New Haven Green, New Haven, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The New Haven Green is a large public square in the middle of New Haven, Connecticut, laid out by Puritan colonists in 1638 as the heart of their new town. It is still the city's central open space, with three historic churches on it and Yale University beside it. Beneath the lawn lie the graves of early settlers, which gives this ordinary-looking park a surprising past.

The story behind it

The colonists planned New Haven as a grid of nine squares, and the Green was the central one. A popular local story says it was made huge to hold the crowds expected at the Second Coming, though that is legend rather than record. For roughly 150 years the Green was also the town's burial ground, and the colony's founding governor, Theophilus Eaton, is buried here, as is Benedict Arnold's first wife.

Burials stopped in 1821, and many headstones were moved to Grove Street Cemetery. The graves were not moved, so thousands of people still rest under the grass. That became vivid during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when an old oak toppled on the Green and a human skeleton was found tangled in its roots. Authorities judged the bones most likely colonial. A small part of the old burial ground can still be seen in the crypt under Center Church.

What to look for

• The three churches standing on the Green, including Center Church, whose crypt holds old gravestones from the burial ground.
• The square, open plan of the Green itself, the centre of the original nine-square town.
• The neo-Georgian library on Elm Street, built of brick with white columns and designed by Cass Gilbert, finished in 1911.
• The edge of Yale's Old Campus just across the street, a reminder of how close town and university sit.

Tips for your visit

• The Green is an open public park, so you can wander through it at any time of day. Allow 20 to 30 minutes for a slow loop.
• Late afternoon light is pleasant, and the lawn is liveliest on fine days when people gather and picnic.
• Check current opening hours and tour details before planning to go inside Center Church and its crypt.
• Yale's campus, Grove Street Cemetery and the shops and cafes of downtown are all a short walk away, so it works well as the start of a longer stroll.

See it on a quest

Ghost Hunt in New Haven suits a place with this much buried history. You walk to the Green on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in New Haven is a darker way to see the same streets. You move from place to place at your own pace, hear the story of each one as you reach it, and solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.