Connecticut

Skull and Bones Tomb, New Haven, Connecticut

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The Skull and Bones Tomb, on High Street on the campus of Yale University, around 1903-1912. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The building in 2018:

There are plenty of secret societies on college campuses across the country, but perhaps none are as famous, or mysterious, as the Skull and Bones at Yale. The society was founded in 1832 by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft – father of future president and Supreme Court chief justice William Howard Taft – and  at the time it consisted of 14 Yale seniors. Each year, a new group of seniors was initiated into the Skull and Bones, which over time came to include some of the nation’s most powerful political figures. Alphonso Taft himself went on to have a successful career as Attorney General and Secretary of War during the Grant administration, and his far more famous son was also a member. Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush were also members, as was John Kerry, and other members have included a wide range of congressmen, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, business executives, and other prominent leaders. This impressive membership roll, along with the group’s secrecy, has undoubtedly played a major role in the various conspiracy theories and other rumors surrounding the society.

Many of these rumors concern the interior of its meeting hall, which is said to contain, among other artifacts, the skulls of Martin Van Buren, Geronimo, and Pancho Villa. Appropriately known as the Tomb, the original part of the building was completed in 1856, on the left side of this scene. It featured a windowless, sandstone exterior that resembled an ancient Egyptian tomb, and was evidently designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis, although other sources have credited New Haven architect Henry Austin with the design. The Tomb was subsequently expanded over the years, starting with an addition to the rear in 1883. Then, in 1903, it was doubled in size with a new wing on the right side that matched the design of the original section. The old front entrance became two narrow windows, and a new entrance was built in the middle of the two wings, as seen in the first photo.

Today, the Tomb is still standing, and still serves as the meeting hall for the Skull and Bones. Not much has changed since the first photo was taken more than a century ago, although the surroundings have. Immediately to the right is Weir Hall of the Jonathan Edwards College, one of the residential colleges at Yale. Not much of the building is visible except for the crenelated towers, which had once adorned Alumni Hall. Completed in 1853, and likewise designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, this Gothic-style building stood near the northwest corner of the old campus until 1911, when it was demolished to build the present-day Wright Hall. However, the towers were preserved, and were incorporated into the new building. Otherwise, the only noticeable change to this scene has been the construction of the adjacent Yale Art Gallery. This building, which is visible on the far left, was completed in 1928, and includes a bridge over High Street, located immediately to the south of the Tomb.

Kent Chemical Laboratory, New Haven, Connecticut

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The Kent Chemical Laboratory, at the southwest corner of High Street and Library Walk on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, around 1894. Image from Yale University Views (1894).

The scene in 2018:

The Kent Chemical Laboratory was completed in 1888, and was a gift from Albert E. Kent, a Yale graduate from the class of 1853. Kent valued the importance of studying chemistry, and he provided a gift of $75,000 in order to construct this building. The first photo was taken only a few years later, around 1894, and it shows the building in its original appearance. However, the Kent family would subsequently make further donations to the school, and the facility was expanded several times. The first came in 1902, with another donation from Albert, and the second came in 1906, when his son William provided the funds to add a third story to the building.

The initial construction of the laboratory was overseen by Frank A. Gooch, a prominent chemist who had been hired as a professor in 1886. He would continue to serve as the director of the Kent Laboratory for most of its existence, until his retirement in 1918, and during this time he authored over eighty research papers, with many focusing on analytical chemistry. The Kent Laboratory operated for just a few years after his retirement, until the completion of the Sterling Chemical Laboratory in 1922. This building was then converted into a psychological laboratory.

The former Kent Laboratory was ultimately demolished in the early 1930s in order to construct Jonathan Edwards College, a residential college that consists of a series of Gothic-style buildings around central quadrangle. The college spans the width of the block between High and York Streets, and today there are no surviving traces landmarks from the first photo. However, the name of the Kent Laboratory lives on with Kent Hall, the building that now stands on this site at the corner of High Street and Library Way.

Dwight Hall, New Haven, Connecticut

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Dwight Hall on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, around 1905-1915. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

During the first half of the 19th century, the most prominent feature on the Yale campus was the Old Brick Row, a group of seven buildings that ran parallel to College Street on what is now known as the Old Campus. Constructed in the 18th and early 19th centuries, these brick buildings included dormitories, along with academic buildings that housed recitation rooms, laboratories, chapels, and a library. The Old Brick Row served the school well for many years, but one of the first significant additions to the campus came in the 1840s, with the construction of a new library building. Located away from the Old Brick Row, on the High Street side of the block, the new library was both physically and architecturally set apart from the older buildings. It featured an ornate Gothic Revival-style design, which contrasted sharply with the older, more plain Federal-style buildings, and its style also foreshadowed the future development of a Gothic-style quadrangle that would eventually displace the Old Brick Row.

