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NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - USA
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut, and is located in New
Haven County, Connecticut, on New Haven Harbor, on the northern coast of
Long Island Sound. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of
123,626. New Haven is generally considered to be within the greater New York
metropolitan area, and can be said to be culturally split between New York's
influence and its own New England roots.
New Haven's nickname is the Elm City, as it
historically contained many elm trees. It is home to Yale University, the
institution for which the city is most known.
History
[edit]
Pre-Colonial and Colonial History
Before European arrival, New Haven was the home of the Quinnipiack tribe of
Native Americans, who lived in villages around the harbor and subsisted off
of local fisheries and the farming of maize. The area was briefly visited by
Dutch explorer Adriaen Block in 1614. Dutch traders set up a small trading
system of beaver pelts with the local inhabitants, but trade was sporadic
and the Dutch did not settle permanently in what would become New Haven.
In April 1638, five-hundred Puritans who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony
under the leadership of Reverend John Davenport and the London merchant
Theophilus Eaton sailed into the harbor. These settlers were hoping to
establish a more perfect theological community than the one they left in
Massachusetts and sought to take advantage of the excellent port
capabilities of the harbor (which is actually a fjord). The Quinnipiacks,
who were under attack by neighboring Pequots, agreed to sell their land to
the settlers in return for protection from hostile tribes.
By 1640, the town's theocratic government and city grid plan were in place,
and the town was renamed Newhaven from Quinnipiac. The new settlement soon
became the headquarters of the New Haven Colony, which at that time was
separate from the Connecticut Colony which had been established to the north
focusing on Hartford. Disaster struck the colony in 1646, however, when the
town sent its first fully-loaded ship of local goods back to England. This
ship never reached the Old World, and its disappearance stymied New Haven's
development in the face of the rising trade power of Boston and New
Amsterdam.
In 1661, the judges who had signed the death warrant of Charles I of England
were pursued by Charles II. Two judges, Colonel Edward Whalley and Colonel
William Goffe, fled to New Haven to seek refuge from the king's forces. John
Davenport arranged for these "Regicides" to hide in the West Rock hills
northwest of the town. A third judge, John Dixwell, joined the other
regicides at a later time.
New Haven became part of the Connecticut Colony in 1664, when the two
colonies were merged under political pressure from England. It was made co-capital
of Connecticut in 1701, a status it retained until 1873. At this time, New
Haven was a largely agricultural town, but in 1718, Yale University
relocated from Old Saybrook to New Haven and established the early city as a
center of learning.
During the American Revolution, New Haven was a town of approximately 3,500
citizens and was a major hotbed of revolutionary activity -- so much so that
the British invaded town during the course of the war; however, the British
forces did not torch New Haven as they had done with many other coastal New
England towns they seized, leaving many of its colonial features preserved.
Post-colonial History
New Haven was incorporated as a city in 1784, and Roger Sherman, one of the
signers of the Constitution and author of the "Connecticut Compromise",
became the new city's first mayor.
The city struck fortune in the late 18th-century with the inventions and
industrial activity of Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate who remained in New
Haven to develop the cotton gin and also establish a gun-manufacturing
factory in the northern part of the city near the Hamden border. That area
of Hamden is still known as Whitneyville. It was in Whitney's gun-manufacturing
plant that Samuel Colt first invented the automatic revolver in 1836.
New Haven was home to one of the important early events in the burgeoning
anti-slavery movement when in 1839, the trial of the mutineering Mendi
tribesmen from the slaveship Amistad was held in New Haven's United States
District Court.
During the Civil War, the city received another economic boost as demand for
industrial goods increased nationally. New Haven's population doubled in the
time between the war and the start of the 20th century, most notably due to
the influx of immigrants from southern Europe.
Modern History
New Haven's growth continued during the two world wars, however most inward
immigration during those years was of African-Americans from the South and
Puerto Ricans as opposed to foreigners. The city reached its peak size
during World War II, and in many cases it can be argued that it was already
in decline when the post-war process of suburbanization began in earnest.
