Approximate population: 56,913
Median age: 37.7
Number of occupied housing units: 22,408
Average cost of a house: $139,700
Average household income: $52,351 (just over $10,000 of the national average)
Originally when I left the house I had Yale University in New Haven as my destination, but I didn't actually end up there, even with my GPS. I was driving through New Haven and didn't know where to park or even what to see, and ended up driving straight through by accident. I was frantically thinking up a new plan as I continued driving, passing the city completely and ending up in a more suburban looking area and was terribly lost as my GPS lost service. And that should be a lesson to you kids who have never used an actual map before - technology is not god - it isn't an instant solution for everything, sometimes you just need an atlas an a compass to get where you need to go.... Although paper maps tend to thwart all my good intentions. All of a sudden I saw the strangest sight: a silver oblong shaped building in the middle of a big grassy field. The juxtaposition of the bright shiny silver building against the soft wildflowers was just so out of place, I turned down the nearest side street to park and investigate. The whole area looked to be devoid of life but that seemed to be a temporary issue because latter as I was leaving a few big truck started to enter the compound. Surrounding the building on four sides was a public park, and the building its self was protected by a very tall, black metal fence. I soon discovered (or think I discovered) through deductive reasoning that it was some kind of learning facility as there was a bus parked inside the gated parking lot. The whole area had this unkempt beauty the field was in its untamed patches of tall grasses, the ducks chatting away in a small pond and its over abundance of wildflowers. It really captured my imagination, and I didn't want to leave but I had an agenda and I couldn't stop at only one thing. As I walked down a different path to reach the road I saw that from the front the building was literally shaped like a light bulb and the front end was all glass! I may have had a giggle fit for a couple minutes once I calmed down I scurried across the road to see the Eli Whitney Museum. That building was very different from anything I had ever seen and I think it would be so neat to see it lit up at night.
Across the street was The Eli Whitney Museum, which is a great place for little kids to go to to learn and do activities. My mother used to take my siblings and I there a couple times when we where kids and I just couldn't believe I stumbled upon it by accident! It was such a trip walking through the building remembering all the projects I did there. The museum its self is comprised of a small house with three spacious rooms, two are set aside specifically for group activities allowing kids to be as messy as their little hearts desire and then one very oblong room is for very tactile and interesting displays. The museum was definitively designed to be fun for kids and allow they to play and learn simulations. Outside the house are carved wooden benches for parents to sit on, cute little learning tools and little things for the kids to play with. The outside area was just as adorable as in the inside, there was even an adirondack chair that could have fit a giant! I wandered out to behind the museum and saw there was is a state park and a waterfall, I think that maybe in the fall I may go hiking there. Most things there didn't really spark my interest as they were really geared towards the 12 and under crowd. However, this museum marks the beginning of a key aspect to the whole town of Hamden, Eli Whitney. Eli Whitney went to Yale college in New Haven, and lived in Hamden. He invented the cotton gin and basically revolutionizing how cotton was processed, and gave a serious edge to manufacturing processes. He didn't make as much money from his cotton gin as he should have because other farmers saw how his machine worked and would make their own, and as patent infringement wasn't that big of a deal then there was very little he could do. He also invented the concept of interchangeable parts, changing how guns were manufactured, allowing them to be created with separate pieces that are put together, instead of just having one gigantic and extremely difficult mold. His ideas and inventions themselves really contributed to how we manufacture goods and because of that a lot of places in Hamden are named after him. He brought a lot of attention to little Hamden, therefore knowing this fact I was not surprised as I drove through Hamden to find; Whitney road, Eli's Garden Chinese food, Whitney Farms, Eli Whitney's Tavern, Whitney Bank, Eli's Best doughnuts, and so on and so forth. This showed me a group of businesses that remember their past and this ideal is something that is echoed throughout the town.
After I walked around for a bit, got back on Whitney Road silently cursing the fact that it was pouring, until I spotted a coffee named Books & Co and immediately parked around the corner. It was everything that Borders and Starbucks wanted to be and more. The store was founded in 1995 and is a great little treasure tucked in the Hamden landscape. The store had books for sale (but you really didn't have to buy them) people could come buy a cup of coffee from their coffee bar(a legitimate bar, which I would like to note sold soy milk!). They also had hand-made jewelry all over the store, souvenir buttons, and old comfy couches to lounge in. If someone was to just glance a the front they might just drive on by thinking it was just a book store, that only had old and outdated things, and they would be oh so wrong. The whole building just felt loved, like a favorite book, it had been read over and over again and enjoyed so many times, but had been taken care of. This was a common theme I noticed in a lot of the places I visited, they weren't flashy and new with chrome, digital everything and the attitude to go along with that. Hamden, had been there for a while, and people were proud of that. They didn't need that glitz and glam, they have tradition and the honor that goes along with that as well as the buildings that their grandparents built. This was an amazing site and the history that I learned was just amazing. I think Hamden is a great place to visit, if you don't slow down to take the time to learn about you might just pass it by.
