Wooster Square (Little Italy)
Wooster Square was named after the New Haven Revolutionary War hero, David Wooster. It was once a neighborhood of elegant brownstones surrounding the square, but many of the houses were razed for factories and tenements for Irish workers in the mid 19th Century. In the late 1800s, Italian immigrants replaced the Irish, creating the "Little Italy" we know today, commonly referred to simply as Wooster Street. Wooster Street and Wooster Square engender thoughts of New Haven's famous pizzerie, Pepe's and Sally's, which vie each year for the title of best pizza in the world. The first pizza in the country was served here, and it is still home to some of the best Italian cuisine around; in restaurants and bakeries such as Consiglio's, Lucibello's, and Tre Scalini. Wooster Street itself is unassuming but, in the summer, the street is alive with festivals and celebrations when locals and everyone else come out to party. It is one of New Haven's more lively and colorful neighborhoods.