James Street Car Barn

The Connecticut Company's James Street Trolley barn was constructed in 1920 in New Haven's Cedar Hill neighborhood to house trolley cars not in use on the company's New Haven division. Originally, this twelve hundred thousand square foot structure also fronted State Street until the street was moved slightly to accommodate the construction of Interstate 91. The building is of brick masonry and concrete construction with a flat saw-toothed roof. Trolleys would have entered the barn via large bay doors on the northeast (upper level) and southwest (main level) of the building. The building, which could accommodate up to 138 cars (63 on the upper level and 75 on the main level), replaced an existing barn on or near the present site. An adjoining structure on the north side housed a locker room, lunch room, mechanical room, and boiler house. When streetcar service ceased in New Haven in 1948, a new bus barn and offices moved across James Street. The building has since been occupied by various industrial tenants and the State of Connecticut. As of 2026, it houses a U-Haul Moving and Self-Storage facility.

The barn was one of "an extensive network of support services"  and facilities throughout the city. It was part of a system of trackage, overhead wires and poles, barns, and electrical plants, some remnant of which you've just visited in this and the previous two tour stops. Let's now proceed downtown to Broadway, the heart of New Haven, and a critical juncture of trolley lines linking the city's downtown core to the streetcar suburbs that emerged in the early twentieth century and the postwar suburbs beyond.

To get to Broadway, follow State Street southward. Turn right on Grove Street until it become Tower Parkway. Broadway will be on your left. If you prefer GPS, use the address 56 Broadway, New Haven, CT.

Research courtesy of East Haven Trolley Museum and Preservation Connecticut