Architecture of the Green Book in Connecticut

Learn about the mid-20th century Green Book guides that African Americans used to find welcoming lodging and other services whether traveling for work or pleasure.

When the New York Public Library made available its collection of Green Book guides in digital form in 2016, a group of researchers coalesced around the goal of locating, by state, listed sites, in an effort to uncover the untold stories of how African Americans traveled and created an informal economy in the process. The group created a website, The Architecture of The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, and with the help of volunteers providing research from their respective states, add information as it becomes available.

 In 2023, Preservation Connecticut and two college interns attempted to identify the physical location of all hotels, tourist homes, service stations, beauty parlors, restaurants, resorts and other facilities listed from 1938 to 1967 and determine whether they still exist and what stories we could learn from them.