The New Haven Green is a privately owned park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. It comprises the central square of the nine-square settlement plan of the original

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

colonists in New Haven, and was designed and surveyed by colonist John Brockett.Not a Park or Mere Pleasure Ground: a Case Study of the New Haven Green, James Sexton
/ref> Today the Green is bordered by the modern paved roads of College, Chapel, Church, and Elm streets. Temple Street bisects the Green into upper (northwest) and lower (southeast) halves. The green is host to numerous public events, such as the

International Festival of Arts and Ideas The International Festival of Arts & Ideas is a 15-day festival that takes place in New Haven, Connecticut. The festival presents performing arts, lectures, and conversations that celebrate influential artists and thinkers from around the wo ...

and New Haven Jazz Festival, summer jazz and classical music concerts that can draw hundreds of thousands of people, as well as typical daily park activities. The New Haven Green Historic District was designated a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

for the architectural significance of the three 19th-century churches located there. and The New Haven Green is one of the oldest and most well-known

town green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle ...

s in the nation, dating back to at least 1638. As of July 2017, the City of New Haven offers free public

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...

on the Green.

History

The Green is a traditional

( common) and was originally known as "the marketplace". It was completed in 1638. The Puritans were said to have designed the green large enough to hold the number of people who they believed would be spared in the Second Coming of Christ: 144,000. In its early years, the Green held a watch house, a prison and a school. The upper Green also once held the First Methodist Church. The church was removed from the Green in 1848 with a new church built across Elm Street (designed by Henry Austin). The Green also held a succession of statehouses, dating from the time when New Haven was joint capital of Connecticut with

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. The most recent state house was erected in 1837, designed by

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

in a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

style. Ultimately, Hartford was declared the sole capital and the building was demolished in 1889. The Green served as the parade grounds for the New Haven militia, who, under the leadership of Benedict Arnold, rushed to Massachusetts after hearing of the

Battle of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...

and participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. This indirectly led to the burning of most of the city by the British when they landed in New Haven in 1779. The Green was used as the main burial grounds for the residents of New Haven during its first 150 years, but by 1821 the practice was abolished and many of the headstones were moved to the Grove Street Cemetery. However, the remains of the dead were not moved, and thus still remain below the soil of the Green. It is conservatively estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 people remain buried there, including Benedict Arnold's first wife, members of President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

' family, Reverend James Pierpont (founder of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

), and

Theophilus Eaton Theophilus Eaton (January 7, 1658) was a wealthy New England Puritan merchant, first Governor of New Haven Colony, Connecticut, co founder of that same colony and co founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His brother, Nathaniel Eaton, w ...

, one of the founders of New Haven and the church and governor of the New Haven Colony for 19 years. On the evening of October 29, 2012, winds from Hurricane Sandy knocked over an oak tree on the Upper Green. Intertwined in the dirt and roots was a human skeleton. The police and medical examiner were called to the scene. The bones likely date back to colonial times, when the Green was used as a cemetery. The Grove Street cemetery that replaced it was chartered in 1797. A small portion of the burial ground is now preserved i
The Center Church Crypt

The Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven

A self-electing group of private individuals, the Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven, maintain ownership of the green. This five-member committee oversees the large, main portion of the green. The proprietors are drawn from the ranks of prominent city residents. Members are appointed for life, and when one dies the four remaining members convene to select a replacement.

On the Green

Located on the upper Green are three historic early 19th century churches which reflect the city's theocratic roots.
/ref> Two of the three churches are the work of the influential early-19th century architects

and

Asher Benjamin Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities an ...

, and one of them is the nation's first large-scale Gothic Revival structure. Because of this architectural legacy, the green was designated a

in 1970. The three churches are: *''United Church on the Green'' (

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

/ Congregational), or ''North Church'', was built in Federal style by David Hoadley in 1814. *"Center Church on the Green", or ''The First Church of Christ'' (

/ Congregational) was established in 1639. The current church, designed in

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Geor ...

by architect

, was built in 1812. The Center Church Crypt contains the identified remains of about 137 people, and the likely remains of over 1,000 that are unidentified. Sarah Rutherford Trowbridge has the oldest dated stone (1687) in the Crypt. *''

Trinity Church on the Green Trinity Church on the Green or Trinity on the Green is a historic, culturally and community-active parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in New Haven, Connecticut, of the Episcopal Church. It is one of three historic churches on the Ne ...

