Hillbright

1. About Albright Neighborhood
   1. The Albright neighborhood, also documented as the Hillbright neighborhood, and colloquially known "The Colonies", has been part of the Waterbury culture since the days of the Town of Waterbury.  It's main road was once connected to Wolcott Road, which was later changed to Lakewood Road.  In fact, no other neighborhood has gone through so many street name changes as Albright.  
   2. The nickname "The Colonies" derived from the fact that, among the original roads in this neighborhood, several original colonies were represented by their namesake road, or, literally, Avenue, to include
      1. Connecticut Avenue
      2. Maine Avenue
      3. Massachusetts Avenue
      4. Ohio Avenue
         1. 3.4 million acres of what is now Ohio was part of Connecticut as late as 1796
      5. ​New Hampshire Avenue
      6. New York Avenue (evidenced only per lore)
      7. Rhode Island Avenue
      8. Vermont Avenue
         1. (not the same as today's Vermont Road)
   3. The Albright neighborhood no longer exists in the minds of the people of Waterbury, and that may be due to the geographic difficulty of the landscape.  In 1899, City Mills Lane extended through what is now City Mills Park, and it continued up to and past Connecticut Avenue, and it eventually ended at Walnut Street.  
   4. Of course, at that time, Walnut Street extended to what is now Lakewood Road.  At one point, part of Walnut Street became Walnut Street Extension (and included what is now still Walnut Street Extension); only much later was the northern part of the street changed in name to North Walnut Street.  
   5. Similarly, Lakewood Road didn't exist by that name … it was then called Wolcott Road.
   6. Due to many changes in the street names, and the lack of a record for those changes, it is difficult to determine exactly which streets had what names.  
   7. However, it is likely that Delford Road – then named Maine Avenue - without its signature bend in it, met (North) Walnut Street.  Similarly, the now Samuel Street was once Vermont Avenue (not to be confused with today's Vermont Road about a mile away).  Nicola Street is likely the former New Hampshire Avenue (running parallel to, but not connecting to, the current New Hampshire Avenue).  
   8. It seems that the current Cetaro Street, which may not have existed at the time, would have been the continuation of Massachusetts Avenue.  Although the street by that name today would have connected to what is not the dead end portion of that road, there is no apparent sign that Massachusetts Avenue would have existed in its current location.
   9. Rhode Island Avenue appears to have remained unchanged since the 1899 map.
   10. In summary, the largely disconnected roads Delford Road, Samuel Street, Nichola Street, a never built street, Rhode Island Avenue, and Lakewood Road of today were once Maine Avenue, Vermont Avenue, New Hampshire Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, and Wolcott Road – all of which ran parallel to each other and perpendicular to (North) Walnut Street (Extension).
   11. The only known newspaper mention of "Hillbright" was in the Waterbury Democrat in 1940.  The brief statement indicates that a property on "the plain of Hillbright" was being purchased.  The family name continues to this day.
   12. It is not known of this neighborhood was named after any of the Albright families of Waterbury.
2. ​Other Names for Albright Neighborhood
   1. Hillbright
   2. Lakewood
3. Streets in Albright Neighborhood
   1. City Mills Lane – no longer a road in this area (technically it exists but is inaccessible from the rest of Albright, except by nanny goat)
   2. Connecticut Avenue – no longer as expansive; it's rumored that only crazy people would navigate Ohio Avenue to get to Connecticut Avenue
   3. Crestview Street
   4. Cushman Street
   5. Delford Road
   6. Lakewood Road – originally called Wolcott Road
   7. Maine Avenue
   8. Massachusetts Avenue
   9. New Hampshire Avenue
   10. Nicola Street
   11. North Walnut Street – originally called Walnut Avenue
   12. Ohio Avenue - despite being one of the shortest roads in the City, Ohio Avenue is also one of the most dangerous; rumors indicate that City officials, including police, fire, and street department officials, refuse to attempt to navigate this heavily pitched and perpetually rutted and decayed poor excuse of a roadway with City apparatus, including refuse and plow trucks; even sane pedestrians think carefully before attempting to walk on this road - even under the best of conditions
   13. Rhode Island Avenue
   14. Vermont Avenue
       1. ​No longer exists
          
       2. Existed until at least 1946
          
   15. Walnut Avenue – now called North Walnut Street Extension
   16. ​Wolcott Road – now called Lakewood Road
   17. Walnut Street*
   18. Lamont Street
   19. North Walnut Street
   20. Santoro Street
   21. ​Walnut Street Extension
4. Albright Neighborhood Highlights
5. Safety in Albright Neighborhood
   1. Albright is generally thought of as a relatively safe neighborhood, with few major crimes occurring, but with many nuisance, traffic, robbery, burglary, environmental, and drug crimes occurring here.
6. Parks in Albright Neighborhood
7. Water in Albright Neighborhood
8. Demographic Profile of Albright Neighborhood
9. Features of Albright Neighborhood
   1. Spectacular views of much of the rest of the City
   2. View of Great Brook Reservoir
10. Albright Neighborhood Association
    1. There is no Albright Neighborhood Association
    2. There is no evidence that there ever was a neighborhood association organized for this neighborhood
    3. The Lakewood Neighborhood Association, since its inception, has always considered Albright to be part of its neighborhood.
11. Partners and Supporters of Albright Neighborhood
    1. Lakewood Neighborhood Association
    2. Lakewood Social Club (via the Lakewood Neighborhood Association)
    3. Waterbury Parks Department
    4. Waterbury Old Skool
12. Notable People from Albright Neighborhood
13. Significant Structures in Albright Neighborhood
14. Albright Neighborhood Online
    1. There is no known online presence for the Albright neighborhood
    2. The Lakewood Neighborhood Association maintains a NextDoor.com web presence, and includes Albright in their online presence

* the original names of the streets that existed in 1852.  Some streets, or parts of streets, have been re-names or deconstructed.

Hillbright News Archive

North End District
Hillbright Neighborhood
2 people with gunshot wounds involved in Waterbury rollover crash: police
NBCConnecticut; article; 2023.12.03

Did Anyone From Albright
Ever Become Famous?

Not that we know of.  

---