On Chapel Street, in New Haven, Connecticut, opposite the Old Campus: from the time of glaciation, cultivated by the Quinnipiac; in 1614, charted by a Dutch explorer; in 1638, colonized by the Puritans; throughout the American Revolution, home of the signer, Roger Sherman, his second wife Rebecca Prescott-Sherman, their fifteen children, and the family store; in 1860, industrialist Gaius Fenn Warner's Italianate villa, by Henry Austin; in 1880, Marshal Peter R. Carll's Opera House; in 1884, the Republican League; in 1887, the Hyperion; in 1903, the Union League addition, by Richard Williams; in 1926, the Roger Sherman Theater; beginning in 1976, a tradition of French fine dining, that continues today. While the Roger Sherman house is no longer standing, it holds up all right.
Menu for the 29th Annual Banquet of the Union League Club of New Haven, given in honor of General Edwin S. Greeley, former club president, featuring dishes such as, "Caviar Au Round Table," "Salad Sherman 1789," and, "Ice Cream in Fancy Forms."
"When you dine at Robert Henry's, wear your best clothes; the restaurant's elegance deserves to be honored. Skip lunch; the food is of a quality that demands the keenest of appetites. And bring your checkbook; excellence at this level doesn't come cheap."
"Jo McKenzie, a former chair of the state GOP and longtime friend of the senator, played a practical joke on Senator Dodd, when he showed up the night of October 13, for the gala opening of her family's New Haven restaurant, Robert Henry's. McKenzie, who has previously managed the Inn at Mill River in Stamford, and the Copper Beech Inn in Ivoryton, presented Dodd with -- that's right -- a gift-wrapped box of doughnuts."
"In October 2007, while dining in the Clubroom at the Union League Café, John Kiley took an impromptu photograph of his wife, Sandra Kiley, with the British new wave group, Duran Duran. The band played two warm-up performances at the Chevrolet Theatre, in Wallingford, Connecticut, before debuting their latest album with a string of shows on Broadway."
"I meet Jan Cunningham, appropriately, in the Bistro des Artistes of the Union League Café on Chapel Street, where several of her recent paintings are on view through the end of September. She is serious and intense as she recalls leaving her native Texas to study painting at Rhode Island School of Design in the 1970s, and her subsequent move to New Haven in the early '80s."
"Merchants in the area are delighted by the rebuilding of the former Union League clubhouse, which had deteriorated greatly in its 13 years of idleness. Vandals broke many of its plate glass windows and the building developed into a depressing sight."
"A strong cold front brought brief snow squalls, strong wind gusts and dropping temperatures to Connecticut on Saturday afternoon, February 19, 2022. Whiteout conditions were reported as the line moved through. A quick coating to an inch came down statewide."
"The bar area and the dining room are next to one another and are of approximately equal size. The furnishings in each were selected to conform to the general character of the spaces. A large brass chandelier hangs over the brick bar. The paneling and stained glass in the dining room were existing and restored to their original condition."
"Let us not stop defending our city’s history. Let us not stop boasting of Eli Whitney and his cotton gin, of A. C. Gilbert and his Erector Set, or of how Buffalo Bill Cody carried a Winchester rifle, built with pride in New Haven. Let us not even stop boasting about how New Haven native Charles Goodyear invented the rubber tire, even though it was by accident."
"The College/Chapel District today is a well-used, mixed-use area that includes housing, retail stores, restaurants and commercial tenants in upper-level offices. Over 100 restaurants draw people from outside the neighborhood for a variety of dining experiences and for pre-theater dinners on the weekend. Several theaters have been completely rehabilitated. The Shubert stages Broadway shows, opera, dance, musical concerts and family entertainment. The Palace stages a full range of concerts and special events. A number of bars and nightclubs adds to the area’s liveliness on weekend nights."