At New Haven Museum: ‘Beyond the New Township: Wooster Square’

NEW HAVEN - The New Haven Museum has a new exhibition, “Beyond the New Township: Wooster Square” that runs through Feb. 28, 2014 at 114 Whitney Ave.

 The exhibit "offers an in-depth and often personal view of the neighborhood's 18^th-century beginnings, the evolution of industry and the arrival of immigrants, the effect of urban renewal, and the impact of historic preservation," the release said.

"The assemblage incorporates more than 200 objects from the Museum’s photo, manuscript, and fine and decorative arts collections, multimedia presentations, products manufactured in New Haven, and family treasures contributed by neighborhood residents and local historical societies."

"'Beyond the New Township’ integrates all of what we find fascinating about Wooster Square by combining some of the latest technology, for example, iPads and QR codes,  with what may be the most extensive use of the New Haven Museum’s collections to date,” New Haven Museum Executive Director Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky said, also in the release.   

The exhibit is the museum’s "most family-friendly" to date,"encouraging intergenerational activities through a family guide, a puzzle depicting the people, products, and production of The New Haven Clock Company, and an interactive board about Mix’s Museum—a treasury of “natural and artificial curiosities” at the east end of Court Street in the early 1800s."

"A number of related activities—lectures, neighborhood tours and special events —will take place throughout the exhibition. Through multidisciplinary school programs, schoolchildren and teachers will use primary sources such as maps, business records, trade cards and other original materials to understand how the neighborhood grew and changed."

“One of our goals was to challenge visitors to ponder the question: Where is Wooster Square?,” Tockarshewsky said in the release. “They’ll see how planners carved out the boundaries of the neighborhood versus how the area’s residents identified themselves and their neighborhood by the block where they grew up or worked. They’ll also see how dramatically the topography changed with the growth of industry and construction of highways, as waterfront areas were infilled.”

 Exhibition hours:  The New Haven Museum is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday, from 12 noon to 5 pm.  This summer, the Museum is also open free of charge on first and third Sundays of July and August.

Admission: $4 adults, $3 seniors, $2 students (age 12+), children free.

For more information visit www.newhavenmuseum.org or facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum

Editor's note: All information and the photo in this post were contributed. Click one of the buttons below to share it.  In photo: New Haven Bread Company, photograph, circa 1917. Collection of the New Haven Museum