Museums and Historical Sites

Amistad Memorial

In 1839, 53 illegally kidnapped Mendi from Sierra Leone seized the ship La Amistad that was transporting them to slavery. This memorial, in front of City Hall, stands on the site of the old New Haven jail in which they were incarcerated while former President John Quincy Adams argued their case in court. The campaign for their freedom, which they eventually won, fueled the abolition movement.

165 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510
203-387-0370
www.amistadamerica.org/

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale

One of the largest libraries in the world devoted to rare books, this building holds 500,000 volumes and several million manuscripts. On permanent display is an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible.

121 Wall Street, New Haven, CT 06511
Mon-Fri 8:30-5, Sat 10-5
(203) 432-2977
www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/brblhome.htm

Christ Church on Broadway

Built in 1897, this church is one of the finest examples of the English gothic architecture in America. Tours can be scheduled to view the red brick interior, neo-medieval woodwork and stone carvings.

84 Broadway, New Haven, CT 06511
203-865-6354

Connecticut Children's Museum

Designed for children age seven and under, this museum provides activities and displays that enable children to learn while they play.

22 Wall Street, New Haven, CT 06511
Please call for hours at 203-562-5437
www.childrensbuilding.org/

Eli Whitney Museum

Established in Whitney's restored gun factory where mass production originated, this museum features programs, lectures and workshops designed to demonstrate and teach the principles behind machinery and technology. The museum includes an outdoor water learning lab and the 1816 Barn, a popular summer venue for dances, holiday celebrations and music.

915 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517
Sun, Wed-Fri 12-5; Sat 10-3
203-777-1833
www.eliwhitney.org

Freedom Schooner Amistad

View the beautiful coastline and see the skyline of New Haven from Long Island Sound while under sail on board the 129 foot long schooner. Freedom Schooner Amistad is available for tours and public and private sails during the summer. Public hours are Monday - Friday, 1 PM - 5 PM; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $5/adult and $3/child to age 12. Public Sails are available on Monday - Friday from 5 PM to 8 PM and some weekends.

203-498-9000 or 866-264-7823
www.amistadamerica.org

Grove Street Cemetery

Established in 1796, this New Haven burying ground features avenues and paths and one of the finest Egyptian revival gates in the Northeast. Such notables as Eli Whitney, Noah Webster, Roger Sherman, Walter Camp and Bart Giammatti are buried here. Grove Street at High Street

New Haven Colony Historical Society

Tracing the history of the New Haven colony from 1638 to the present, the Historical Society offers a library, archives, education department, extensive manuscript collection, and historical and industrial exhibits that feature such items as Eli Whitney's cotton gin.

114 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510
Tue-Fri 10-5, Sat-Sun 2-5
203-562-4183

Pardee-Morris House

The Pardee-Morris House illustrates the living conditions of a typical well-to-do New Haven family in the 1700s.

325 Lighthouse Road, New Haven, CT 06510
203-562-4183

Peabody Museum of Natural History

Built in 1866 as part of Yale University, there are now more than 11 million specimens in the Museum’s collections. Between 1870 and 1873 Othniel Charles Marsh, nephew of philanthropist George Peabody, led four Yale expeditions to the American West in search of fossils. Today his most famous finds, the dinosaurs he named–-Triceratops, Stegosaurus and "Brontosaurus"-–dominate the Peabody’s Great Hall of Dinosaurs, where you can also see 300 million years of prehistory in the 110-foot mural The Age of Reptiles by Rudolph F. Zallinger. The museum also offers permanent exhibits on mammals, minerals, Native Americans of the Plains, Connecticut birds, Pacific cultures, and human origins. A wide variety of events for children are scheduled including tours, films, lectures, workshops and nature programs.

170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511
Mon-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5
203-432-5050
www.peabody.yale.edu

Shore Line Trolley Museum

This museum features 100 trolleys dating from 1903 to 1939 and a three-mile ride on a genuine vintage trolley.

17 River Street, East Haven, CT 06513
April-December: weekends 11-5
Memorial Day-Labor Day: daily 11-5
203-467-6927, (203) 467-7635
www.bera.org

Yale Center for British Art

Housing the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, the Yale Center for British Art, is located in the center of downtown New Haven. The museum was founded when Yale graduate Paul Mellon bequeathed his extraordinary collection of British art to the University. The collection comprises paintings, drawings, prints, rare books and sculpture from the Elizabethan period to the present.

1080 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510
Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 12-5
(203) 432-2800
www.yale.edu/ycba

Yale Collection of Musical Instruments

This museum features 850 instruments from the 16th to 20th centuries, as well as a concert series.

15 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511
September-June: Tue-Thu 1-4
203-432-0822
www.yale.edu/musicalinstruments/

Yale University Art Gallery

The Yale Art Gallery is the nation's oldest college art museum; the gallery features 100,000 objects of art. The gallery's collections include ancient Egyptian and pre-Columbian artifacts, African sculpture, American paintings and decorative arts, Asian art and Italian Renaissance paintings. Also included are works by such 19th and 20th centuries artists as Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Manet, Degas, Picasso, O'Keefe and Pollack. From September through July, the gallery offers many traveling special exhibits and programs and is open to the public year round.

1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06510
Tue-Sat 10-5, Sun 1-6
203-432-0600
www.yale.edu/artgallery/