After visiting the big leagues of art at Yale, the New Haven Museum returned me to everyday life. There were toys, pianos, and bicycles on the first floor, showing how the city developed over time and how people lived through the 19th and 20th centuries. There was also a room dedicated to the history of the Amistad trials after an illegal Spanish slave ship had a rebellion and got captured by the American authorities. The trials initially took place in Connecticut’s Old State House in Hartford before being referred up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Upstairs, a gallery on the city’s maritime trade history with Europe and China as well as an exhibition in industrial history tell the story of New Haven’s commercial exploits. There are also, of course, a couple of pictures of a quantum computer developed by Yale. It’s hard to be a New Haven Museum without mentioning the famed university.
