Prospect Hill, New Haven facts for kids
Prospect Hill is a cool neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. It's located in the north-central part of the city, just north of Downtown New Haven.
This neighborhood is home to many houses and important buildings. You'll find parts of Albertus Magnus University and a big part of Yale University here. This includes areas like Science Hill, Hillhouse Avenue, and the famous Yale Peabody Museum.
The City of New Haven says Prospect Hill is bordered by the town of Hamden to the north. Winchester Avenue is to the west, and Munson Street, Hillside Place, and Prospect Street are to the southwest. Trumbull Street is to the south, and Whitney Avenue is to the east. Prospect Street is the main road that runs through the neighborhood.
Historic Places and Buildings
The Prospect Hill Historic District is a special area that covers about 185 acres. It's important because of its amazing old buildings and their designs. This historic district includes most of the homes in the Prospect Hill neighborhood.
You can see many different building styles here, like the fancy Queen Anne, the unique Shingle Style, and the classic Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles. Many other styles are also found here.
Some of the most interesting buildings in this area include:
- The John M. Davies House: Built in 1868, this large house was designed by Henry Austin. It's now called Betts House and is used by Yale University for its international programs.
- The Othniel C. Marsh House: This was the home of a famous 19th-century paleontologist (someone who studies fossils). It's so important that it's a National Historic Landmark. It was also one of the first buildings for the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
- The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station: Located at 123 Huntington Street, this was the first place in Connecticut to experiment with farming. It's also a National Historic Landmark.
- The Silk House: This home at 75 Autumn Street was built around 1915 in the Colonial Revival style. It was designed by architects Brown & VanBeren.
- The Celentano Public School: Found at 370 Canner Street, this building has a Victorian style. It was originally built as Yale's first observatory (a place to study stars).
- The house at 237 East Rock Road: Built around 1910, this home shows Colonial Revival style with Federal details. It used to be the home of a former Yale University president, A. Whitney Griswold.
Other Special Historic Areas
Besides the main Prospect Hill Historic District, the neighborhood also includes the Hillhouse Avenue Historic District. This area is next to Downtown New Haven, just south of Science Hill. Part of Edgerton Park is also within the neighborhood's planning zone.
Because the eastern edge of the neighborhood runs along Whitney Avenue, some houses on the west side of the Whitney Avenue Historic District are also technically part of Prospect Hill.
Who Lives Here?
The residential part of Prospect Hill is mostly covered by a census tract called 1418. This number helps track information about the people living there. The part of the neighborhood that is officially within Yale University is not included in this census tract.
According to the 2000 census, about 4,052 people lived in census tract 1418. Here's a quick look at the different groups of people who lived there:
- About 43% of the people were White.
- Around 32% were Black.
- About 20% were Asian.
- A small number were Native American or Pacific Islander.
- Some people identified as other races or as being of two or more races.
- About 5% of the total population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
- Nearly 12% identified as being of Chinese background.
