129 Church Street was built in 1912 and originally housed the Second New Haven National Bank. The building was designed and built by Starrett & van Vleck, a NYC architectural firm that built many landmark buildings in New York including the American Stock Exchange and Saks Fifth Avenue. Some of 129 Church’s current tenants are NBC Connecticut, Liberty Community Services Inc., DataHaven, and the New Haven Urban Design League.
The building was purchased earlier this year and the new owners have been renovating many of the commercial offices. They are planing to put in a fitness center and possibly also a rooftop terrace.
I took these photos two weeks ago and got to see the all of the cool features (like the vault!) and unique character.
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| from the roof |
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| main lobby |
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| office in use |
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| newly renovated office space |
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| original 1912 furnace still kicking |
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| the vault! |
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| it’s a relief to know the ventilator still works. if you turn the handle up the lights go on, it makes a winding noise and blows out very stale (but breathable) air |
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| original bronze letterbox and connected to a letter drop/shoot through all eight stories (see photo below) |
