Named for Dixwell Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the neighborhood which in turn was named for regicide judge John Dixwell, it is situated generally northwest of and adjacent to Downtown New Haven.
[1] The northern part of the official Dixwell neighborhood planning area is included within the Winchester Repeating Arms Company Historic District.
This historic neighborhood also includes important and pioneering African American institutions, including the Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and the former Goffe Street Special School for Colored Children.
Toad's Place concert venue and nightclub is located in Dixwell.
In 2020, the Dixwell community opened a skatepark in Scantlebury park.