to The Frantham Corporation on April 18th, 1938 who leased it to Frank Rubino, contracted again by the Frantham Corporation on April 17th 1959, and contracted by Windsor Realty Co. on July 31st, 1961. During this time it was appraised at $24045 in 1948, $28370 in 1958 and later $32000 in 1967.



Pizza House was established on the site in 1964 and is still the present operator using the building. The restaurant was first owned by John Papadoupulas and after him his son Nicholas Papadoupoulos, the owner today. I walked over to the building myself and it appears to have the original signage intact from its inception. The inside looks to have been renovated once since 1964, but I was not quite sure when. I tried some of the pizza from Pizza House but sadly the portions were small and not very good, a possible reason why I had never heard of the pizza shop before. Today the property including the buildings and land is assessed at $178150. It is zoned for mixed use, and the 2nd floor above the shop is finished and looks to be used for offices of some type.