Over the years, the Voice’s Dan Shine has taken up the mantle of those that have gone before him, not only as the Church Historian for the First Church of Christ, Congregational – the church on the Green – but as a regular columnist in the local newspaper. First Church was the primary institution in the founding of West Haven when it was called “West Farms” in 1648, and the parish and its long line of parishioners were part of all that makes this city what it is today, good and bad.
Historical columns have been a longstanding tradition in local newspapers, going back to the early 1970s, when the legendary Harriet C. North, the first person designated “City Historian,” began writing columns in the West Haven City News, which became the West Haven News. She continued that column until her death almost two decades ago.
Shine, meanwhile, has written columns in the Voice for many years, and has at times reprinted or reprised columns that are of especial interest to readers, mostly about the heyday of Savin Rock, when it was a bustling East Coast amusement park. To this day, books and columns about the park, the attractions and the people are devoured by newer generations of readers.
In the last few weeks, this week being the third installment, Shine is concentrating on those years when “urban renewal” was the pet project of the post-war era. Savin Rock as an amusement area was a beneficiary – some would argue victim – of the era’s desire to modernize all aspects of life.
It would be dishonest to say the park had not become shoddy and in ill-repair. The midway, once the toast of the area, had devolved into a patchwork of tired buildings and dilapidated rides that needed more than a fresh coat of paint. What Shine has done, possibly better than anyone heretofore, has shown the decisions made by politicians in the 1960s and ratified by the taxpayers was one that affected lives – families and individuals.
The demolition of the amusement park and construction of the area we now see at Lower Campbell Avenue was a cause-and-effect, and has continued to affect the city to this day. Those “modern” buildings are now more than a half-century old in some respects and themselves are showing the advance of time.
Once the rides were down and area was cleared, the city had to confront some very unpleasant realities that very quickly lost the luster they had just a decade earlier. By 1974, it was clear to many residents that the urban renewal plan touted by city leaders was going to be a detriment to the city, not a boon.
By the mid-1970s the city had seen an influx of construction, mostly of apartments and condominiums that resulted in a large increase of the population. Twelve high-rise apartment/condominiums were scheduled for the ear from West Walk toward Savin Rock and included the area adjacent to the historic area. The buildings would make the city’s shorefront, touted as the longest expanse of public beach in the city a restricted area up to the mid-high water mark.
The Save Our Shore movement was born and with it IMPACT, the Independent Movement for Positive ACTion. The 1970s and much of the 1980s were embroiled in the question of whether to go forward with the Urban Renewal Plan of 1966, or revise it. Revision meant the original developers had veto power over what revisions could be made. It wasn’t until the late 1980s a decision was made. The 1966 plan finally lapsed after its 50-year mandate in 2006.
The decisions made in the 1960s affected the 1970s and 1980s, but they also affected the years that followed up to and including 2018. While the shore has been protected and an easement under the Land Trust of West Haven, Inc. gives us the expanse we have there now, the question of what to do with the city’s largest resource continues to be asked, even if under the surface. With the city’s financial future still in doubt after a quarter-century of struggle, there are some who believe we should exploit the area as a recreational tax producer. Others wish to see it remain pristine as a passive area for all to enjoy.
Shine’s series has brought to the fore the reality that decisions made so long ago had an effect on real people, both directly and indirectly to the taxpayers at-large. Those decisions still affect us today and have a direct impact on our future.
It’s an abject lesson in history and its consequences – many of which we are still feeling today.