The next place I stopped was Lucian's Florist and Greenhouse, I was driving down the road looking for the next place to stop when I saw a sign saying I could rent flowers! What?! I had never heard of something like that! So I pulled over with no real solid plan of what to even say, so I just told the owner exactly what I was doing. He seemed thrilled with my blog and said that my generation should be doing things like this. We ended up talking for over an hour! I expected to just a few key facts about his business and what he loved about his town and state, but he really went in depth about his company and all the wonderful things Hamden had to offer and it was truly an inspiring visit. Lucian told me a little of his story - he grew up right here in Hamden and went off to pave his path in NYC as an actor, after a few years he got tired of the city and moved back to Hamden around the mid-seventies. Once back he took a part time job in a floral shop, something he never imagined himself ever getting into but the flower business was booming and he saw an opportunity. He eventually took over the business and has been running it ever since. The shop itself is converted two floor home, that has the flowers on the first floor and antiques on the second. He told me there is a very strong theater presence in the surrounding area, international festivals and summer concerts.
Next I pulled into an old converted car hop called glenwood It had this real old school vibe with the pastel benches, and sets of old couples spread out around the regionally acclaimed eatery (named one of the top ten hod dogs in CT). During the summer there is an only car show every Wednesday (except when its raining.... which it was) where locals bring their classic automobiles and people hangout talking shop. One of the managers who had been working there for 20 years told me that he loved working there so much because everyday you meet new people, but at the same time there are also regulars who come in. A mix of friendly familiarity and new things to see each day, because everybody's got a story to tell if you listen. There have been a few movies that were filmed in their restaurant and a documentary. Sharing the building is the owner's sisters business kellys kone konnection, Kelly started a homemade ice-cream shop, which ended up being so successful that Friendlies moved their adjacent business elsewhere.
I probably didnt even make it down the road 500 feet before I hit another treasure - Whitney's Donut Shop a little restaurant that is tucked in a little off the side of the road, so if you drove too quickly you might miss it. They have amazing sandwiches, which are made onsite, and obviously a wide variety of donuts. When I sat down it was that awkward time of just long enough after lunch that nobody was eating that but too soon for dinner. But I was told, there is a hug fan base of regulars who come every morning for coffee and donuts. The shop had been started two generations ago, and is still run by the same family. The daughter of the owner told me something that, a week later I still find rolling arround my head 'nothing here is just going to come to you. You have to go out and find it'. I think that
I drove down the Whitney Ave feeling satisfied and excited (with a very promising looking red velvet cupcake riding shotgun) when horrors of all horrors my gas light started blinking. I was a little nervous as I had been driving for a while and didn't remember passing any gas stations, and how was I going to find one as I was very lost. Personally, it didnt matter all that much that I was lost as I had the day off and this was my only mission, but wandering does not lend itself to find specific items like gas stations. Thankfully I just happened to be a block down from a gas station and I pulled right in. The first thing I noticed about Keating Brothers Motors was their old fashion sign, I'm not even sure its the kind the lights up. The second thing I noticed when I turned was that there was no slot for my credit card at the pump. For a second I thought maybe they were decoration or not operational and no one had bothered to take them out - but that idea was defunct as quickly as it came when I saw the price was consistent with what I paid last week for gas. Before I had time to do anything else, a kind old man came to my car and pumped my gas, the station was a full service station (and the only one in town to do that)
I walked right across the street to Rainbow Cleaners, a second generation dry cleaning business, started by two brothers. One brother, signed up as soon as he was of age to help fight in WWII, and was shipped off to Europe. When he returned, he started by going to engineering school as a way to pay for expenses he started working as a delivery boy for a dry cleaner service. Around 1950 he bought out Sun Dry with his brother and they formed Rainbow Cleaners with two locations - each one run by a brother. An interesting note is that this dry cleaners has a labor union because Sun Dry had already had a union in place when they bought the business they also bought the union. The business has made it through many turbulent times and outlived many of other dry cleaning businesses, the daughter Karen of the founder(who I believe to be the new owner) attributes their success to the quality of their work. Their business has been arround for 61 years, they have a quality staff and a relationship with their community, and they had been doing dry cleaning since they were teenagers. "To be able to press a silk dress...." Karen told me "...is an art. not a skill. To have to ability to get a stain out of that dress is something to be proud of.". Karen loves Hamden, she also works as a teacher for the high school "kids tell me all the time there is nothing to do and they can't wait to leave.", but she tells them "there is a diverse array of things to do and New Haven isn't that far away if you wanted a taste of the city". I'm sure that once they see how nice Hamden really is they will be back.... From everything I have hear, most people do go back.
From all the people I have talked to today I think that Hamden has grown tremendously since the seventies, and is now somewhat considered a college town with Quinnipiac rapidly growing and drawing in more kids to the town. The town its self has grown larger and has moved from more of a small town feel where everybody knows everybody to a more suburban vibe - where you know some but don't recognize everyone in your town. But one fact was consistent - Hamden was a place where people took care of their own. From local business owners collaborating on product orders to community yoga classes- there was a deep respect for Hamden and people who were from Hamden. Hamden is a place filled with history and tradition where people eat at the same restaurant that their grandmother ate at. I felt comfortable talking with these people I didn't even know, and they really made me feel welcome in a place I had never really seen. Hamden was a treasure trove of little shops that were family owned for generations like a hardware store that had been on Whitney ave since the 30's(which I really wanted to visit, but ran out of time). The roots in Hamden ran deep and they ran strong - it seemed like a great community with a lot to offer.
