Prospect Hill is a neighborhood 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 134,02 ...
located in the north central portion of the city, directly north of
Downtown New Haven
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 ...
.
The neighborhood contains residences, institutional buildings of
Albertus Magnus University and a portion of the main campus of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, including the
Science Hill area, the
Hillhouse Avenue
Hillhouse Avenue is a street in New Haven, Connecticut, famous for its many nineteenth century mansions, including the president's house at Yale University. Both Charles Dickens and Mark Twain have described it as "the most beautiful street in Amer ...
area and the
Yale Peabody Museum
The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university List of natural history museums, natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 ...
. The City of New Haven defines the neighborhood to be the region bounded by the town of
Hamden in the north, Winchester Avenue in the west, Munson Street/Hillside Place/Prospect Street in the southwest, Trumbull Street in the south, and Whitney Avenue in the east. Prospect Street is the main thoroughfare through the neighborhood.
Historic district
The Prospect Hill Historic District is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
that is significant primarily for its architecture. It encompasses most of the residential portion of the Prospect Hill neighborhood. The historic district includes major collections of
Queen Anne style architecture in the United States
Queen Anne style architecture was one of a number of popular Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910. Popular there during this time, it followed the Second Empire and Stick s ...
,
Shingle Style architecture,
Colonial Revival architecture
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 archi ...
, and
Tudor Revival architecture
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
. Numerous other styles are also represented.
[ and ] Some of the more significant properties which are included in the neighborhood are:
*The
John M. Davies House, an 1868 mansion designed by
Henry Austin, now known as Betts House and home to
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
's international initiatives.
*The
Othniel C. Marsh House, home of prominent 19th-century
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
(designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
), a earliest building of the
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs ( Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environm ...
*
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) is the Connecticut state government's agricultural experiment station, a state government component that engages in scientific research and public outreach in agriculture and related fields. I ...
, 123 Huntington St., home of the first agricultural experiment station in Connecticut (also designated as a National Historic Landmark)
*Silk House,
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 archi ...
, c. 1915, at 75 Autumn Street, designed by architects
Brown & von Beren
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model use ...
[
*Celentano Public School, 370 Canner Street, ]Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, originally built as Yale's first observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
[
*237 East Rock Road, ]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 archi ...
with Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
details, c. 1910, former home of Yale University president A. Whitney Griswold
Alfred Whitney Griswold (October 27, 1906 – April 19, 1963) was an American historian and educator. He served as 16th president of Yale University from 1951 to 1963, during which he built much of Yale's modern scientific research infrastructur ...
[
]
Other historic districts
In addition to the main Prospect Hill Historic District, the neighborhood planning zone includes the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District
Hillhouse Avenue is a street in New Haven, Connecticut, famous for its many nineteenth century mansions, including the president's house at Yale University. Both Charles Dickens and Mark Twain have described it as "the most beautiful street in Ame ...
, an area adjoining Downtown New Haven south of Science Hill, and part of Edgerton Park
Edgerton Park, also known as the Frederick F. Brewster Estate, is a public park on Whitney Avenue, straddling the New Haven– Hamden town line in Connecticut.
It is site of the demolished Victorian home of Eli Whitney II, known as "Ivy Nook ...
. Because the neighborhood planning zone eastern boundary runs along Whitney Avenue, a row of houses on the west side of the Whitney Avenue Historic District
__NOTOC__
The Whitney Avenue Historic District is a historic district in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. It is a district which included 1,084 contributing buildings when it was listed on the National Register of Histori ...
of East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located primarily in the neighborhood of East Rock on the north side of the city of New Haven. A prominent landscape feature and a popular ...
is technically also within the neighborhood planning zone.
Demographics
The residential part of the neighborhood roughly corresponds to census tract 1418.. Census tract 1418 excludes the portion officially within Yale University. As of the 2000 census, the total population of census track 1418 was 4,052. Of the population, 43.02% identified as White, 32.33% as Black, 0.20% as Native American, 19.55% as Asian, 0.10% as Pacific Islander, 2.07% as some other race, and 2.74% as two or more races. Of the total population of any race, 4.94% identified as being Hispanic or Latino, while 11.77% identified as being of Chinese ethnicity.
References
External links
Prospect Hill Historic District
New Haven Preservation Trust website (text excerpt from NRHP nomination, plus gallery of 12 photos)
{{coord, 41.326, -72.921, type:city_region:US-CT_dim:2000, display=title
Neighborhoods in New Haven, Connecticut
Historic districts in New Haven, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut