New Haven Oral History Project

“I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting it was to be here…”

Frances “Bitsie” Clark on Urban Renewal

Frances “Bitsie” Clark came to New Haven in 1956 from Vassar College. In the late 1950s, she worked for the Girl Scouts, and soon became involved in the New Haven arts community. She remembers how the projects going on throughout the city created an extraordinary sense of possibility, and inspired her and others in their own efforts to create the Audubon Arts District. In Clark’s view, urban renewal energized New Haven.

To find out more, visit The Life in the Model City Online Exhibit.

Interviewed by Thomas Dolan on November 18, 2003.

What's going on at the NHOHP?

Announcements

Visit the "Life in the Model City" Exhibit Online

www.modelcity.org

In New Haven, Connecticut, from 1954 to 1969, some 25,000 people were relocated from their homes. Neighborhoods were transformed. One was totally eliminated. New Haven, residents were told, would be the “model city.” What was life like in the midst of such massive changes? How did neighborhoods and families react?

A major interviewing project and subsequent exhibition at the New Haven Colony Historical Society used oral history interviews with community residents to understand the lingering effects of urban renewal. This project was made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

What is the New Haven Oral History Project?

About

Preservation, Education, Community Building

The New Haven Oral History Project documents the oral history of New Haven, Connecticut. The NHOHP pursues three interrelated goals: preservation, education, and community building. Preservation involves building the New Haven Oral History Collection, a publicly-accessible archive of oral history about the city at the Yale University Library. We educate by teaching students to conduct the interviews, and bringing interviews into the classroom. Community building means putting our history to work in in public forums in our community, creating a common understanding of the past as the basis for a shared vision of the future.