Downtown New Haven

Coordinates: 41°18′25″N 72°55′37″W / 41.307°N 72.927°W / 41.307; -72.927

The historic New Haven Green is the central square of the city's plan, created in 1638. The Green remains preserved today as the heart of the first planned city in America, and the downtown gracefully wraps around it.

Downtown New Haven is the neighborhood located in the heart of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It is made up of the original nine squares laid out in 1638 to form New Haven, including the New Haven Green, and the immediate surrounding central business district, as well as a significant portion of the Yale University campus. The area includes many restaurants, cafes, theaters and stores. Downtown is bordered by Wooster Square to the east, Long Wharf to the southeast, the Hill neighborhood to the south, the Dwight neighborhood to the west, the Dixwell neighborhood to the northwest, the Prospect Hill area to the north, and East Rock to the northeast.

Downtown New Haven is one of the most residential downtown areas in the United States, with nearly 7,000 inhabitants.^[1] The expansion of housing options in recent years has helped support downtown businesses and has brought about a surge in economic activity.^[2] Secondary streets and areas at the periphery of the neighborhood that once contained vacant storefronts are now almost entirely leased to restaurants and retailers, and the office vacancy rate has seen a drastic improvement as well.

Notable sites

• Center Church on the Green Crypt, the best-preserved burial ground in the country (because it lies underneath a church), with gravestones dating back to the mid-17th century that include numerous colonial luminaries.
• Chapel Street Historic District, an area southwest of the Green containing many shops, restaurants, night clubs, bars, art museums, theaters, and book stores. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and includes areas along Crown Street.
• Criterion Cinemas, a seven-screen movie theater showing first-run and international films.
• Grove Street Cemetery
• Harkness Tower
• Knights of Columbus Building
• Louis' Lunch Oldest hamburger restaurant still operating in U.S.
• New Haven City Hall
• New Haven County Courthouse
• New Haven Free Public Library
• New Haven Green
• Ninth Square Historic District, an NRHP-listed area of historic 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings, directly southeast of the Green. The area is also a special taxing district.
• Omni Hotel, a four-star high-rise hotel.
• Shubert Theatre
• Toad's Place (officially within the Dixwell neighborhood)
• Yale Center for British Art
• Yale Repertory Theatre
• Yale University Art Gallery
• Yale University's Old Campus

Notable sites of the past

• Chapel Square Mall (1967–2002). Now converted to luxury apartments; the first indoor shopping mall in the country to be converted as such.
• College Street Cinema
• College (Hyperion) Theater (1880–1998)
• The Edw. Malley Co. (1852–1982). Demolished in 1997 and scheduled for replacement by Gateway Community College.
• Kresge's. Converted into a parking garage.
• Macy's. Demolished in 2007. Scheduled for replacement by Gateway Community College.
• New Haven Arena (1914–1924, 1926-1972?)
• New Haven Coliseum (1972–2007). Razed and filled with a parking lot.
• Shartenberg's Department Store (1915–1962). Razed in 1964 as part of Mayor Richard C. Lee's redevelopment plans. For many years a parking lot, the site has been replaced by 360 State Street, a mixed-use development of high-rise condominiums, offices and apartments.
• York Square Cinema (1970–2005)

See also

• Oak Street Connector
• Link to current Downtown New Haven framework plan for development and discussion

References

1. ^ New Haven Comprehensive Plan
2. ^ Living In: Downtown New Haven; An Infusion of Energy in Yale's Backyard, Eleanor Charles, The New York Times, April 3, 2005