City guide
24 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library was completed in 1963 to a design by Gordon Bunshaft, on Yale's campus. It's considered a landmark of modern architecture, built around a structural innovation of translucent marble that gives the building its highly recognizable facade.
Photo: unknown , Public domain
The Betts House is a Second Empire mansion built in 1868 and designed by Henry Austin. Second Empire buildings typically project a strong street presence, and the Betts House carries that character in the mansion Austin gave it.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith , Public domain
modern architecture
Crawford Manor is a public-housing tower designed by Paul Rudolph, a major mid-century modern architect, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its concrete massing, characteristic of Rudolph's work, is visible from the street.
Photo: Magicpiano , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ was completed in 1969 to a design by John M. Johansen in the Brutalist style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, noted for its sculptural Brutalist massing.
Photo: Magicpiano , CC BY-SA 4.0
Harkness Tower was completed in 1921 to a design by James Gamble Rogers in the Collegiate Gothic style. It is a prominent tower on Yale's campus, visible from the street.
Photo: Sage Ross , CC BY-SA 3.0
Horchow Hall was built in 1860 to a design by Sidney Mason Stone in the Italianate style. It stands in Yale's neighborhood, its Italianate ornament visible on the facade.
Photo: Paperchaser29 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Hotel Marcel was built in 1970 to a design by Marcel Breuer, a major modernist and Brutalist architect. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is known for its iconic Brutalist concrete facade.
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel , CC BY-SA 4.0
Landmark
Ingalls Rink was completed in 1958 to a design by Eero Saarinen, the modernist architect, on Yale's campus. Its distinctive rink form gives it a sculptural roof that stands out from the street, making it one of Yale's more recognizable athletic buildings.
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith , Public domain
The James Dwight Dana House is an Italianate house built in 1849 and designed by Henry Austin, a documented figure among New Haven's significant architects. It stands in the Yale neighborhood and carries both National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places status.
Photo: Dmadeo , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Knights of Columbus Building is a Brutalist tower completed in 1969 and designed by the firm Roche-Dinkeloo, a notable name in American architecture. It stands in the Yale neighborhood, its four-tower silhouette a distinctive presence on the New Haven skyline.
Photo: Seth Tisue from Boston, MA, USA , CC BY-SA 2.0
Marsh Hall is a Queen Anne style hall designed by J. Cleaveland Cady, distinguished by its facade and recognized as a National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places listed place.
Photo: Daderot. , CC BY-SA 3.0
The New Haven County Courthouse is a Greek Revival civic building designed by William H. Allen. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and its prominent facade gives it a strong civic presence in the Yale neighborhood.
Photo: Sage Ross , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
Payne Whitney Gymnasium was completed in 1932 to a design by John Russell Pope. The large gymnasium is prominent from the street in Yale's neighborhood.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Ragesoss assumed (based on copyright claims). , Public domain
The Richard C. Lee United States Courthouse is a Neoclassical building attributed to Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and stands in Yale's neighborhood as a federal courthouse.
Photo: Federal Judicial Center, https://www.fjc.gov/history/courthouses.nsf , Public domain
The Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library is a Brutalist building designed by Charles Gwathmey, standing in the Yale neighborhood. Brutalist architecture typically expresses its structure directly on the exterior, a character visible in Gwathmey's design here.
The Southern New England Telephone Company Administration Building is an Art Deco corporate headquarters listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its Art Deco tower is prominent from the street in the Yale neighborhood.
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel , CC BY-SA 4.0
Sterling Memorial Library is a Collegiate Gothic library completed in 1930 and designed by James Gamble Rogers, a documented significant architect. It stands in the Yale neighborhood, its facade a prominent institutional presence on campus.
Photo: Ragesoss , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Temple Street Garage was designed by Paul Rudolph, a major modernist architect, as an innovative folded-concrete parking garage.
Photo: Gunnar Klack , CC BY-SA 4.0
Trinity Church on the Green is an early Gothic Revival church designed by Ithiel Town and completed in 1814, ranking among the earliest examples of the Gothic Revival style built in America. It stands in the Yale neighborhood as a contributing property within a National Register of Historic Places district.
Photo: Joe Dzeda , CC BY-SA 3.0
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
The Goffe Street Special School for Colored Children was built in 1864 to a design by Henry Austin in the Renaissance Revival style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and stands in Yale's neighborhood as a notable historic institution.
The Lafayette B. Mendel House was designed by Henry Austin in the Renaissance Revival style. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Staib , CC BY 3.0