As early as 1954, New Haven was already suffering from an exodus of middle-class
workers and the chronic development of "slums". Then mayor Richard Lee
attempted to stem the tide by engaging in one of the earliest major urban
renewal projects in the United States. Large sections of downtown New Haven
were destroyed and rebuilt with new office towers, a hotel, and large
shopping complexes. Other parts of the city were affected by the
construction of Interstate 95 along the Long Wharf section and Interstate
91. In some cases, the destruction leftover from a planned semi-beltway
around and through the city remains incomplete to this day in the form of
open fields in the midst of older neighborhoods.
From the 1960s through the early 1990s, New Haven continued to decline both
economically and in terms of total population despite many attempts to
resurrect the city through renewal projects. During this period, the city
and Yale were engaged in ongoing disputes over taxation and land use.
At present, New Haven has since stabilized. The city has engaged in efforts
to attract and encourage biomedical and pharmaceutical research facilities
to locate in-town, and some have done so to take advantage of the city's
connections with Yale. The university, and other local schools, also
continue to draw in many young people from around the world. Ongoing
problems persist, however, with poverty, the spread of AIDS, and decaying
primary education facilities and transportation infrastructure.
Historical Populations
1790 - 4,487
1800 - 4,049
1810 - 5,772
1820 - 7,147
1830 - 10,180
1840 - 12,960
1850 - 20,345
1860 - 39,267
1870 - 50,840
1880 - 62,882
1890 - 86,045
1900 - 108,027
1910 - 133,605
1920 - 162,537
1930 - 162,665
1940 - 160,605
1950 - 164,443
1960 - 152,048
1970 - 137,707
1980 - 126,021
1990 - 130,474
2000 - 123,626
2002 - 124,176 (estimate)
Colleges and Universities
New Haven is known first and foremost as a center for education and
research. Yale University is one of the city's best known features and also
one of the region's largest employers, and can be found in the heart of
downtown. New Haven is also home to other centers of higher education,
including Southern Connecticut State University and Albertus Magnus College.
The University of New Haven is located interestingly enough in the
neighboring city of West Haven. North of the city in Hamden is the site of
Quinnipiac University. New Haven is also served by Gateway Community
College, located in the Long Wharf district.
Transportation
[edit]
Railroad
The city is connected to New York City by both intercity and commuter rail,
provided by Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad respectively, and some New Haven
residents commute to work in New York City (a trip of close to two hours).
The city's main railroad station is New Haven Union Station, which serves
Metro-North trains to New York, Shore Line East commuter trains to Old
Saybrook, and Amtrak trains to New York, Boston, and Springfield,
Massachusetts. An additional station at State Street provides SLE and a few
Metro-North passengers easier access to the Central Business District.
Major Highways
New Haven lays at the intersection of Interstates 95 and 91, both of which
provide easy automobile access to New York or upper New England. Within the
city itself there is the Oak Street Connector/Route 34 which intersects just
south of the I-95/I-91 interchange and runs northwest as a spur into
downtown.
Airports
Tweed-New Haven Airport located along the New Haven/East Haven border
provides daily service to 126 cities through USAirways and Delta Airlines.
Jet service returned to Tweed New Haven in May, 2004 after a long absence.
It is not uncommon for locals to use Bradley International Airport in
Windsor Locks, or New York City's LaGuardia Airport or JFK International
when flying overseas or to a non-Eastern destination.
Newspapers and Media
New Haven is served by the daily New Haven Register and the weekly
alternative New Haven Advocate. It is also served by the student-run Yale
Daily News.
Culture and Notable Features
[edit]
Cuisine
Although credit for creation of the hamburger sandwich is disputed, New
Haven boosters accept the claim that it was first served in the United
States in 1895 by Louis Lassen, operator of Louis' Lunch, which is still in
operation.
Another New Haven culinary tradition is the city's reputation for pizza.
Local pizza places of distinction include Sally's Apizza and Pepe's Pizza,
both located in the pizza mecca neighborhood of Wooster Square.
Historically, New Haven's pizza notoriety stems from it being a
long-standing center of Italian American culture.
Popular Culture
On March 20, 1914 the first international figure skating championship was
held here.
New Haven was also the location in 1967 of one of Jim Morrison's infamous
arrests while he fronted the rock group The Doors. The resultant
near-riotous concert and arrest was commemorated by Morrison in the lyrics
to "Peace Frog" which include the missive "...blood in the streets in the
town of New Haven..."
