Benjamin A. Gorman
Fair Haven is a unique area in New Haven. Its roots are almost as deep as the New Haven Colony, yet its development and growth were independent. The early oystering village established itself along the Quinnipiac River and has been able to maintain much of its architectural past. For so long, in a sad state of decline, Fair Haven has rekindled its community spirit and recently has committed itself to restoring its valuable heritage. The area blends the architecture of the last two centuries in homes built for the rich and for the ordinary. The commercial structures are finding continued existence through adaptive usage and public buildings exist which exhibit values reflective of society’s concept of permanence. Thus the subjects for student analysis will be structures in their community.
Impressions of Fair Haven vary according to the perspective of the viewer and his relationship to the community. My students include life-long residents as.we11 as newcomers. As residents they should have an awareness of their physical community. The Fair Haven that they know exists only today yet Fair Haven has an interesting past. With a presentation of Fair Haven’s past, the students can develop a sense of time. Since examples of Fair Haven’s past still exist in its architectural heritage, the structures will become the bridge for the students to view its history. The method of decision making for the students will be simply to observe the area’s architecture. The result will (hopefully) be that they gain a viewpoint through knowledge and understanding. As children, there exists a need to establish a framework in which they can place themselves, be comfortable, measure themselves and grow from. By viewing Fair Haven’s structures, they can gain an appreciation of its past and get a sense of community. The area will then become more than a place in which to exist but a setting for a range of human activity, past and present. Their judgements may be subjective still strongly marked by likes and dislikes but in the process of observing an appreciation for their place in the community will be gained.
The students pass by the new and the old structures in their community often without realizing that they tell a story of development. The oystermen’s houses along the Quinnipiac River serve as an introduction to the student. They will see that as Fair Haven prospered, more substantial houses sprang up on the higher slopes. The streets are full of Colonial, Federal and Greek Revival styles that could illustrate the pages of the area’s history. Of significance, the oystermen’s house, raised on high cellars, dug into the banks which the once closer river allowed the shallow Sharpies to float almost to the cellar doors, illustrates a special form of waterfront architecture. As Fair Haven continued to grow, the wealth from the trade allows another chapter to deal with more prestigious houses built in the antebellum period. On more spacious grounds, these Villa style homes boasted fringed eaves, columned porches and iron railings. Victorian Gothic can be seen when visiting the Methodist Church on East pearl Street (circa 1877). Facing and complimenting the church is the parsonage designed in queen Ann style in 1882. Another example of remaining elegance can be found across the River where one of New Haven’s earliest affluent suburbs developed. Here a number of stately Victorian Gothic houses ran all the way to Morris Cove. These estates, built in the 1860’s and 1870’s can be seen among more modern dwellings. They still dominate the space and remind the viewer of a past now eclipsed.
Fortunately, the story does not end with a faded past. The area, of course, changes with the influx of new people and industrial/oystering decline. However, since the late 1960’s, Fair Haven has begun to redevelop, renew and preserve its pride. While new designs can be seen in Ruoppolo Manor, Columbus School and Perrotti's Farm Market, a strong determination to preserve the past exists. This includes a new Fair Haven Bridge soon to be re-opened; its design and construction is a close copy of the last iron bridge built in 1896. It is truly a bridge to Fair Haven’s past.