Our New Haven logo carries the same emblem every Merlin Classics Connecticut place wears — a Long Island Sound oyster, above "New Haven, Connecticut, Est. 1636," rendered in hand-printed black and white with a worn, vintage feel. The oyster is Connecticut's shoreline mark, the through-line that ties New Haven to every other Connecticut place we make — a nod to the Sound that built these towns. What makes this one New Haven is everything around it: the Elm City, the nine-square Green, the regicides' cave on West Rock. On a tee or a cap it reads less like a souvenir and more like a piece of the Connecticut shore — Est. 1636, worn plain.
Today New Haven is the Elm City still — a harbor-and-ridge city of museums, theaters, and the most argued-over pizza in the country, anchored by four centuries of history. Its story runs from a Quinnipiac homeland through the first planned city in America, the regicides on West Rock, and a Long Island Sound port. Our New Haven designs gather that identity into wearable form — the Elm City, the nine-square Green, the oyster shore. From the nine-square Green to the regicides' cave on West Rock, wear a little of the Elm City's four centuries.
Why People Visit New Haven Connecticut
- Walk the New Haven Green, the 1638 central common of the nine-square plan, framed by its three historic churches.
- Hike West Rock to Judges' Cave, the regicides' hideout, along the Regicides Trail.
- Climb East Rock Park for the classic view over the city and the harbor.
- Visit Lighthouse Point Park for the 1847 Five Mile Point Light, the historic carousel, and Atlantic-flyway birding.
- Stroll Wooster Square for spring cherry blossoms and brownstones.
- See the free downtown museums — the Yale University Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum.
- Try a New Haven-style apizza, the city's signature charred, coal-fired pizza.
