Downtown New Haven

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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 comprised of the original nine squares laid out 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 south, 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 people living downtown.^[1]. While the area has gone through many economic cycles, 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 various restaurants and other retailers, and the office vacancy rate has seen a drastic improvement as well.

[edit] 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-1600s that include numerous colonial luminaries.
• Criterion Cinemas, a seven-screen movie theater showing first-run and international films.
• Crown Street entertainment district, home to dozens of nightclubs, bars and restaurants.
• Grove Street Cemetery
• Harkness Tower
• Hillhouse Avenue
• Knights of Columbus' world headquarters
• Knights of Columbus Museum
• New Haven City Hall
• New Haven Free Public Library
• New Haven Green
• Ninth Square National Historic District, an area of historic 19th and early 20th century commercial buildings, directly southeast of the Green.
• Omni Hotel, a four-star high-rise hotel.
• Shubert Theatre
• Toad's Place
• Yale Center for British Art
• Yale Repertory Theatre
• Yale University Art Gallery
• Yale University's Old Campus

[edit] 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 Edward Malley Co. Demolished in 1997 and scheduled for replacement by Gateway Community College.
• Kresge's. Converted into an indoor parking structure.
• Macy's. Scheduled for demolition in 2007 and replacement by Gateway Community College.
• New Haven Coliseum (1972-2007). Site scheduled for parking and ultimately by mixed-use development, commercial space, and the Long Wharf Theatre beginning in 2008.
• Shartenberg’s Department Store (1915-1962). Razed in 1964 as part of Mayor Richard C. Lee's redevelopment plans. It has been a parking lot since then. Proposed for replacement by a mixed-use development of high-rise condominiums, offices and apartments beginning in 2007.
• York Square Cinema (1970-2005)

[edit] See Also

• Oak Street Connector

[edit] References

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

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