Bill Fowler at the mark, to our left, behind the hydrant. The man near WSF just to our right of the hydrant may well be his partner, Frederick M Smith. The partnership first appeared in the 1882 directory, and broke up before the 1895 directory went to print, so the photo is c1882 to probably no later than 1894.
It could be their 1882-1889 location at 361 Congress Ave (corner of Ward St), or 57 Long Wharf, if that was a corner. From 1890 to 1894, they were at 230 Congress Ave and at the corner of Commerce and Water Sts (aka 2 Commerce). In 1893, 2 Commerce St became the main business and storehouse address, with a "Branch Store" at 230 Congress Ave. That makes me lean toward the photo being of Commerce St, but I'm not absolutely certain. It's also hard to gauge WSF's age in the photo as a clue. -- AMM (info from New Haven directories)
(I'm going with 1893~ at 2 Commerce, because that would be an occasion for a photo of the business. Also, the expansion may have led to trouble with the business. -- PDM)
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