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Vernon Street
Vernon Street (formerly Zachary Lane) runs east-west through Trinity's north campus. Originally, it connected Summit to Broad Street. The road is home to fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, the President's House, the Smith House, the Cornelia Center, and various campus organizations' houses, including the Hillel House and Umoja House.
In the 1990s, Vernon Street was closed to public traffic at Broad street with approval from the Hartford City Council due to concerns that high crime rates were hurting Trinity enrollment and that traffic on Vernon Street endangered students and other pedestrians. Closing Vernon Street would redirect heavy traffic to Allen Place, one block away, which concerned neighboring residents.
The move was also seen by some as isolationist, alienating the surrounding community. “The decision to close Vernon Street at Broad Street may increase security but it goes too far, indicating that Trinity is increasingly wary of its location in Hartford,” wrote Clay Siegert '96, a perception that he believed was “dangerous.”
Today, Vernon Street ends in a cul-de-sac with barriers preventing motorized vehicle access.
Sources
In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower (2021) by Davarian L. Baldwin.
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, p. 499.
The Hartford Courant, 4/25/1995.
The Hartford Courant, 8/18/1994.
The Hartford Courant, 8/10/1994.