The Alluring Art Deco Parkway That Winds Through Connecticut | Atlas Obscura

The Alluring Art Deco Parkway That Winds Through Connecticut | Atlas Obscura

The Merritt Parkway, built in the 1930s, is one of the prettiest limited-access highways in America. My son and I drove it last October while touring colleges. It's no longer a toll road but it's still a convenient way to travel through southwestern Connecticut while avoiding the mess that is I-95. The official map of the highway highlights the distinctive and varied overpasses.

"The planners hired architect George Dunkelberger to design the bridges on the road. They also brought along a slew of engineers and landscape architects to make sure the parkway maintained a homogeneous and aesthetically pleasing appearance. The idea was to make a highway that was unobtrusive, as if nothing had really changed. The road was to look wooded and like a forest. If anything man-made was built, it needed to be classy."