Year
2009-2012

Grant
National Endowment for the Arts

Supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Yale Urban Design Workshop, along with community partners undertook research, planning, design and community outreach that resulted in the development of a conceptual proposal for a Naugatuck Valley Industrial Heritage Trail, highlighting the rich and complex architectural, environmental, and cultural heritage of the industrial era in one of its most important American regions.

The Naugatuck Valley region of Connecticut was a cradle of American precision manufacturing in important industrial sectors such as clocks, guns, and notably brass – the latter having furnished the region’s familiar nickname: Brass Valley. While much of the original industry has departed, leaving the Valley to restructure its economy and redefine its sense of identity, this highly urbanized corridor, interwoven with the often-breathtaking landscape of the river valley, forms one of the northeast’s truly distinctive places.

The concept for the Heritage Trail prepared by the YUDW included a comprehensive inventory of sites, historical research, and the design of graphics, signage, interpretive materials and wayfinding elements.