About
The New Haven Industrial Heritage Trails invite you to explore a group of buildings and landscapes that reflect New Haven’s history of an industrial city—a city of factories, coal-fired power plants, railroads and trolleys.
The built legacy of industry is distributed across the city in different ways. Some buildings have been adapted and reused. Others remain dormant. And there are those that are threatened by neglect. In some cases, the buildings themselves are gone, but have left traces that can still be perceived.
Each Trail is a physical and imaginative journey created by a student in the Ghost Town seminar at the Yale School of Architecture, delving into the history of a particular site, the “ghosted networks” that were once prominent but have faded over time, and proposing an interpretive strategy for building interest in these places.
As an imaginative space, the Trails suggest a way of observing the present city with a sensitivity to its past. Our intention is to provoke public consideration of these places and to propose creative ways to mark their diverse and sometimes dissonant storylines. What have these buildings and landscapes meant in the past and what might they mean for the future of New Haven?
As a frame of mind, the Heritage Trails are not mutually exclusive: you may occupy more than one at the same time. The Trails are an interactive space and a forum to share information, to build coalitions, and to advance proposals. Please share your reactions, suggestions, and corrections with us. And if there is a building or landscape that should be investigated by the New Haven Industrial Heritage Trails, please let us know.
The built legacy of industry is distributed across the city in different ways. Some buildings have been adapted and reused. Others remain dormant. And there are those that are threatened by neglect. In some cases, the buildings themselves are gone, but have left traces that can still be perceived.
Each Trail is a physical and imaginative journey created by a student in the Ghost Town seminar at the Yale School of Architecture, delving into the history of a particular site, the “ghosted networks” that were once prominent but have faded over time, and proposing an interpretive strategy for building interest in these places.
As an imaginative space, the Trails suggest a way of observing the present city with a sensitivity to its past. Our intention is to provoke public consideration of these places and to propose creative ways to mark their diverse and sometimes dissonant storylines. What have these buildings and landscapes meant in the past and what might they mean for the future of New Haven?
As a frame of mind, the Heritage Trails are not mutually exclusive: you may occupy more than one at the same time. The Trails are an interactive space and a forum to share information, to build coalitions, and to advance proposals. Please share your reactions, suggestions, and corrections with us. And if there is a building or landscape that should be investigated by the New Haven Industrial Heritage Trails, please let us know.
Our goal is to build interest in these buildings, a constituency for their futures, a group of advocates. Many of them have private owners, but they have and will continue to play public roles in the life of the city. And for city-owned properties, we advocate for more active stewardship practices.
For: Public Stewardship: Public Investment to conserve unused buildings.
For: Preserving public access to public buildings, including vacant structures.
For: Night-Lighting Program for English Station, New Haven Gas Co. Building, the Goffe Street Armory, others.
For: Temporary uses, events, installations, and ephemeral signage.
For: Diverse storytelling and engagement with industrial buildings and landscapes.
Against: Demolition by neglect.
For: Public Stewardship: Public Investment to conserve unused buildings.
For: Preserving public access to public buildings, including vacant structures.
For: Night-Lighting Program for English Station, New Haven Gas Co. Building, the Goffe Street Armory, others.
For: Temporary uses, events, installations, and ephemeral signage.
For: Diverse storytelling and engagement with industrial buildings and landscapes.
Against: Demolition by neglect.