The library building, which was later named Dwight Hall after former presidents Timothy Dwight IV and Timothy Dwight V, was constructed between 1842 and 1846. It was the work of noted New Haven architect Henry Austin, and it was among the first major commissions of his career. Prior to its construction, the library had been located in several different Old Brick Row buildings, including the Atheneum from 1763 to 1804, the Lyceum from 1804 to 1824, and then in the Second Chapel starting in 1824. However, this building was the first on campus to be built specifically as a library, and its design was intended, at least in part, to protect the school’s rare books and archival materials from fire. Its location, far from the Old Brick Row, would have kept it safe in the event of a fire in the older buildings, and the library itself was built to be as fireproof as possible, with features such as a brownstone exterior, tin roof, and internal firewalls.

Within a few decades of the library’s completion, the Old Campus began to undergo a major transformation. The buildings of the Old Brick Row were steadily demolished, and the entire block was eventually encircled by late 19th and early 20th century Gothic-style buildings, creating an open quadrangle where the old buildings had once stood. The library was spared demolition, and was incorporated into this new campus plan, as was South Middle College, a part of the Old Brick Row that had been built in 1752. Later renamed Connecticut Hall, it is the oldest building on the Yale campus, and the library is now the second oldest.

This building served as the Yale library for many years, although it eventually became too small for the school’s growing collections. The library was expanded with the construction of Chittenden Hall in 1890 and Linsly Hall in 1906, and the latter is partially visible on the left side of both photos. However, even this arrangement proved inadequate over time, and in 1931 the library moved into the newly-completed Sterling Memorial Library. The old library was then converted into a chapel, and was renamed Dwight Hall. Over the years, the building has also served as the headquarters and namesake of Dwight Hall at Yale, a community service organization that is comprised of a wide variety of advocacy groups, charities, and related service-based campus groups.

Today, aside from changes in its use, Dwight Hall is not significantly different from its appearance in the first photo, taken more than a century ago. Linsly Hall, which is now combined with the adjacent Chittenden Hall, is still standing on the left side as well, and other features from both photos include the statue of Theodore Dwight Woolsey, who became president of the college in 1846, the same year that Dwight Hall was completed. This statue has become somewhat of a Yale landmark, as rubbing Woolsey’s left foot is said to bring good luck. This has resulted in a foot that is significantly shinier than the rest of the statue, a phenomenon that has even been referenced on the television show Gilmore Girls.

Overall, the only major difference between these two photos is the Harkness Tower, which is visible in the distance on the right side of the 2018 photo. Completed in 1922, this 216-foot tower was named in honor of Yale graduate and prominent Standard Oil investor Charles William Harkness, and was donated by his family after his death in 1916. The 2018 photo also shows some of the work that has recently been done on Dwight Hall. The building temporarily closed in 2017, and underwent its first major renovation since its conversion from a library to a chapel. This work was still in progress when the first photo was taken in the spring of 2018, but it was completed several months later, and the building reopened in the fall of 2018.

United Church, New Haven, Connecticut

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The United Church, at the southwest corner of Elm and Temple Streets, as seen from the New Haven Green around 1900-1912. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

New Haven’s United Church, also know historically as North Church, has occupied this building on the Green since its completion in 1815. It was one of three church buildings to be built here during the mid-1810s, and it features a Federal-style design that was typical for churches of this period. The architect of United Church is somewhat unclear, but sources generally credit Ebenezer Johnson, Jr. with designing the building, and noted architect David Hoadley with overseeing the actual construction work. Either way, the design was likely influenced by the adjacent Center Church, which was completed a year earlier. Both churches have a brick exterior, a multi-stage steeple, and a pediment above the main entrance, although the United Church lacks a columned portico, and its steeple has a rounded top instead of a pointed spire.

The United Church was built a block east of the Old Campus of Yale University, which is visible in the distance on the left. The campus was developed in the 18th century, but most of these early buildings were demolished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to construct the modern-day Gothic college buildings. The majority of this work was completed by the time the first photo was taken, and the most visible of these new buildings was Phelps Hall, with its distinctive tower that rises above Welch Hall to the left of it and Lawrance Hall to the right. Lawrance Hall is the oldest of the three, having been built in 1886, while Welch and Phelps were built in 1891 and 1896, respectively.

