Author Colin M. Caplan is a native of New Haven and an active member of the local architecture and preservation community. He founded Magrisso Forte, a design-based consulting firm dedicated to fostering awareness of New Haven's cultural resources. This book details eighteen walks and nine guided driving/biking tours around the city.

Located along the northern shore of scenic Long Island Sound, New Haven is perhaps best known for its diverse architectural history (it boasts every American style) and as an intellectual capital the city vied with Hartford to establish Yale University within its borders. In this pictorial history, Colin Caplan, author of A Guide to Historic New Haven, Connecticut and New Haven: Then and Now offers readers a glimpse into the character, elegance and bustle that define the city.