New Haven Green Historic District
(U.S. National Historic Landmark District)
The Green is a popular venue for public festivals
Location:	New Haven, Connecticut
Built/Founded:	1638
Architect:	Ithiel Town, David Hoadley
Architectural style(s):	Gothic, Federal
Designated as NHL:	December 30, 1970[1]
Added to NRHP:	December 30, 1970[2]
NRHP Reference#:	70000838
Governing body:	Local

The New Haven Green is a 16-acre public park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Ithiel Town ( October 3, 1784 &ndash June 13, 1844) was a prominent American Architect and Civil engineer. David Hoadley ( April 29, 1774 &mdash1839 was an American Architect who worked in New Haven and Middlesex counties in A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Downtown New Haven is the neighborhood located in the heart of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It comprises the central square of the nine square settlement plan of the original Puritan colonists, and was designed and surveyed by colonist John Brockett. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, ^[3] 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 Festival of Arts and Ideas, summer jazz and classical music concerts that can draw hundreds of thousands of people, as well as typical daily park activities. The International Festival of Arts and Ideas takes place on the New Haven Green (in New Haven, Connecticut) every summer for fifteen days in mid-June It became a National Historic District on December 30, 1970. ^[1]

History

The Green is a traditional town green and was originally known as "the marketplace". A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement 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: 100,000. In Christianity, the Second Coming is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven to earth an event that will fulfill aspects of Messianic

In its early years, the Green held a watch house, a prison and a school^[3]. 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). Henry Austin ( December 4, 1804 &mdash December 17, 1891) was a prominent and prolific American Architect based in New The Green also held a succession of statehouses, dating from the time when New Haven was joint capital of Connecticut with Hartford. The most recent state house was erected in 1837, designed by Ithiel Town in a Greek revival style. Ithiel Town ( October 3, 1784 &ndash June 13, 1844) was a prominent American Architect and Civil engineer. The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries predominantly in northern Europe and the United States Ultimately, Hartford was declared the sole capital and the building was demolished in 1889 ^[4].

The upper Green in spring

The crypt at Center Church-on-the-Green

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. Grove Street Cemetery or Grove Street Burial Ground in New Haven Connecticut is located in the center of the Yale University campus However, the remains of the dead were not moved, and thus still remain below the soil of the Green. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people remain buried there, including Benedict Arnold's first wife, Reverend James Pierpont (founder of Yale University), members of President Rutherford B. Hayes' family, and Theophilus Eaton. Benedict Arnold V ( – June 14, 1801) was a General during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental James Pierpont (born January 4 1659, Roxbury Massachusetts; died November 22 1714, New Haven Connecticut) was a Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4 1822 January 17 1893 was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the nineteenth Theophilus Eaton (1590 &ndash January 7, 1658) was a merchant farmer and Puritan colonial leader who was the co-founder and first governor of New ^[5]

Although the Green is now owned and maintained by the city of New Haven, descendants of the city's original settlers maintained ownership until 1805, when they nominated five of their number to form a committee to oversee the property. Today's committee members — called proprietors — are drawn from the ranks of prominent city residents. Members are appointed for life, and when one dies the four remaining members convene in private to select a replacement.

On the Green

United Church with Union and New Haven Trust Building in background

Located on the upper Green are three historic early 19th century churches which reflect the city's theocratic roots^[6]:

• United Church on the Green (United Church of Christ / Congregational), or North Church, is built in Federal style by David Hoadley in 1814. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The United Church of Christ ( UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, Chester TownshipJPG|thumb|right|A federal style colonial home in Chester Township New Jersey]] Federal-style architecture occurred in the United States between 1780 David Hoadley ( April 29, 1774 &mdash1839 was an American Architect who worked in New Haven and Middlesex counties in
• Center Church, or The First Church of Christ (United Church of Christ / Congregational) established in 1639. The United Church of Christ ( UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination principally in the United States, The current church, designed in Georgian style by architect Ithiel Town, was built in 1812. Georgian architecture is the name given in most English -speaking countries to the set of Architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840 Year 1812 ( MDCCCXII) a leap year started on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Benedict Arnold's first wife is buried in its crypt (which is open to tours), and regicide John Dixwell is buried behind the church^[7]. Benedict Arnold V ( – June 14, 1801) was a General during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a Monarch, or the person responsible for it
• Trinity Church, which is an Episcopal congregation founded in 1752, was also designed by Ithiel Town, in Gothic Revival style. The Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States. Year 1752 ( MDCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar for European countries but not Great Britain) of The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement which began It was consecrated in 1816. Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year

