New Haven, Connecticut: Elis and a Whole Lot More

New Haven, Connecticut is not just Yale University.  Stop at the Museum of the New Haven Colony Settlement. This museum gives a historical look at the city of New Haven. The city was originally laid out as nine squares, the center one being the green. The squares were then divided into parcels and given or sold to the settlers. Some of its well known citizens were Eli Whitney (cotton gin), Charles Goodyear (rubber), and Noah Webster (dictionary). Many other inventions were founded here: the corkscrew, fish hooks, steamboat, lollipop, etc. One of the rooms is devoted to Joseph Cinque, the leader of the Amistad Mutiny. The history of their ordeals is told in paintings, documents and other displays.


The second Amistad trial took pace in the State House, which was joyfully torn down after the new one was built in Hartford in the 1870s. The old jail, where the Africans were kept during their trials is also gone. What remains however is the green, where they had their daily exercise, doing cartwheels and back flips and generally having a good time. They were well loved by the community, who helped keep their stay as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances.


On the green today are three churches and the graves of thousands of early settlers. The citizens thought that their green, the public park, was beginning to look like a cemetery. So they moved the headstones to Grove Cemetery. But the bodies remain interred on the green.


Today the focal point of New Haven is Yale University. Named after Elihu Yale, the University consists of twelve self contained colleges, where the undergrads eat, sleep, recreate, and bond together. Something like Hogworts in the Harry Potter books the 5,000 plus students stay in their college for their length of their undergraduate stay at Yale. The Greek System of fraternities exists on campus, but plays a minor role in student life. One other aspect of student life is the secret societies, such as the "Skull and Bones". These are good old boys’ networks, very exclusive and insular.


A tour of campus is highly recommended. It leaves twice daily from 149 Elm Street and lasts over an hour in length. The tour guides shows different parts of the campus, going into one of the colleges, to which entrance is available by only a single gate. Yale is full of many stories and traditions, which the guide shares on the tour. Not to be missed is the Sterling Library, a cathedral like structure. Yale, being nonsectarian, did not want a chapel. The architect, however, wanted to build a church like building. So he built a cathedral to knowledge. Gothic in style, the card catalogues resemble pews, the check out desk a high altar, and many windows give the effect of being in a cathedral. Behind the desk is a large mural depicting different areas of knowledge. The painter, being a Communist, put himself into the painting holding a hammer and sickle.


The tours ends in the courtyard between Woolsey Hall and Beinecke Library. The former is where the Yale Symphony plays and is a memorial to the dead of World War I. The Viet Nam Memorial in Washington DC is modeled after the rotunda of this hall, which has the names of the fallen from WWI. Beinecke Library is the repository of rare books and manuscripts for the university. This includes a copy of the Guttenberg Bible, which is on display. Another museum not to be missed on campus is the collection of British Art, one of the largest outside of England.


If you are not too tired of walking, a stroll down Hillhouse Street, a half block from Woolsey Hall is quite an experience. On both sides of the street stand stately Victorian mansions, which now house offices for the different departments of the university. American Elms, felled by Dutch elm disease, once canopied this street. Today other trees have been planted to restore its look.