Today, more than a century after the first photo was taken, very little has changed in this scene. The elm trees on the Green are long gone, with most having presumably succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease in the mid-20th century, but otherwise the Green continues to function as a public park at the heart of New Haven. The United Church is still an active congregation, and its historic 1815 building has remained well-preserved, with no noticeable exterior changes from this angle. Along with the other two early 19th century churches on the Green, it is now part of the New Haven Green Historic District, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970. Further in the distance, this view of the Old Campus has also remained largely unchanged since the first photo was taken, and these buildings are used as freshman dormitories and as offices for several academic departments.

Trinity Church and Center Church, New Haven, Connecticut

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Trinity Church on the Green (left) and Center Church (right), seen from across the New Haven Green, around 1900-1912. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

These two churches were completed only two years apart, and were designed – at least in part – by the same architect, yet they represent two very different architectural styles. On the right is the Federal-style Center Church, which was completed in 1814. It was the work of notes architects Asher Benjamin and Ithiel Town, and it reflects the typical appearance of New England churches during this period. Common features include a columned portico with a triangular pediment above it, a tall, multi-stage steeple, and an exterior of red brick. The United Church, located just out of view to the right, was completed a year later, and in many ways its design was a close imitation of Center Church.

A third church, Trinity Church, was also built on the New Haven Green around the same time. It was completed in 1816, and can be seen in the distance on the left side of the scene. However, while the two earlier churches were Congregationalist, Trinity was an Episcopalian parish, and its members were interested in a design that would set it apart from the new neighboring churches. As discussed in more detail in an earlier post, the result was a stone, Gothic Revival church, perhaps the first church of this style to be built in the United States. Like the neighboring Center Church, it was designed by Ithiel Town, and his work predated the widespread popularity of Gothic Revival architecture by several decades.

The first photo was taken nearly a century later, and shows the view of the Green with both churches still standing. Aside from a partially-reconstructed steeple on Trinity Church, neither building had seen many exterior changes by this point. Today, the churches are more than twice as old as they were when the first photo was taken, yet they have still remained well-preserved. The only noticeable difference is the removal of the pyramidal spire atop Trinity Church, which was not original anyway. The Green itself has also remained largely unchanged, aside from the loss of the elm trees that once gave New Haven its nickname of Elm City. The only other major change to this scene since the early 20th century has been the construction of the Hotel Taft, which was completed in 1912 and can be seen in the distance between the two churches.

New Haven Green, New Haven, Connecticut

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Looking south on the New Haven Green from near the corner of Elm and Church Streets, around 1900-1912. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2018:

The New Haven Green dates back to 1638, when it was established as one of the first town commons in the English colonies. Over the years, it would serve as the focal point of the community, and many of New Haven’s most important churches, businesses, educational institutions, government buildings, and houses have been located around – and in some cases on – the Green. These two photos show the view looking toward the southeast corner of the Green, with Church Street in the far left and Chapel Street running across the scene in the distance.

At the turn of the 20th century, this section of Chapel Street was the home of two of New Haven’s most important department stores. On the left side of the block was Gamble-Desmond, which occupied the ornate six-story, Second Empire-style building in the center of the first photo. Known as the Insurance Building, it was completed in 1871, and originally housed the offices of the American National Life and Trust Company. Other tenants included F. M. Brown & Co., a dry goods store that was purchased by David S. Gamble and John D. Desmond in 1898. Together they formed the Gamble-Desmond Company, and this department store became an important fixture in downtown New Haven throughout the first half of the 20th century.

On the right side of the block, the other major department store in this scene was the Edward Malley Company. It was founded in 1852, and during its early years it operated out of a two-story building at the corner of Chapel and Temple Streets. This building is partially visible in the distance of the first photo, a little to the right of the flagpole, but by the turn of the century the Malley Company had significantly expanded to include much of the block. The most recent addition in the first photo was the eight-story building just to the right of the Gamble-Desmond building, which was completed in 1899.

Along with Gamble-Desmond, Malley’s would also remain here at its Chapel Street location for many decades. However, as was the case in cities across the country, these once-thriving department stores began to suffer by the mid-20th century, as suburban shopping centers began to displace traditional downtown business districts. Gamble-Desmond closed in 1952, and the building was demolished several years later. Then, in 1962, Malley’s relocated to a new building two blocks to the south of here, and the old building was demolished to construct the Chapel Square Mall, which occupied the entire block along Chapel Street between Church and Temple Streets. The complex also included a hotel, along with an office tower, which is visible in the center of the present-day photo.

The mall was completed in 1967, and was successful for the first decade or two. However, the new Malley’s location, which served as one of its anchor stores, closed in 1982, and the mall began to decline. This was the case for many downtown indoor malls, which tend to combine the disadvantages of both downtown shopping and mall shopping, while offering few of the advantages of either. Both the office tower and the hotel are still here, but the mall ultimately closed in 2002, and its indoor space has since been converted into apartments.