Yale Visitor Center Offers Specialized Summer Tours

With a focus on architecture and history set on the Yale campus as well as around the New Haven Green, the Yale Visitor Center will present a series of specialized free summer tours beginning June 14, some of which will be hosted by guides with a deep interest in their particular field. Most of the tours will start from the Center’s temporary quarters in Dwight Hall, 6 High Street, accessible through Phelps Gate on College Street, unless otherwise noted.

A representative of the Friends of the Grove Street Cemetery will lead the Grove Street Cemetery tour. Dedicated in 1796, the Grove Street Cemetery observed its 200th anniversary in 1996 and was included in the National Register of Historic Places as the first legally chartered cemetery in the country. This tour will take place Friday, June 14, 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: two blocks.

The “New Haven: Urban Renewal, A Historical Perspective” tour will take place on Saturday, June 15, at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Duration: one and a half hours; walking distance: minimal. This bus tour will leave from the New Haven Colony Historical Society, 114 Whitney Avenue.

A tour of contemporary architecture in downtown New Haven will visit some of New Haven and Yale’s contemporary architectural treasures. This tour will be conducted by the Alliance for Architecture on Sunday, June 16 at 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: 10 blocks.

The Judaica in New Haven tour will visit treasures related to Jewish rituals as well as historic manuscripts associated with Jewish history and literature on Monday, June 17 at 11:00 a.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: six blocks.

A self-guided architectural treasure hunt around the Yale campus for youths, 7-12, features clues that will help youngsters find the actual location of architectural details and designs on campus. This program will take place on Tuesday June 18 all day. Duration: about one hour; walking distance: five blocks. Pick up your free map at the Yale Visitor Center.

The Freedom Trail tour is a combination driving and walking tour that details the history of the struggle of the African American freedom movement in New Haven and its effect on the American civil rights landscape. The tour will include key spots from the Amistad incident that began in 1839. It is scheduled on Wednesday, June 19 at 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: two blocks.

The tour of the legendary Shubert Theater, led by Ruth Feldman, includes the backstage and dressing room areas as well as the famous “graffiti walls.” It will take place on Thursday, June 20, 1:30 p.m. Although is for all ages, please don’t bring baby strollers. Duration: one hour. Reservations are requested. Call 432-2300.

Explore sites that highlight the rich industrial history of New Haven on Friday, June 21, 3:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: minimal. A bus will leave from the Yale Visitor Center.

A walking tour of historic Hillhouse Avenue will be led by representatives from the New Haven Preservation Trust, Saturday June 22, 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: five blocks.

The “New Haven Community Gardens and Greenspace” tour will begin with an overview of the city’s gardens and greenspace projects at a continental breakfast at the Yale Visitor Center on Saturday June 22. Breakfast at 10 a.m.; tour at 11 a.m. (both are free). Duration: two hours and 45 minutes.

The “Historic Wooster Square” tour features residential architecture of the 19th century. This guided walking tour will trace the history of Wooster Square from its maritime origins through industrial wealth on Sunday, June 23, at 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: one large block. Vans will take visitors from the Visitor Center to Wooster Square and return them following the tour.

Yale College students will lead a walking tour of the Yale campus that mixes stories of student life with history and architecture of the University; Monday, June 24, at noon. Duration: one hour and 15 minutes; walking distance: one mile.

The tour of the architecture of Louis L. Kahn, led by Alexander Purves, professor of architecture, will discuss the design of the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art on Tuesday June 25, 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: two blocks.

Tour Yale University’s Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, which houses the largest nuclear accelerator of its type in the world. Faculty and students are investigating the fundamental structure of the most microscopic world - researching nuclear structures, the shapes of nuclei and how and why those shapes can change. This tour will be on Wednesday, June 26, at 1:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: minimal. A bus will take visitors to the lab from the Visitor Center and will return when the tour is finished.

Take the “Nature in New Haven” tour and see the city’s natural treasures on Thursday, June 27, at noon, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Duration: 1 1/2 hours; walking distance: minimal.

The tour of the Center Church on the Green and its crypt will take you through this national historic landmark, which was established in the New Haven Colony in 1638. The original edifice was destroyed by fire and rebuilt on its present site in 1807. In rebuilding, the foundation preparation unearthed many graves from the original New Haven Colony cemetery. This tour will take place on Friday, June 28, 1:30 p.m. Duration: 30 minutes; walking distance: minimal.

“New Haven Firsts: A Tour of the Historic New Haven Green,” led by Scott Healy, director of Town Green Special Services District, retells the story of New Haven’s evolution from a colonial Puritan “Zion in the Wilderness” to a mercantile and industrial capital, capturing the Elm City’s most innovative moments in its 360-year history; Saturday, June 29, at 12:30 p.m. Duration: one hour; walking distance: three blocks.

The “Monuments of Modern Architecture in New Haven” tour will take you to buildings designed by some of the best-known American architects of our century. Saturday, June 29, 11 a.m. Duration: one and a half hours; walking distance: 10 blocks.