A museum dedicated to all things New Haven – from the first bicycles built here to an old order sheet from Louis’ Lunch – got the green light from the City Plan Commission this week to make renovations before it opens to the public.
An application from curator, artist and designer Robert Greenberg to change the use of an existing, vacant industrial building at 80 Hamilton St. in New Haven to a museum, with associated site improvements, was unanimously approved by the CPC during its meeting Nov. 2.
Greenberg is the creator, owner and curator of ‘Lost in New Haven,’ and he has been collecting artifacts, treasures and memorabilia related to New Haven for the last 20 years.
His collection of over 5,000 treasures was previously on display in the former ACME Furniture building on Crown Street, which was run by Greenberg’s family for decades before closing in 2016. The massive collection of goodies then moved to a warehouse on Grand Avenue, but Greenberg was in search of a new home since 2020 when the lease on that building expired.
Greenberg found a permanent home at 80 Hamilton St., which according to city land records, he purchased for $1 million last August.
The 18,000+ square foot building will soon house Greenberg’s collection. It includes memorabilia such as early Sally’s Pizza boxes and hockey pucks from the New Haven Nighthawks. Neon signs from the Anchor Bar and Rubber Match and early football helmets worn by Yale University’s Bulldogs are also among his treasures.
Greenberg was not immediately available for comment on his timeline for opening the museum.
The CPC this week approved the change of site use and various renovations, such as adding handicapped-accessible ramps, additional handicapped parking, the installation of a security system, and adding more bicycle parking.
CPC Chairwoman Leslie Radcliff is excited to take a step back in time when the museum opens.
“I’ve been a resident of New Haven for quite a long time, but I’m quite sure there were things that happened here before I showed up and I’d be interested in seeing what they were and reliving some older times,” Radcliff said. “Perhaps, like the elevator that was in the old Horowitz building – that was the coolest elevator ever.”
Engineer Marcus Puttock, representing Greenberg, said the museum will be an asset to New Haven residents and beyond.
“It’s a museum that will have a lot of historical objects from different things throughout New Haven, like a couple of the first elevators installed in New Haven that people can get reasonably close to, for example,” Puttock said. “They have a lot of memorabilia from rock concerts, a lot of memorabilia from Yale, and items from the original bicycle and watch companies. It’s an eclectic collection of historic New Haven items.”
Alder Adam Marchand said the museum will be an excellent addition to showcase New Haven’s history of arts and culture.
“It’s exciting to hear about this project,” Marchand said. “I think a museum highlighting some of the industrial past of the city and its culture sounds really wonderful.”
