Broadway Safety Island

One of the city’s oldest commercial districts, Broadway was, and arguably still is, a connection to everything in New Haven. Wares were brought to this high point in the city, food was housed for horses prior to the electric trolleys, and then in the height of trolley usage throughout the city, serving as a safety zone for several lines, protecting riders awaiting their trolleys from street traffic, especially in a busy commercial corridor such as this. Whalley and Dixwell Avenue, as well as Goffe street converge at this oddly shaped hot spot. These served as corridors connecting the expanding city and its suburbs to the downtown area. Broadway  turns into Elm street, opening up to the New Haven Green--its elms and other foliage a welcome site after leaving behind the bustling Broadway area . The New Haven Chamber of Commerce’s Traffic and Parking Committee attempted to pave over Broadway for more parking lots when trolley service ended in the late 1940s, but were unsuccessful.

Now a shopping hub, as it always had been, the traffic of Broadway has not ceased, but changed as the automobile took over. Now the awkward triangular parking lot and various streets all leading to Broadway peels back the deep rooted history of the trolley in this area. An easily recognizable part of New Haven today, it would be just as important to those strolling along the shops decades ago. No longer housing local shops like Whitlock’s bookstore, the sense of community is lost, but the foot traffic is not. Large retailers such as Urban Outfitters and Apple line Broadway like a capitalist oasis, proud to be one branch of the many stores that create “The Shops at Yale.”

This concludes our audio tour of the remnants of New Haven's century-old trolley infrastructure. We hope that you've enjoyed this exploration of New Haven's rich industrial, technological, and social history. Remember, the past is all around us if we take the time to stop, observe, and read the landscape around us! The tour ends in the heart of New Haven's downtown. Are you hungry for lunch, dinner, or a mid-day snack? Maybe some caffeine or a cold beer is in order. In downtown New Haven, you are well-situated to treat yourself. Enjoy!

Research courtesy of Wasserman, "The Trolley Problem," and the New Haven Museum