Wooster Square Neighborhood “FIRSTS”…

Pizza

In 1900 Frank Pepe brought his family’s recipe for tomato pie with him when he emigrated from Italy. And from CT’s first pizza cart an original Napoletana recipe developed the pizza we all know and love.

Smoothies

Corsets, not health drinks! Bavarian Jews Max Adler and Isaac Strouse became leaders of New Haven’s corset industry. In 1866 Strouse established the first corset factory in the United States. This led to the Strouse, Adler Company Corset Factory housed in buildings on Olive Street and later known as Smoothie Foundation Garments.

Did you know…? Mr. Adler built a beautiful family home which stands today on Greene Street at the corner of Hughes Place.

Home fire-sprinkler system

Henry Parmalee, co-founder of the Baldwin Piano Company, was granted a patent in 1874 for an automatic fire-sprinkler system, which he called “The Fireman That Never Sleeps”. The impetus for this invention was a severe fire in his Baldwin Piano Factory. He also had it installed in his own home at 600 Chapel Street, making the Historic Mansion Inn the first residence in the world to have its very own fire-sprinkler system.

Did you know…? Henry was also the founder of the New Haven Trolley Line. Needless to say, the house conveniently had a trolley stop at its front door.

Phone exchange

612 Chapel Street would become home to Herrick Frost, General Manager of the Connecticut Telephone Company. After Alexander Graham Bell won a patent for the first telephone in 1876, Frost helped back New Haven friend George Coy to build an experimental switchboard. Together they opened the world’s first telephone exchange here in 1878 with 22 subscribers.

Did you know…? 1) The first one-page telephone directory was published by their company the following month. 2) New Haven’s only known multi-page Telephone Directory, Volume 1 Number 1, sold at Christie’s Auction in 2008 for $170,000!

Wooster Square Historic District

In 1970 we became New Haven’s first local historic district and were placed on the National Historic Registry in 1971.