The inscription will stand!
The Valley Arts Council will not place a sign over the old Hotchkiss Hose Co. inscription at 116 Caroline St., Rich DiCarlo said at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
The Valley Arts Council is taking over and renovating a building that once served as the headquarters for Hotchkiss Hose, the city’s oldest fire department.
Hotchkiss Hose left the building in 1974, according to the New Haven Register. They’re now on David Humphreys Road.
The building was most recently used as a homeless shelter.
At the July 30 Aldermen meeting, Fire Commissioner Kelly Curtis and fire department member Robert Turschmann requested the words “Hotchkiss Hose” not be obscured by a new Valley Arts Council sign.
“We’d like to see that preserved,” Turschmann said.
Curtis said the marker has sentimental value. He recalled running around the building as a youngster.
“There’s a lot of history there,” Curtis said.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri said the city would work with DiCarlo and the Valley Arts Council to put their new sign in a proper spot.
“We’ll work with Rich. Whether higher or lower, we’ll work something out,” Staffieri said.
The Aldermen unanimously voted to waive a sign fee for the Arts Council, with Alderman Joseph Bomba noting the old Hotchkiss sign can’t be blocked by a new sign.
