Prospect Hill Historic District (New Haven, Connecticut)

The Prospect Hill Historic District is an irregularly-shaped 185-acre (75 ha) historic district in New Haven, Connecticut. The district encompasses most of the residential portion of the Prospect Hill neighborhood.[2]

Prospect Hill Historic District
Palladian Louis Stoddard House (1905), 700 Prospect St., Peabody and Stearns, Boston, now on the campus of Albertus Magnus College.
Prospect Hill Historic District (New Haven, Connecticut) is located in Connecticut
Prospect Hill Historic District (New Haven, Connecticut)
Prospect Hill Historic District (New Haven, Connecticut) is located in the United States
Prospect Hill Historic District (New Haven, Connecticut)
LocationProspect Street and St. Ronan Street, New Haven, Connecticut
Coordinates41°19′30″N 72°55′15″W / 41.32500°N 72.92083°W / 41.32500; -72.92083
Area185 acres (75 ha)
Built1890
ArchitectBrown & von Beren; Multiple
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.79002670[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 2, 1979

The district includes two U.S. National Historic Landmark properties which are separately listed on the National Register: the Othniel C. Marsh House and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In 1979, it included 238 buildings deemed to contribute to the historic character of the area.[1]

The district is significant primarily for its architecture. It includes major collections of Queen Anne style architecture in the United States, Shingle Style architecture, Colonial Revival architecture, and Tudor Revival architecture. Numerous other styles are also represented.[3]: 47–51 

Architects and firms represented include Boston's Peabody and Stearns and R. Clipston Sturgis; New York's Grosvenor Atterbury, Donn Barber, J.C. Cady & Co., George S. Chappell, Delano & Aldrich, Ewing & Chappell, James Gamble Rogers, Rossiter & Muller, and Heathcote Woolsey; Philadelphia's Mantle Fielding; Connecticut's Henry Austin and numerous others.[3]: 51–52 

Selected contributing properties in the district are:

Non-contributing properties include:

  • four Yale Divinity School dormitories at 352 Canner Street, from 1957, whose "economically designed modern blocks contrast with the neighborhood character"[3]: 6 

In 2002, application was made for a building that was located at 285 Prospect Street to be moved to 380 Edwards Street, while retaining its contributing building status. It is a building designed by R. Clipston Sturgis. It was approved.[4]

Approximate boundary of the district, in blue. Also shown are: in green, the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District and in red, the Prospect Hill neighborhood

Relationship to neighborhoods

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The historic district includes most of New Haven's Prospect Hill neighborhood. The district borders are drawn irregularly to exclude modern construction, and also to exclude properties fronting Whitney Avenue,[3] which are included in the Whitney Avenue Historic District. It excludes the entire area of the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District, an area that was originally residential, and now is mostly Yale University-owned, and which included within the official neighborhood planning maps for Prospect Hill. The historic district also excludes the Edgerton historic district, the New Haven portion of which has been included in the official neighborhood planning maps for Prospect Hill.

Among other exclusions, the district excludes Yale University's relatively modern buildings on Science Hill. It excludes several Yale graduate student housing facilities (the Whitehall Apartment Complex, the Mansfield Apartments, and the Esplanade Apartments), while at 352 Canner Street, the district includes four dormitory buildings of the Yale Divinity School.

The district extends to the south to include historic houses that are now Yale offices along the west side of Prospect Street south of Hillside Place.[5]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ A small row of properties on the west side of Prospect Street south of Hillside Place is technically within the Dixwell neighborhood planning zone.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Susan Ryan (January 5, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Prospect Hill National Register District / Prospect Hill (pages 1-65 of combined PDF)". National Park Service. and Accompanying 12 photos, from 2002 (photo captions at page 79 of text document)
  4. ^ Jan Cunningham (2002). "Additional documentation: Prospect Hill National Register District (pages 66-79 of combined PDF)". National Park Service. and Accompanying 12 photos, from 2002 (photo captions at page 79 of text document)
  5. ^ This portion is part of the official Dixwell neighborhood whose eastern boundary is on Prospect Street.
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