Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in New Britain (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: New Britain Stadium, New Britain Museum of American Art, and Walnut Hill Park. Also, be sure to include Holy Cross Parish in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in New Britain (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
New Britain Stadium
Stadium in Berlin, Connecticut. New Britain Stadium is a baseball venue in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. It is the home of the New Britain Bees of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Opened in 1996, the stadium seats 6,146 spectators.
The stadium is part of the city facility known as Willow Brook Park and is sometimes referred to by this name also. It is adjacent to Beehive Field, where the New Britain Red Sox played for 13 seasons after moving from Bristol in 1983. The park also contains Veteran's Memorial Stadium, a facility for football and soccer.
New Britain Stadium hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 16, 2003, before a then-record crowd of 7,169 fans. On the last day of the 2004 season, it welcomed its two millionth visitor. A new all-time attendance record was set on June 17, 2006, when 7,567 packed the stadium for a Rock Cats regular-season game against the Akron Aeros. This record was ultimately broken on August 28, 2015, when 8,672 fans watched the team's last Rock Cats Friday home game.[1]
Address: 230 John Karbonic Way, 06051-4015 New Britain
New Britain Museum of American Art
Art museum in New Britain, Connecticut. The New Britain Museum of American Art is an art museum in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1903, it is the first museum in the country dedicated to American art.
A total of 72,000 visits were made to the museum in the year ending June 30, 2009, and another 16,000 visits were made to the museum's satellite gallery at TheatreWorks in Hartford, Connecticut.
Walnut Hill Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, is next to the museum.[2]
Address: 56 Lexington St, 06052 New Britain
Walnut Hill Park
Walnut Hill Park is a large public park west of downtown New Britain, Connecticut. Developed beginning in the 1860s, it is an early work of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, with winding lanes, a band shell, and the city's monument to its World War I soldiers. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[3]
Holy Cross Parish
Catholic church in New Britain, Connecticut. Holy Cross Parish is a Roman Catholic parish located in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded on April 8, 1927, it is in the Archdiocese of Hartford and is one of dozens of Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England.[4]
Address: 31 Biruta St, 06053 New Britain
Sacred Heart Parish
Sacred Heart Parish - designated for Polish immigrants in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.
Founded on August 10, 1894. It is one of the oldest Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England in the Archdiocese of Hartford.[5]Address: 158 Broad St, 06053-4195 New Britain
New Britain Industrial Museum
Museum
Address: 59 W. Main Street, New Britain
South Congregational Church
Church in New Britain, Connecticut. The South Congregational Church is a historic church at 90 Main Street in New Britain, Connecticut. It is a large brownstone Gothic Revival structure, located at a central intersection in the city's heart. The church was built in 1865, with the parish house added in 1889. Both were designed by the noted Boston architect George F. Meacham. The congregation was established in 1842, and was merged with a local Baptist congregation in 1974. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[6]
Address: 90 Main St, 06051-2509 New Britain
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
Church building in New Britain, Connecticut. Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic former church building at 69 Main Street in New Britain, Connecticut. Built in 1891 to a design by Amos P. Cutting, it is a distinctive local example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Now a performing arts venue known as Trinity-on-Main, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[7]
Address: 19 Chestnut St, 06051-2601 New Britain
Tephereth Israel Synagogue
Orthodox synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut. Tephereth Israel Synagogue is a synagogue at 76 Winter Street in downtown New Britain, Connecticut. The Orthodox congregation, founded in 1925, meets at a two-story brick temple with Colonial Revival and Renaissance features, designed by Hartford architect Adolf Feinberg and built in 1925. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[8]
New Britain Youth Museum
Children's museum, Museum
Address: 30 S High St, 06051-4227 New Britain
Temple B'Nai Israel
Synagogue in New Britain, Connecticut. Temple B'Nai Israel is a former Jewish synagogue at 265 West Main Street in New Britain, Connecticut. It is a Beaux Arts building originally constructed as a Masonic Hall in 1929, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 under the name "Masonic Temple".
The building is considered architecturally significant as a "fine example" of Neo-Classical Revival style in the Beaux Arts mode. The building was originally designed by architect Walter P. Crabtree for use as a Masonic hall in 1927. The building was completed in 1929, just before the Great Depression. Financial constraints led the Masons to sell the building to the Aheyu B'Nai Israel in 1940. Some modifications were made to convert it for use as a synagogue, but since both organizations had similar needs (including both office and meeting rooms and a large assembly space), the building readily accommodated the new function. The conversion is considered an example of "an unusual change of use that was carried out successfully".
The architect, Walter Crabtree, also designed the Francis H. Holmes House in New Britain, and the Universalist Church of West Hartford, both also listed on the National Register.
The building is also considered historically significant for its association with New Britain's Jewish community. The congregation of Temple B'Nai Israel was originally an Orthodox congregation, organized in 1889 as Aheyu B'Nai Israel (Brethren Sons of Israel). In 1924 the congregation reorganized as Conservative (under the United Synagogue of America). Members of the congregation who held to Orthodox views split off, and built Tephereth Israel Synagogue.
The synagogue closed in the summer of 2007. Its Torah scrolls, valued at over tens of thousands of dollars each, were transferred to the Hillel organizations at Trinity College, the University of Hartford, and the University of Connecticut. As of April, 2020, the building is in use by New Hope at Calvary Church.[9]