'' is an Episcopal congregation founded in 1752, and was also designed by Ithiel Town in 1813, and built between 1814 and 1815. It is the first

Gothic Style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...

church identified in the United States. It was consecrated in 1816. In the lower Green are the Bennett Fountain (built in 1907 and designed after the

Choragic Monument of Lysicrates The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the ''choregos'' Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus, to commemorate the prize in the dithyramb contest of the City Dio ...

in Athens) and the flagpole with granite

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial (designed by

Douglas Orr Douglas William Orr (March 25, 1892 – July 29, 1966) was an American architect based in New Haven, Connecticut. Biography Douglas Orr was born in Meriden, Connecticut, to Adam and Mary Orr. He was prolific and designed many public and co ...

in 1928) and fountain (added in 2003).Memory and Place on the New Haven Green, 1638-1876, Ralph E. Russo
/ref> While once the edges of the Green were covered with a glorious canopy of

elms Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

, planted originally by

James Hillhouse James Hillhouse (October 20, 1754 – December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer, real estate developer, and politician from New Haven, Connecticut. He represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress. From February to March 1801, Hill ...

, most died of

dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

. In the 1980s, through the efforts of the Garden Club of New Haven, disease-resistant elms were planted in an attempt to memorialize the legacy of the trees that gave New Haven the nickname "Elm City".

Around the Green

Bordering the Green are municipal, commercial and university structures. On the northwest side of the Green, across College Street, stand Phelps Gate and the

buildings bordering

Old Campus The Old Campus is the oldest area of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the principal residence of Yale College freshmen and also contains offices for the academic departments of Classics, English, History, Comparative Li ...

. Before the Old Campus was built, the buildings of Yale's Old Brick Row bordered the Green here. On the southwest side along Chapel Street are stores, bars, and such popular restaurants as

Claire's Corner Copia Claire's Corner Copia is a kosher vegetarian restaurant in New Haven, Connecticut. It is located at 1000 Chapel Street near the campus of Yale University and the New Haven Green. It is owned by chef Claire Criscuolo, and was formerly co-owned wit ...

. On the southeast side of the green, across Church Street is The Exchange Building (1832, restored in 1990) and the

Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse The Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse is a monumental courthouse of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, located on the east side of the New Haven Green. Built between 1913 and 1919, the structure was spared from ...

( James Gamble Rogers, 1913). This was once the site of the Tontine Hotel, built by David Hoadley. New Haven's Victorian City Hall (by Henry Austin in 1861; restored and added to by Herbert S. Newman and Partners) and the Amistad Memorial are also at this end of the Green. The memorial stands on the site of the jail that held the Amistad captives during their time in New Haven. Spectators came to see them when they were brought out to exercise on the Green and paid 12 and a half cents to view them in the jail. Opposite the eastern corner of the lower green is the

Union and New Haven Trust Building The former Union and New Haven Trust Building, located at 205 Church Street in New Haven, Connecticut, was the tallest building in New Haven when it was constructed in 1927. This Georgian-Colonial Revival skyscraper was designed by architects Cr ...

(now Wells Fargo and The Union apartments) designed by

Cross and Cross Cross & Cross (1907–1942) was a New York City-based architectural firm founded by brothers John Walter Cross and Eliot Cross. History Cross & Cross was known as Old New York City Society's architectural firm of choice. John Cross (1878–1951) ...

colonial revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

style in 1927. The design is a tribute to the federal churches on the green and even borrows the cupola from the United Church.E. M. Brown, New Haven: A guide to architecture and urban design, Yale University Press, 1976. On the northeast side along Elm Street by the lower Green is the New Haven Free Public Library (

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and ...

, 1908). The library was once the site of the Bristol House, also designed by David Hoadley, whose doorway is now at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

.An Example of the Work of a Connecticut Architect, Charles O. Cornelius, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 14, No. 8. (Aug., 1919), pp. 169-171
/ref> Next to the library is the Beaux-Arts, neoclassical

New Haven County Courthouse The New Haven County Courthouse is located at 121 Elm Street in the Downtown section of New Haven, Connecticut. The building was built in 1917 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, 2003. It is one of the city's fines ...

. The courthouse was designed by New Haven architects William Allen and Richard Williams, modeled after St. George's Hall in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. The statuary in front of the courthouse is by the sculptor

J. Massey Rhind John Massey Rhind (9 July 1860 – 1 January 1936) was a Scottish-American sculptor. Among Rhind's better known works is the marble statue of Dr. Crawford W. Long located in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington D.C. (1926). E ...

and murals and lunettes inside the courthouse are by the painter T. Thomas Gilbert.New Haven County Courthouse
/ref> The upper Green on Elm is bordered by "Quality Row", containing some of the oldest structures in New Haven: the federal style white clapboard Nicholas Callahan house, once a tavern (now the Yale Elihu Senior Society), the federal Eli W. Blake House (now the Graduate Club), the federal John Pierpont house (now the

Koerner Center) built in 1767 and the brick

Governor Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll House, designed in 1829 by Town and Davis.Living in Style — The New Haven Green and Its Architecture, Benjamin A. Gorman
/ref>

References

External links