- New Britain, Connecticut
-
New Britain, Connecticut — City — Looking north from Walnut Hill Park
SealNickname(s): New Britski, Hardware City, Hard Hittin New Britain Location within Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°40′30″N 72°47′14″W / 41.675°N 72.78722°WCoordinates: 41°40′30″N 72°47′14″W / 41.675°N 72.78722°W Country United States State Connecticut Region Central Connecticut Incorporated (town) 1850 Incorporated (city) 1870 Consolidated 1905 Government - Type Mayor-council - Mayor Timothy T. Stewart Area - Total 13.4 sq mi (34.7 km2) - Land 13.3 sq mi (34.4 km2) - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) Elevation 167 ft (51 m) Population (2005)[1] - Total 71,254 - Density 5,358.7/sq mi (2,069/km2) Time zone EST (UTC-5) - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4) ZIP code 06050, 06051, 06052, 06053 Area code(s) 860 FIPS code 09-50370 GNIS feature ID 0209217 Website http://www.newbritainct.gov/ New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254.[1]
The city's official nickname is the "Hardware City" because of its history as a manufacturing center and as the headquarters of Stanley Black & Decker. Because of its large Polish population, the city is playfully referred to as "New Britski".[2]
Contents
History
New Britain was settled in 1687 and then was incorporated as a new 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, the P&F Corbin Company (later Corbin Locks), and North & Judd, were headquartered in the city.
Postcard: West Main Street, pre-1907.
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 founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city. Planes invented by Leonard Bailey and manufactured 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.
The wire coat hanger was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain, Connecticut.
In 1895, the basketball technique of dribbling was developed at the New Britain YMCA. In 1938, New Britain High School competed in the high school football national championship game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1954 saw the development of racquetball, also at the YMCA.[3]
Geography and topography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²), of which, 13.3 square miles (34.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.
New Britain's terrain is mostly made up of soft, rolling hills and young Connecticut forest. The many parks are populated with trees, and in small, undeveloped areas, there is also brushy woods. New Britain's streets also have many trees lining the sides of the roads. Many front yards in the northern half of the city have at least one tree. One or two streams flow through New Britain, undisturbed by the development.
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 71,538 people, 28,558 households, and 16,934 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,364.0 people per square mile (2,070.5/km²). There were 31,164 housing units at an average density of 2,336.7 per square mile (902.0/km²). 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[5] Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage Democratic 16,116 1,176 17,292 54.50% Republican 3,862 324 4,186 13.19% Unaffiliated 10,200 27 10,227 32.23% Minor Parties 19 4 23 0.07% Total 30,197 1,531 31,728 100% Polish community
New Britain has the largest Polish population of any city in Connecticut, and by 1930 a quarter of the city was ethnically Polish.[6] Also referred to as "Little Poland", the neighborhood has been home to a considerable number of Polish businesses and families since 1890. On September 23, 2008, through the urging of the Polonia Business Association, the New Britain City Council unanimously passed a resolution officially designating New Britain's Broad Street area as "Little Poland."[citation needed] In recent years, the Polish community has been credited with revitalizing the area both culturally and economically. Media is served by three Polish language newspapers and a television station, and many businesses and civil agencies are bi-lingual.
Notable visitors to the Polish district have included Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan on July 8, 1987.[7] In 1969, as then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II gave a mass at Sacred Heart Church.[8] A statue was erected in his honor in 2007.[citation needed]
The Polish influence could be in part responsible for some vowel qualities of the so-called New Britain accent, such as nasalization of reduced vowels before /n/, though a more characteristic feature of the central Connecticut dialect is distinguished by systematic substitution of the glottal stop in place of [t] for an unreleased /t/ word-finally and before syllabic consonants (e.g. "eight" is pronounced [ɛɪʔ] instead of [eɪt]). Thus the shibboleth pronunciation of New Britain, [nuˈbɹɪʔɨː̃n] instead of [nuˈbɹɪtn̩].[9]
Economy
Top employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[10] the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees 1 The Hospital of Central Connecticut 3,600 2 State of Connecticut 2,811 3 City of New Britain 2,226 4 Hospital for Special Care 1,396 5 Stanley Black & Decker 780 6 Tilcon Connecticut 735 7 Grove Hill Medical Center 430 8 DATTCO 409 9 Celebration Foods 400 10 Moore Medical 350 Sites of interest
Grand Street after the mid-March Great Blizzard of 1888- Central Connecticut State University
- New Britain Little League
- New Britain Museum of American Art — the oldest art museum in the United States devoted to American Art. It contains a famous and comprehensive art collection from the 18th century to the present.
- Mountain Laurel Sudbury School - an independent alternative school
- New Britain Industrial Museum
- The Hospital of Central Connecticut is the city's largest employer.
