Branford Center is a neighborhood and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in the town of
Branford,
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, United States. The CDP encompasses the traditional town center area (roughly the area bounded by
U.S. Route 1, the Amtrak railroad tracks, and the
Branford River) and the area known as
Branford Point (the portion of the CDP south of the railroad tracks). The population of the CDP (including Branford Point) was 5,819 at the 2010 census.
Historic district
The Branford Center Historic District was listed on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1987.
The historic district represents the area of the traditional town center and excludes Branford Point. The designated portion is an irregularly-shaped area that includes 557
contributing buildings
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
out of a total of 706 buildings in the district, including garages, carriage houses, and other structures. It includes two other
contributing sites: the Center Cemetery and the Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery. The district boundaries were drawn to exclude modern construction such as the
Branford High School and to exclude older buildings that did not retain their "historic architectural integrity."
[
Architectural styles represented in the Branford Center Historic District include ]Greek Revival architecture
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
, Queen Anne architecture, and 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 arch ...
, Italianate architecture
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century ...
, Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...
, Gothic Revival architecture
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
, Second Empire architecture
Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many different historical styles, and al ...
, Colonial architecture
Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...
, Tudor Revival architecture
Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested 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, in rea ...
, and Bungalow architecture
A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide verandas.
Th ...
. These are mostly vernacular buildings. Of buildings designed by professional architects
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, the most significant is the "classically inspired, monumental 1893 James Blackstone Memorial Library," designed by Solon Spencer Beman of Chicago.[ The library incorporates Tennessee marble and features a domed, octagonal rotunda.][ According to the historic district nomination, "relatively little remains in Branford Center that evokes its distant 17th- and early 18th century past."][ and ] The district instead includes remnants of late 19th and early 20th century industrial, commercial, and residential history.
Industry is represented in buildings of the Malleable Iron Fittings Company and the Atlantic Wire Company. Government buildings include the Branford Town Hall, from 1857, a Greek Revival building. Religious institution buildings in the district include:
*the First Baptist Church, from 1840, at 975 Main Street
*St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church's rectory from c. 1925 (contributing) and church from 1974 (non-contributing)
*First Congregational Church, at 1009 Main Street, a brick and stone building from 1843 in Greek Revival style, with Italianate addition from later in the century
Geography
As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the boundaries of the Center extend from the Branford River north along Short Beach Road ( Connecticut Route 142) to U.S. Route 1 (West Main Street), then northeast along Route 1 (becoming North Main Street) to Cedar Street, north on Cedar Street to Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
, and east (northbound) on I-95 to the Branford River, which forms the entire southeastern boundary of the CDP.
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP (which includes Branford Point in addition to the center) has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.14%, is water.
Branford Green
The green is typical of a traditional New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
town, and serves as Branford's social, commercial, and governmental nerve center. It is home to many small stores, restaurants, and coffee houses, (including perennial favorites like Ashley's Ice Cream and Common Grounds) and hosts concerts and other events. Notable annual events include the Branford Festival, and the used book sale held by the Friends of the Blackstone Memorial Library.town hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
; other government facilities (such as the Branford Police Department and United States Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
), are located on nearby Harrison Avenue. A memorial to Branford's contributions during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
is to the right of the town hall. The historic Blackstone Library
T. B. Blackstone Memorial Library is part of the Chicago Public Library (CPL) System and is named for library benefactor Timothy Blackstone. The building was designed by Chicago architect Solon S. Beman. It is now known as the Chicago Public L ...
is situated in the western portion of the center. It also contains five schools:
St. Mary School
(grades K-8), John B. Sliney (grades K-4), Mary T. Murphy, Mary Tisko and Branford High School (grades 9–12).
Demographics
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.24% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.24% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.80% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 3.80% of the population.
There were 2,863 households, out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.0% were non-families. 43.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the CDP the population was spread out, with 17.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $45,102, and the median income for a family was $59,604. Males had a median income of $42,750 versus $35,866 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the CDP was $29,290. About 3.6% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
See also
*
References
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Branford, Connecticut
Census-designated places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Neighborhoods in Connecticut
Historic districts in New Haven County, Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut