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New Britain, Connecticut

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New Britain, Connecticut
File:NewBritainSkyline17.jpg
Official seal of New Britain, Connecticut
Seal
Nickname: 
Hardware City
Location within the state of Connecticut
Location within the state of Connecticut
CountyHartford County
Government
 • MayorTimothy T. Stewart
Population
 (2000)
 • Total71,538
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.new-britain.net/

New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Hartford. In 1900, 25,998 people lived in New Britain, Connecticut; in 1910, 43,916; in 1915, 52,203; in 1920, 59,316; and in 1940, 68,685. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,538. While it was considered a city of its own, New Britain is now considered a suburb of Hartford, which is only nine miles away.

Prominent local institutions

The city is home to Central Connecticut State University and Charter Oak State College. The city is served by New Britain General Hospital.

The New Britain Museum of American Art, located at 56 Lexington Street adjacent to Walnut Hill Park, is the oldest art museum in the United States devoted to American Art and contains a famous and comprehensive art collection from the 18th century to the present.

Nicknames

The city's official nickname is the "Hardware City" because of its history as a manufacturing center and as the headquarters of Stanley Works. Because of its large Polish population, the city is sometimes playfully referred to as "New Britski."

Also often referred to as "Hard Hittin' New Britain" - affectionately by its residents who consider it a tough town, and derogatorily by others.

Large Polish community

New Britain has the largest Polish population of any city in Connecticut. Broad Street in downtown New Britain is home to a variety of Polish stores and delis that are worth checking out. In the summertime, many Poles flock to "Polanka" (in back of Pulaski Middle School) for Dożynki (a harvest festival), where one can find buttermilk, yellow, and brown amber jewelry from the Baltic, as well as pretty wooden boxes with traditional Polish carving. Pierogi and Gołąbki are served as local New England Polish bands play until late Sunday evenings. Poles throughout the city may also be conversing over coffee and pastries at home with newsbroadcasts from Poland, updating them on what is going on in The Fatherland (another great New Britain restaurant).

The Polish community is known for fruitious gardens, immaculate flowers, and (most likely) a Catholic figure in the front yard (not unlike Mexican-Americans and Mary de Guadalupe). Many New Britain Poles cherish Our Lady of Częstochowa and preserve their Eastern European heritage and pride by honoring the mysterious and difficult Polish language. In fact, New Britain High School offers Polish as a 4-year language to study and master and translates all of the signs in the building to Polish. Some backyards also have wooden stoves to smoke kielbasa for a few hours. Halerpost, also on Broad Street, is home to many of New Britain's settled families. Just ask a Polish-American where their parents met. There's a good chance they met at Halerpost! Broad Street is home to Sacred Heart Church with a K-8 private school. Most students are Polish or first-generation American. They, too, teach Polish and have a beautiful Polish church under the big, English-language church.

The Polish influence is credited with a unique feature of the New Britain accent, possibly the only variety of English in North America to feature the glottal stop to replace 't'.[1]

History

New Britain was settled in 1687 and was incorporated as a parish under the name New Britain Society in 1754. Chartered in 1850 as a township and in 1871 as a city, New Britain was separated from the nearby town of Berlin, Connecticut. A consolidation charter was adopted in 1905.

During the early part of the 20th century, New Britain was known as the "Hardware Capital of the World," as well as "Hardware City." Major manufacturers, such as The Stanley Works and Corbin Locks, were headquartered in the city.

In 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley established Stanley's Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to make door bolts and other wrought-iron hardware. In 1857 his cousin Henry Stanley and founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city. Planes invented by Leonard Bailey and manufctured by the Stanley Rule and Level Company, known as "Stanley/Bailey" planes, were prized by woodworkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remain popular among wood craftsmen today. The two companies merged in 1920, and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works.

In the history of the clothes hanger, this city ranks prominently as the place where today's most used hanger, the wire hanger, was inspired by a coat hook that was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain, Connecticut. However, no monuments to either North or the wire hanger have been erected within the city limits (or the Stanley/Bailey plane, for that matter).

New Britain was also the home of some of the first racquetball play. Shortly after Greenwich, Connecticut tennis pro Joseph Sobek invented the game, Douglas Boyea, the New Britain YMCA's physical director, recognized the value of the new sport, and promoted the game at the Y on Court Street.

