F ew of New Haven’s public spaces are more snubbed by the public that uses them than its parking garages.
The moment we enter these multi-level lots, we’re planning our escape. We find the closest available space to leave the car, then beeline to the nearest exit. Upon returning, we head straight for the vehicle, then take the first available out-ramp. Whether driving in, walking out, walking in or driving out, nobody takes the scenic route through a parking garage.
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Well, maybe not nobody. I’ve been known to dally, particularly with a camera, and it turns out there are some pretty interesting details to notice inside New Haven’s parking garages: massive slabs of sculpted, scored concrete; colorful, ceramic-tiled rooms with curved corners; windowed stairwells filled with geometric sunbeams; and, in one case—the College Street elevator well of the Crown Street Garage—a ceiling covered in old-style marquis lights, no doubt a tribute to the historic Shubert Theater next door.
These details can be fun, creative, nice to look at—not notions you usually associate with parking garages. But credit is due, and not just at the end of the out-ramp.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims. Images 1, 3 and 4 feature the Temple Street Garage; 2 and 8 the Crown Street Garage; 5 and 7 the Union Station Garage; and 6 the Air Rights Garage. This lightly updated story was originally published on February 4, 2016.