New Haven currently serves as the home city of the annual International
Festival of Arts and Ideas.
New Haven is also home to the famous concert and dance hall Toad's Place
which brings in many big name acts to the city.
Sports Teams and Athletic Entertainment
New Haven, being a significantly large urban area, served as a home city to
many sports teams, all of which have since gone defunct or left town. Most
notably, it was home to the New Haven Ravens, an Eastern League AA team from
1994-2003. The Ravens have since moved to Manchester, New Hampshire and
became the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The New Haven Cutters baseball team
began play in 2004 in the Independent Northeast League, and call a renovated
Yale Field its home park.
The New Haven Coliseum was built in 1972 to accommodate a variety of
entertainment functions for greater New Haven. It has since been slated to
be destroyed by the city as it claims it as a financial drain. Many groups,
including the Coalition to Save Our Coliseum (www.newhavencoliseum.com),
argue that if the city opens its books on the Coliseum, numbers such as
325,000 annual visitors, 2,400 needed parking spaces, and the upswing in
major events booked by its first private management company, then the public
will see how misleading the city of New Haven has been in its stance that
the Coliseum must be demolished.
From July 1st through 9th, 1995, the city hosted the Ninth Special Olympics
World Summer Games.
Theatre
The city is very active in the world of theatre, and host numerous theatres
and production houses including: the Yale Repertory Theatre, the Long Wharf
Theatre, and the Shubert Performing Arts Center. There is also theatre
activity from the drama department at Yale which works through the Yale
University Theatre and the student run Yale Cabaret. Southern Connecticut
State University hosts the Lyman Center for the Performing Arts.
Museums
New Haven offers its residents and visitors a wide variety of world-class
museums, many of them associated with Yale. Some of the more notable museums
are the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library which features an original
copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the Connecticut Children's Museum, the new
Knights of Columbus museum near its world headquarters, the Peabody Museum
of Natural History, the Eli Whitney museum, the Yale Center for British Art,
and the Yale University Art Gallery, which is the nation's oldest college
art museum. New Haven is also the home port of a life-size replica of the
historical Amistad slaveship which is open for tours at Long Wharf pier at
certain times during the summer. Also at Long Wharf pier is the Quinnipiak
schooner which has a regular schedule like the Amistad.
Music
The New Haven Green is the site of many free music concerts held by the
city, especially during the summer months. Some of the more notable music
events are the free summer shows by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the
July series of jazz concerts. New Haven is also home to the famous Toad's
Place which hosts many big name acts fairly regularly.
Notable New Havenites
Notable people who were born in New Haven include:
Roger Sherman Baldwin, attorney
Lyman Beecher, clergyman and abolitionist
George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States
Al Capp, cartoonist
Karen and Richard Carpenter, singers/musicians
Rosa DeLauro, Congresswoman
Willard Gibbs, physicist and founder of physical chemistry
Charles Goodyear, inventor
Robert Moses, architect and urban planner
George Lloyd Murphy, dancer, actor and politician
Liz Phair, musician
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Congressman
Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr., businessman and former chief of General Motors
Benjamin Spock, pediatrician and author
Lawrence Summers, economist, former Secretary of the Treasury, and 27th
president of Harvard University
Sister cities of New Haven
New Haven has engaged in a program of encouraging its citizens to gain a
global awareness through its own version of a sister cities program, as many
other cities worldwide have done. As of the present day, New Haven's sister
cities are:
Afula-Gilboa, Israel
Amalfi, Italy
Avignon, France
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Hue, Vietnam
León, Nicaragua
Some of these cities, such as Freetown, were selected as sister cities
because of specific historical connections between New Haven and the paired
city -- in Freetown's case because of the role of the Amistad trial. Others,
such as Amalfi and Afula-Gilboa, reflect traditionally significant ethnic
groups evident in New Haven.
In 1990, the city of New Haven was additionally chosen by the United Nations
as a "Peace Messenger City."
Miscellaneous
In 1892, local confectioner George C. Smith invented the first lollipops.
New Haven serves as the world headquarters of the Knights of Columbus
organization. The organization was founded in the city in 1882.
