The first generation of Coyles came to New Haven from Ireland in the 1850s. They settled in The Hill neighborhood, located in the southwestern quadrant of New Haven, which was home to many Irish families in the middle of the nineteenth century. They were a close-knit family who worked mostly in the building trades. Charles proved to be more ambitious than his relatives and he eventually became a lawyer and real estate developer. He began by buying and selling houses in The Hill and eventually started building houses, including these three homes, in the same area in the early twentieth century. His most ambitious development would be the Coyle Block on Whitney Avenue, which was fully occupied by 1911. See also: Coyle Block.
Photo: View northeast showing facades of 530, 534 and 538 Howard Street. (Tod Bryant)
The porch at 530 Howard Street has been removed; it remains at 534 Howard Street and it has been enclosed at 538 Howard Street. All three have triangular pediments with large inset centered windows. Those at 530 and 534 Howard Street are in plain frames, while 538 Howard Street features a more elaborate Palladian window with a prominent keystone. This window is similar to some that Coyle used in his larger houses for wealthier buyers in the Coyle Block on Whitney Avenue.
Brown, Elizabeth Mills. New Haven: A guide to architecture and urban design. New Haven: Yale University. 1976
McAlester , Virginia and Lee, A Field Guide to American Houses, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005.
These three houses are nearly identical in design. Despite the fact that they have all been subjected to many changes over time, they retain their basic character as modest middle class homes of the early twentieth century. All originally had a full width one story porch on the facade with a main entrance on the south side of the facade.
These houses are in a row on the east side of Howard Avenue at the corner of Putnam Street. They are in a mostly residential, dense urban area.
Date(s): Built C. 1900 Style(s): Colonial Revival Historic Use: Single-family residence Present Use: Multi-family residence Builder: Charles T. Coyle
Accessibility:
Exterior visible from public road.
CT Irish-American
Heritage Trail
640 Arrowhead Drive
Orange, CT 06477
The Irish experience has had a profound impact on Connecticut's past, and its narrative spans all periods of the state's history and touches every one of its eight counties and 169 towns.
