Around every corner at the “Lost in New Haven Museum,” there’s a special memory for some and something new to learn for others.
“This is the ultimate memory lane,” Founder and Executive Director Robert Greenberg said. “This is all cultures of New Haven, young and old.”
When it officially opens this summer, Lost in New Haven will be home to centuries of artifacts from around the city, from Acme Moving and Storage, to pizza restaurants and smoke shops, to an 1800s-era elevator.
“They were able to actually get the elevator to still work,” Greenberg said as he turned a massive wheel on the machine.
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This is the fourth location of Lost in New Haven, now on Hamilton Street. Inside are centuries of treasures collected from around the Elm City. Greenberg said he was inspired by his grandfather who began saving items after urban renewal destroyed city neighborhoods.
“That was the catalyst to tell the story of what New Haven was and collect it and preserve its wonderful stories,” Greenberg said.
“The space is full of things that were made in New Haven, that were built in New Haven,” said Roslyn Meyer, a member of the Board of Directors.
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She said it’s moving to see memories from her lifetime.
“Places that I went to, things that I did, people I was with, all of those things are really fun to see here,” Meyer said.
Her favorite space pays tribute to the music scene of New Haven. A jazz band and children from the Monk Youth Jazz Choir performed to test the sound in the large, open room that will be a community and event space.
“What I’m trying to do here is give the public a base for them to carry on the conversation of who they’ve been where they’re going, and all of their collective memories,” Greenberg said.
And there will be new memories, especially for the young people of the city. Meyer and Greenberg say the museum will also be educational, not only for kids but for people of all ages and backgrounds.
“It should be a place where everybody feels comfortable, everybody can come in and have a good time, and everybody can find something about their own life,” Meyer said.
