The ten
The commitment is ten signs. These are the ten, chosen for the strength of the story rather than for how finished they are.
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 1 of 10
The Dam That Fought Fires
How a corn mill became an armory, and why New Haven's fires ended up raising the dam
4 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 2 of 10
A Boat on the Rock
A quarry, a tourist attraction and a 427-acre park, in that order
0 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 3 of 10
The Highway That Wasn't
New Haven planned a highway along this river for twenty years, and the neighbours stopped it
1 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 4 of 10
The Gate in the River
Why the water changes here, and what it costs the fish that have to get past
1 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 5 of 10
Famous Stolen Submarine
How a stolen Irish-American submarine spent 33 years in a shed on the Mill River
4 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 6 of 10
Where the City Bathed
Before plumbing reached the tenements, washing was a public question — and the river was the answer
4 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 7 of 10
The Box Factory and the Bridge
Paper on this river before the rails and after them, and the private track that ran in through a factory wall
4 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 8 of 10
The Island and the Powerhouse
A salt meadow, then a power station, then a thirty-year argument about who cleans it up
4 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 9 of 10
King Lanson's River
The Black engineer who built the longest wharf in America, the neighbourhood he made on the far bank, and what the city did to both
3 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Sign 10 of 10
Camp at Grapevine Point
A training camp, two Black regiments, and the ground they drilled on before Virginia
0 of 4 photographs sourced
Alternates
Written, and just as real — held in reserve, or for a later phase.
-
Mill River Trail · Alternate
Twice a Day, the Sea
A tidal estuary in the middle of New Haven, and the animals that make a living on six hours' notice
0 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Alternate
A Century of Plans
Six plans in a hundred years, and the one thing every one of them agreed about
2 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Alternate
Dragon Point
Seals, sharpies and the oyster town at the mouth of two rivers
1 of 4 photographs sourced
-
Mill River Trail · Alternate
The Box and the Jacket
The world's biggest box factory, and then the jacket everybody wanted
0 of 4 photographs sourced
Deliberately unwritten
This sign is deliberately unwritten, and is not going to be printed as it stands. It is here so the gap is visible and can be answered.
-
Mill River Trail · Unwritten
The Sign Not Yet Written
A blank panel, on purpose, and what it would take to fill it
0 of 4 photographs sourced