New Haven has been fictionalized in the movie The Skulls, which focused on
conspiracy theories surrounding the real-life Skull and Bones secret society
which is located in New Haven. The city was also fictionally portrayed in
the movie Amistad concerning the events around the trial of that ships
mutineers.
New Haven hosted the first Bell PSTN switch office.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
52.4 km˛ (20.2 mi˛). 48.8 km˛ (18.9 mi˛) of it is land and 3.6 km˛ (1.4 mi˛)
of it is water. The total area is 6.91% water.
New Haven's best-known geographic features are its large deep harbor, and
two reddish sandstone "trap rocks" which rise to the northeast and northwest
of the city core. These trap rocks are known respectively as East Rock and
West Rock, and both serve as extensive parks. West Rock has been tunneled
through to make way for the east-west passage of the Wilbur Cross Parkway,
and once served as the hideout of the "Regicides". East Rock features the
prominent Soldiers and Sailors war monument on its peak as well as the
"Great Steps" which run up the rock's cliffside.
Urban Layout and Neighborhoods
Urban Layout
New Haven has a long tradition of urban planning and a purposeful design of
the city's layout. Upon founding, New Haven was laid out in a grid pattern
of nine square blocks; the central square was left open, in the tradition of
many New England towns, as the city green (a commons area). To the present
day, the New Haven Green remains almost unchanged from its original layout,
and is home to three separate churches which speak to the original
theocratic nature of the city.
In the modern era, New Haven has undergone many urban redevelopment projects
to revitalize and enhance the city to mixed results. The central downtown
area, for one, has been the site of numerous experiments in urban re-design,
with new hotels, shopping centers, a sports coliseum, and office towers
built under city, state, and federal efforts. Some of these efforts, such as
the New Haven Coliseum, were never officially completed.
Neighborhoods of New Haven
The city has many distinct neighborhoods despite its relatively compact size
when compared to other cities. In addition to Downtown with the central
business district and the Green, there is also Long Wharf, Edgewood-West
River, Westville, West Rock-Westhills, East Rock, Fair Haven, and Wooster
Square. Each neighborhood exhibits its own unique mix of ethnic, economic,
and social qualities.
Greater New Haven
Despite being within the New York--Northern New Jersey--Long Island,
NY--NJ--CT--PA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area, New Haven is also
contained within the more local New Haven--Meriden Primary Metropolitan
Statistical Area where it serves as the primary metropolitan focal point for
most of New Haven County and for a slice of Middlesex County. The metro area
of Greater New Haven encompasses approximately 600,000 residents, many of
whom commute to work in New Haven, and includes the following towns:
In New Haven County
Bethany
Branford
Cheshire
East Haven
Guilford
Hamden
Madison
Meriden
North Branford
North Haven
Orange
Wallingford
West Haven
Woodbridge
In Middlesex County
Clinton
Killingworth
Derby and Milford are sometimes also considered to be part of Greater New
Haven, although both towns lie on the border with the Greater Bridgeport
area. Both of these towns are located in New Haven County.
Hospitals and Medicine
The New Haven area supports several medical facilities that are considered
some of the best hospitals in the country. These include Yale-New Haven
Hospital, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, and the Hospital of Saint
Raphael. A large Veterans Affairs hospital is located nearby in West Haven.
To the west in Milford is Milford Hospital and to the north in Meriden is
the MidState Medical Center.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 123,626 people, 47,094 households, and
25,854 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,532.2/km˛
(6,558.4/mi˛). There are 52,941 housing units at an average density of
1,084.4 persons/km˛ (2,808.5 persons/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is
43.46% White, 37.36% African American, 0.43% Native American, 3.90% Asian,
0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.89% from other races, and 3.91% from two or more
races. 21.39% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 47,094 households out of which 29.3% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 27.5% are married couples living together, 22.9%
have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 45.1% are
non-families. 36.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.5%
have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average
household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.19.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18,
16.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 29 years. For every 100
females there are 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $29,604, and the median
income for a family is $35,950. Males have a median income of $33,605 versus
$28,424 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,393. 24.4% of
the population and 20.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 32.2% are under the age of 18 and 17.9% are
65 or older.
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