Opposite the Old Campus, on Chapel Street, in New Haven, Connecticut: from when the glaciers melted, stewarded by the Quinnipiac people; in 1614, charted by a Dutch explorer; in 1638, colonized by Puritans; before, during, and after the American Revolution, home of the Founding Father, Roger Sherman, his wife Rebekah, their fifteen children, and the Sherman family store; in 1860, Gaius F. Warner's Italianate villa, by Henry Austin; in 1880, Carll's Opera House; in 1884, the Republican League; in 1887, the Hyperion; in 1903, the Union League Club, by Richard Williams; in 1926, the Roger Sherman Theater; beginning in 1977, a tradition of French fine dining, which continues today. While the Roger Sherman house is no longer standing, it holds up all right.
"The Yale man, from the primeval days of the College up to the present time... has waxed so much more important, so much more interesting in these last few years... Yea, verily, he is a creature of fads and fancies, yet not, as a rule, feminine... He is not, however, the absolutely independent creature he was in the good old days of life-at-Yale."
"The atmosphere of a university is the subtle creation of its history, traditions, and surroundings, and is an element as vital as its more tangible properties. If, as Syrus says, 'Discipulus est priori posterior dies,' antiquity is a factor in its influence which neither wealth nor equipment nor even a high order of instruction can supersede. If we wish to take a true estimate of the genius of the institution, we must consider the character of the men who attended its birth and impressed themselves upon its youth, the molding force of the events through which it has passed, and the ideals toward which it has always striven."
"The great majority of photographs in this book are from the collection of the New Haven Colony Historical Society. But in order to give broader scope to this visual document of life in early Connecticut, other sources were used as well. These include the collection of Mrs. Edith LaFrancis (for all the striking photographs taken by George and Alvah Howes), the Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University (for selected scenes of life at early Yale)..."
"As the city grows more dense and thronged around it, its use as a convenient spot for public buildings can no longer be thought of, but its priceless value as a breathing and resting and gathering place for the people becomes constantly more conspicuous. May it be guarded from enroachment in the future more jealously than in the past; and may our successors in its care of every race and lineage protect its soil, and cherish its traditions with that affectionate veneration which is the heritage and the test of every true son and daughter of New Haven!"
"The charm of these old houses lies in their intimate association with the history and growth of the colony, for they show a logical reason for their existence in that they were in accord with the needs and conditions of the times and answered the twofold purpose of clearing the forests and using the lumber to meet the demands of the settlers. Many of the old houses are gone and others are fast falling into decay, for the wooden buildings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries lack the durability of modern construction."
"Thomas P. Merwin, then one of the young dry goods merchants of the city, occupying the double store on Chapel street, adjoining the New Haven National bank, was married to Harriett A. Warner, daughter of Gaius F. Warner, the malleable iron manufacturer, by the Rev. William T. Eustis, pastor of that church, who was then one of the most popular preachers in the city. Four children have blessed that union, all of whom are living in this city to congratulate this couple upon fifty years of their happy married life. Mr. and Mrs. Merwin established their home on College street, enlarging the same from time to time as the growing family necessitated, where they still reside."
"Located in the historic Sherman Building, built in 1860, this New Haven landmark required a substantial renovation to expand its facility. Second floor offices were converted into a dining area and a new commercial kitchen. The project also included the replacement of a historic grand mahogany staircase leading from the wood paneled main dining room to the new grand ballroom on the second floor. High level carpentry and finish work was required to integrate the redesigned staircase and new ballroom additions into the existing old world millwork."
"Although New Haven has about 100,000 inhabitants, a six-story building is quite a novelty here. The Chicago 'sky scrapers' are heard of the world over, and have aroused our conservative real estate proprietors, and several new structures in modern style are contemplated. Mr. H. Warner's new six-story building next to the Republican League is attracting much attention."
"The corner stone of the addition which is being built by the Union league on Chapel street was laid with fitting exercises at 4:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Professor W. E. Chandler, treasurer of the club, presented the trowel in a few fitting remarks to President George B. Martin, who, after a few appropriate words, laid the stone."
"Ground was broken for the new Vanderbilt dormitory early in June, and, since the first sod was turned, the obstacles in the way of the erection of the building have been speedily torn away and the foundations laid for the most expensive dormitory in the United States."
Roger Sherman house 