Further reading on the city's history

Here are some other sources of information about New Britain:

  • History of New Britain by Camp, (New Britain, 1889) is a valuable source of information.
  • A Walk Around Walnut Hill, 1975, written by the late Kenneth Larson, an artist and historian and vocal opponent of the city's redevelopment program. This illustrated book was part of an effort to make the city aware of its rich architectural history.
  • New Britain, by Alfred Andrews, 1867. The Andrews history predates Camp's work and has an especially strong focus on the city's early religious and family histories.
  • A History of New Britain, by Herbert E. Fowler, 1960. This work was commissioned by the New Britain Historical Society. It's a comprehensive study. Dr. Fowler, a professor at Central Connecticut State University, died in 1963 at the age of 80.
  • The Story of New Britain, by Lillian Hart Tryon, 1925, and published by the Esther Stanley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. It includes richly detailed sketches by Mortimer Warren of old New Britain scenes.
  • Images of America, New Britain, by Arlene Palmer, 1995. A former curator of the New Britain Public Library's Local History Room, Ms. Palmer prepared a series of books that document, in photographs, the city.
  • New Britain, The City of Invention, by Patrick Thibodeau and Arlene Palmer. Thibodeau is a former reporter and editor at The Herald.

Education

The slogan for its high school sports teams, the Golden Hurricanes, is "Hard Hittin' New Britain". The New Britain Golden Hurricanes sports teams are well known in the state of Connecticut, with many state championships under their belt, including several Football State Championships, and the most recent, the Girls' Basketball State Championship.

New Britain High School's marching band is considered the best among surrounding public high schools, featuring Majorettes, Cane-ettes, the Color Guard, and musicians playing clarinets, trombones, trumpets, flutes, and a very powerful drumming section, known for their strong cadence, heard for miles around "The High School"'s neighborhood.

New Britain High's JROTC program has also had great success, winning countless drill team and color guard competitions, including the New England Championship in regulation drill. They have also earned the Honor Unit with Distinction Award several times consecutively.

Notable athletes

Notable people, past and present

  • Elihu Burritt (1810–1879), was a philanthropist, linguist, and social activist born in the city.
  • Anna Eshoo, U.S. Congresswoman representing California's 14th District, was born in the city.
  • Thomas Meskill (born 1928), a former Republican Governor of the state (1971-1974), Congressman (1967-1970), and Mayor of New Britain (1965-1966), was born in the city.
  • Abraham Ribicoff (1910–1998), Connecticut Democratic Governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Kennedy administration, was born in the city.
  • Teddy Wilson, jazz pianist (1912-1986), died in the city.
  • Walter Camp, 1859-1935, Inventer of American Football. Was born in New Britain.
  • Ron Sutton, (Born 1923) NB High School Junior Varsity Golf Coach, participant in PGA Tour, teaches in New Britain

Sister Cities

New Britain has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Attractions

Notable restaurants

Capitol Lunch, known for its hot dogs, is located on Main Street. The eatery has a secret sauce, similar to chili. Capitol Lunch hasn't changed over the years, one reason why many city residents love it. Other venerated New Britain restaurants are Meadowlands and Roma, two neighborhood institutions that have operated for decades and have loyal patrons.

The West Side Pub, located on West Main Street, is well-known for their New York-style hamburgers, cheap drinks, and loyal clientel.

On the East side of the city is the East Side Restaurant. Family owned and operated for over 60 years, this landmark eatery is known for its authentic German and American cuisine. The main dining room houses the mural "The View of Heidelberg" painted by renowned artist Kenneth A. Larson in 1989.

Avery's Soda has been around over 100 years and is the most popular soda of the Greater Hartford Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.7 km² (13.4 mi²). 34.6 km² (13.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.52%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 71,538 people, 28,558 households, and 16,934 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,070.5/km² (5,364.0/mi²). There were 31,164 housing units at an average density of 902.0/km² (2,336.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.38% White, 10.89% African American, 0.37% Native American, 2.36% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.12% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more races. 26.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,558 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,185, and the median income for a family was $41,056. Males had a median income of $34,848 versus $26,873 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,404. About 13.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestries: Polish (19.9%), Italian (12.9%), Irish (7.8%), French (5.6%), German (4.3%), English (3.7%).

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[3]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage

Template:American politics/party colours/Democratic/row

Democratic 16,116 1,176 17,292 54.50%

Template:American politics/party colours/Republican/row

Republican 3,862 324 4,186 13.19%

Template:American politics/party colours/Independent/row

Unaffiliated 10,200 27 10,227 32.23%

Template:American politics/party colours/Libertarian/row

Minor Parties 19 4 23 0.07%
Total 30,197 1,531 31,728 100%

References

  1. ^ GARY SANTANIELLO, 'Accent? What Accent?', The New York Times September 5, 2004 Sunday
  2. ^ [1]"Tebucky Jones Seeks To Evict His Mother," by Hilda Munoz and Ken Byron, The Hartford Courant, August 4, 2006, Web page accessed August 4, 2006: "Tebucky Jones, a New England Patriots football star and former New Britain High School standout ..."
  3. ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved 2006-10-02.

See also

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

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