Neighborhood Spotlight: Prospect Hill and East Rock, New Haven

Of all the images that I take on any given photo shoot, there are always quite a few that never get shared on social media. Some neighborhoods are just so chock full of amazing houses that I can’t stop snapping and I end up with a large inventory of images that no one ever sees. In order to give these beauties the attention they deserve, I’m starting a new series called Neighborhood Spotlight where I will share more images and highlight certain neighborhood features.

For this first installment in the series, I’m featuring the adjoining Prospect Hill and East Rock neighborhoods in New Haven, CT. I was in New Haven for a photo shoot at East Rock Park, and I couldn’t resist wandering the neighborhood streets afterward to admire the architecture.

Prospect Hill is north of downtown, and while primarily residential it also includes several buildings of Albertus Magnus College and a number of Yale departments and offices. The bulk of the area was developed from 1890-1930 by some of New Haven’s most prominent citizens, and many of the homes are quite large and have professionally landscaped grounds.

Prospect Hill Historic District overlaps much of the neighborhood, with Prospect and St. Rohan streets in particular having many fine examples of Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Shingle Style architecture. Click on the pink house below to open a gallery view of a few Prospect Hill homes.

Prospect Hill remains a very desirable neighborhood today and is one of the most affluent neighborhoods in New Haven. Whitney Avenue is the border between Prospect Hill and East Rock, another highly rated New Haven neighborhood.

East Rock is a bit larger than Prospect Hill, and while it is also primarily residential it does have a commercial district on Upper State Street featuring shops, restaurants, and coffee spots. Apartments in the neighborhood are hugely popular with Yale graduate students, but the area also attracts young families, professionals, and Yale faculty.

East Rock developed earlier than Prospect Hill, with the first homes being constructed from about 1830-1860. Most of the land in East Rock was owned by Abraham Bishop, a prominent lawyer and businessman. When Bishop died in 1844, his land was subdivided and gradually developed with most homes in the area constructed by 1900.

East Rock is named for (surprise!) East Rock, a trap rock ridge that borders one edge of the neighborhood. The ridge is part of the larger Metacomet Ridge that extended from Long Island Sound in New Haven to the Vermont border.

Its cliffs rise over 300 feet above the city below, and East Rock Park is a popular recreational destination with numerous hiking trails, an automobile access road to the summit, a rose garden, and more. All of New Haven can be viewed from the summit, with views of Long Island Sound in the distance. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at the summit stands 110 feet tall and can be seen from anywhere in the city.

My time in Prospect Hill and East Rock was too brief, and I plan to get back to see more of these neighborhoods and explore other things that New Haven has to offer (like the signature New Haven style apizza!)

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Are you from New Haven, live in New Haven, or have other strong ties to the Elm City? Then you might enjoy the map below or these other New Haven inspired items from Etsy!

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