In the lower Green are the Bennett Fountain (built in 1907 and designed after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens) and the flagpole with granite World War I memorial (designed by Douglas Orr in 1928) and fountain (added in 2003). The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the choregos Lysicrates a patron of many theatrical performances World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Douglas William Orr ( March 25, 1892 &mdash July 29, 1966) was an American Architect based in New Haven, ^[8]

While once the edges of the Green were covered with a glorious canopy of elms, planted originally by James Hillhouse, most died of dutch elm disease. Elms are Deciduous and Semi-deciduous Trees comprising the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae, found James Hillhouse ( October 20, 1754 &ndash December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer real estate developer and politician from Dutch elm disease (DED is a fungal disease of Elm trees which is spread by the Elm bark beetle. In the 1980's, disease-resistant elms were planted in an effort to memorialize the legacy of the trees that gave New Haven the nickname "Elm City". One of New Haven's most famous streets is Elm Street.

Around the Green

Bennett Memorial Fountain on the Green, a year old when this postcard was mailed in 1908

Bordering the Green are municipal, commercial and university structures. On the northwest side of the Green, across College Street, stand Phelps Gate and the Yale University buildings bordering Old Campus. The Old Campus is a complex of buildings at Yale University on the block at the northwest end of the green in New Haven, Connecticut consisting 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 other commercial properties. On the southeast side of the green, across Church Street is The Exchange Building (1832, restored in 1990) and the Federal Courthouse (James Gamble Rogers, 1913). James Gamble Rogers ( March 3, 1867 &mdash October 1, 1947) was an American architect best known for his academic commissions 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. Henry Austin ( December 4, 1804 &mdash December 17, 1891) was a prominent and prolific American Architect based in New Newman and Partners) and the Amistad Memorial are also at this end of the Green. The Amistad, 40 US (15 Pet 518 (1841 was a United States Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of slaves on board the Spanish 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. ^[9]

Opposite the eastern corner of the lower green is the Union and New Haven Trust Building (now Wachovia Bank) designed by Cross and Cross in colonial revival style in 1927. Wachovia Corporation ( based in Charlotte North Carolina, is a diversified Financial services holding company provided via its operating subsidiaries a broad Cross and Cross (1907-1942 was a New York City based architectural firm founded by brothers John Walter Cross and Eliot Cross. The Colonial Revival was a Nationalistic Architectural style and Interior design movement in the United States. The design is a tribute to the federal churches on the green and even borrows the cupola from the United Church. ^[10] On the northeast side along Elm Street by the lower Green is the New Haven Free Public Library (Cass Gilbert, 1908). The New Haven Free Public Library is the Public library system serving New Haven, Connecticut. Cass Gilbert ( November 29, 1859 &ndash May 17, 1934) was a pioneering American Architect. 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 is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, ^[11]

Part of a panoramic view of The Green in a "Souvenir Folder" sold and mailed in 1919

Next to the library is the Beaux-Arts neoclassical New Haven County Courthouse. Beaux Arts architecture denotes the academic classical Architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century both as a reaction against the Rococo The courthouse was designed by New Haven architects William Allen and Richard Williams, modeled after St. George's Hall in Liverpool, England. St George's Hall is in Liverpool city centre on Lime Street opposite Lime Street railway station ( Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary The statuary in front of the courthouse is by the sculptor J. Massey Rhind and murals and lunettes inside the courthouse are by the painter T. John Massey Rhind ( July 9, 1860 - 1936 was an American sculptor born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Thomas Gilbert. ^[12]

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. Chester TownshipJPG|thumb|right|A federal style colonial home in Chester Township New Jersey]] Federal-style architecture occurred in the United States between 1780 Elihujpg|left|100px|Emblem of Elihu]] Elihu, founded in 1903 is the sixth oldest secret society at Yale University, New Haven CT. Blake House (now the Graduate Club), the federal John Pierpont house (now the Yale University Visitor Center) built in 1767 and the brick Greek revival Governor Ralph Isaacs Ingersoll House, designed in 1829 by Town and Davis (future home of Dwight Hall, the student community service organization at Yale)^[13]. The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries predominantly in northern Europe and the United States Ithiel Town ( October 3, 1784 &ndash June 13, 1844) was a prominent American Architect and Civil engineer.

References

1910 postcard

Links

• Old Union Trust Building / New Haven Green at Haunted Connecticut