N. & B. Sosensky’s Hardware
246 Dixwell Avenue (former)
Exterior of N. & B. Sosensky’s, 1940s. Courtesy Sosensky Family.
In 1911, Bernard Sosensky, an immigrant from Russia in the early 1900s, and his son Nathan opened a grocery store on the site that was to become Sosensky’s Hardware Store in 1919. They saw the need for supplying local builders who needed high volumes of materials and large tools. Yale University and the New Haven State Normal School (now Southern Connecticut State University) were major customers, as were many local builders and contractors.
As business increased, the store grew. The next generation of the family, Morton and Eunice Sosensky, took over the business when Nathan retired. They continued to serve Yale, Southern and local contractors with building supplies. They also provided building supplies for set designers and builders from the Yale School of Drama who continued to rely on the store for set materials even after they moved to other communities. The business was sold in 1990.
Text source courtesy Sosensky Family.
On the Lower Dixwell Tour
1 | St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
2 | Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
3 | Goffe Street Special School for Colored Children & Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Masons
4 | The Odd Fellows
5 | East Rock Lodge #141, I.B.P.O.E. of W.
7 | United House of Prayer for All People
8 | Police Station 4
8 | St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church
9 | Lyric Theater
11 | Winchester School
12 | Dixwell Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
13 | Hannah Gray Home
14 | Varick African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
16 | N. & B. Sosensky’s Hardware
17 | Monterey Club
19 | NXTHVN