- Walnut Hill Park
- Walnut Hill Rose Garden, the recently restored landmark with over 800 roses
- Hole in the Wall Theater
- New Britain Youth Museum has children's artifacts and exhibits on regional culture.
- Capitol Lunch—a hot dog institution in New England. The "Cappie Dog" is well known to New Britain visitors for its unique and secret chili sauce.
- Stag Arms, a firearms manufacturer is located in New Britain.
- The Polish District or "Little Poland": Located primarily in the vicinity of Broad Street, visitors can find unique amber jewelry, handcrafted items, blown glass, Christmas ornaments carved chess sets, as well as eat their fill of Polish food.
Sports
The New Britain Knitting Co. factory shown in this set of directions for washing some of its products, about 1915- New Britain Rock Cats, minor league professional baseball team playing in New Britain Stadium.
New Britain is also home to New Britain Little League (NBLL, previously known as Walicki - A.W. Stanley Little League), a youth baseball and softball organization that serves the children of New Britain who are between the ages of 4 and 16. New Britain Little League has been in existence for over 50 years and operates year round- offering winter clinics, a spring season, a summer tourney season, and a developmental fall ball program. NBLL plays at A.W. Stanley Park and Stanley Quarter Park, and serves over 700 children annually.
Education
Colleges and universities
The city is home to Central Connecticut State University and Charter Oak State College.
Primary and secondary schools
New Britain Public Schools operates public schools. The local high school is New Britain High School. New Britain is also home to the Mountain Laurel Sudbury School.
Transportation
Connecticut Route 9 is the city's main expressway connecting traffic between Hartford (via I-84 and I-91) and Old Saybrook and Middletown. I-84 itself clips the northwestern corner of the city. Public transportation is provided by Connecticut Transit.
New Britain may also serve as the terminus of the proposed Hartford–New Britain busway.
A nine mile long dedicated BRT system with 11 stations starting from downtown New Britain has been proposed, terminating at Union Station in Hartford. This would be constructed along an existing/abandoned Right of Way which links the two cities.
New Britain has a nearby Amtrak station in adjacent Berlin. The Vermonter (once daily) and Shuttle (multiple daily arrivals/departures) provide service to destinations throughout the northeastern United States. There are also plans underway for a Springfield - Hartford - New Haven commuter rail, which would have Berlin as one of its stations.
Notable residents
Public Library, ca. 1910- Willie Hall—Pulaski High School, USC, Oakland Raiders Linebacker for the Super Bowl XI Champion Raiders[11]
- Velvet Sky, professional wrestler with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
- April Forrest born and raised in New Britain,Ct. April is signed to Universal Motown records division of UMRG.
- John T. Downey, CIA agent who was held captive in China for twenty years.
- Carl Pavano, Major League Baseball pitcher born in New Britain.
Sister cities
East Main St., ca 1911New Britain has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
References
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, before 1907- ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Connecticut" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21, 2006. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-09.csv. Retrieved November 17, 2006.
- ^ http://articles.boston.com/2011-03-13/travel/29343867_1_polish-community-polish-business-district-new-businesses
- ^ "Mission". Website. New Britain-Berlin YMCA. http://www.nbymca.org/about_us/mission.php. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20060923151511/http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/lists/2005OctRegEnrollStats.pdf. Retrieved 2006-10-02.
- ^ http://www.ctheritage.org/encyclopedia/topicalsurveys/immigration.htm
- ^ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=34527#axzz1SraSOOn0
- ^ http://www.library.ccsu.edu/cpaaead/cpaa8602.xml
- ^ Gary Santaniello, "Accent? What Accent?", The New York Times, September 5, 2004.
- ^ City of New Britain CAFR
- ^ "Raiders Capture First Super Bowl with 32-14 Drubbing of Vikings". Official website of the Oakland Raiers—History—Greatest moments. The Oakland Raiders. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20061206012143/http://www.raiders.com/history/gm1.jsp. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
Further reading
- History of New Britain by Camp, (New Britain, 1889)
- A Walk Around Walnut Hill, 1975, by Kenneth Larson
- New Britain, by Alfred Andrews, 1867
- A History of New Britain, by Herbert E. Fowler, 1960
- The Story of New Britain, by Lillian Hart Tryon, 1925
- Images of America, New Britain, by Arlene Palmer, 1995
- New Britain, The City of Invention, by Patrick Thibodeau and Arlene Palmer
External links
- City of New Britain
- Greater New Britain Arts Alliance
- New Britain Police Department
- New Britain Downtown District
- East Side Community Action/ Neighborhood Revitalization Zone
- CT Transit Rapid Transit Planning Commission
- BBC Special on Polish Community in New Britain
- [1]
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Categories:- New Britain, Connecticut
- Cities in Connecticut
- Populated places in Hartford County, Connecticut
- University towns in the United States
- Populated places established in 1687
- Polish American history
- Polish communities
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