In photos, the city in the COVID era at New Haven Museum

NEW HAVEN — By most estimations, it was a strange time: the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the state and the city.

Now, images of the city during the pandemic will be on display at the New Haven Museum from Oct. 13 through March 25, 2022, organizers of the exhibit said.

The exhibit is possible as, in March 2020, city resident Roderick Topping “began to casually document” the “new reality” as political, social and economic normality changed, the museum said in a release.

Topping’s images make up the new exhibit, “Strange Times: Downtown New Haven in the COVID Era.” at the New Haven Museum.

According to the museum, Topping emigrated from Scotland as a child and moved to New Haven in the 1980s after earning an art degree from Skidmore College. “Notably, after 30 years of photography, the moments he captured in the last 18 months reflect a relatable shift in the history of the Elm City.”

He had lived “most of his adult life downtown,” and had “always known the area as a bustling hub of students, workers, academics, business people, tourists, and transients...,” the museum said in a release.

“The COVID era changed all that,” Topping said, also in the release. “For the first time in my memory the city was silent.”

For more information visit www.newhavenmuseum.org or facebook.com/ NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183.

Roderick Topping / Contributed photo The Church Street Extension bridge.

Abigail Winslow / Contributed photo Roderick Topping