Hanging Hills

South Mountain, 767 ft (234 m), is a prominent traprock peak in the Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut. Rugged and scenic, the peak rises steeply above the city of Meriden 400 ft (122 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut and Long Island Sound. Most of South Mountain is located within the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) Hubbard Park. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail crosses the wooded backside of South Mountain, but no official trail leads to the southern cliff face. Activities enjoyed on the mountain include hiking, and in the winter, snowshoeing and backcountry skiing.

Undercliff State Hospital was a roughly 40-acre (16 ha) hospital situated on Undercliff Road, Meriden, Connecticut. It operated from 1910 to 1976. The hospital was first built under the name Meriden Sanatorium to serve children with tuberculosis, German measles, chickenpox, and smallpox, but began to accept adult patients in 1939. In the early 1920s, the site name was changed to Undercliff Sanatorium. In 1967, it was changed once again to Undercliff Mental Health Center.The facility was decommissioned in 1976, with remaining patients being moved to cottages on the property. In 2004, the state changed the name to "Undercliff State Hospital" to be more appropriate for patients and residents. It remains open to the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services, the Department of Child and Family Services, various other state agencies and Connecticut State Police. There are several newly built DDS buildings that house mentally and physically disabled residents under the care of the state, DDS field offices, residential programs, day services programs, a respite center, and maintenance operations. Outlying cottages and houses serve more independent developmentally disabled adults, juvenile and adult sex offenders, and surplus police and military equipment. Connecticut prohibits the public from accessing the grounds and recently removed the Undercliff Road sign. Police patrol the grounds and trespassing laws are enforced. A state police officer lives on the premises. The state is debating whether a portion of the property can be utilized for economic development to generate revenue to pay for city expenses. However Cliff House and the larger building at the top of the campus may be uninhabitable because of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 compliance issues. Demolition of the campus to make way for a juvenile courthouse began in October 2013. The recreation section of the Administration and Infirmary Building was demolished, followed by the rear portion of the hospital. Current plans for the other buildings, currently used for storage, are unknown.

Castle Craig, located on East Peak in the Hanging Hills, is constructed of trap rock and is 32 feet (10 m) in height and has a base 58 feet (18 m) in circumference . A metal interior stairway is used to ascend the observation deck on top. It stands 976 feet (297 m) above sea level and provides an expansive view of the greater Meriden, Connecticut area.

Hubbard Park, located in the Hanging Hills of Connecticut, is a wooded, mountainous park located just outside the city center of Meriden, Connecticut. It comprises approximately 1,800 acres (7.3 km2) of carefully kept woodlands, streams, dramatic cliff faces, flower gardens, and the James Barry bandshell and picnic spots, as well as its showpiece, Mirror Lake. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Should not be confused with East Rock, another traprock summit in ConnecticutEast Peak, 976 feet (297 m), is a prominent basalt traprock mountain in the Hanging Hills of Meriden, Connecticut. Rugged and scenic, the peak rises steeply above the city of Meriden 600 feet (183 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut and Long Island Sound. A small stone observation tower known as Castle Craig stands on the summit. East Peak is located within the 1,800-acre (7.3 km2) Hubbard Park. The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail crosses East Peak, and a seasonal auto road climbs to a small parking lot at Castle Craig. Activities enjoyed on the peak include Hiking, bicycling, and in the winter, cross-country skiing on the road. Rock climbing is only permitted for Ragged Mountain Foundation members who have obtained a permit from Meriden's parks and recreation department.

The Moses Andrews House is a historic house museum at 424 West Main Street in Meriden, Connecticut. Built about 1760, it is one of a small number of surviving 18th-century houses in the city. It has been operated by the local historical society as a museum property since about 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Meriden Mall (formerly Meriden Square and Westfield Meriden) is a shopping mall located in Meriden, Connecticut. At almost 900,000 square feet, Meriden is Connecticut's seventh largest mall, housing over 140 shops. This mall currently maintains the traditional divisions of Boscov's and Dick's Sporting Goods, in addition to TJ Maxx, while featuring several prominent traditional specialty retailers, Charlotte Russe, Bath and Body Works, Forever 21 Red, Foot Locker, Torrid, and Windsor.

WKSS (95.7 FM) is an American radio station operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. in the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, Connecticut, radio market. It broadcasts from its original transmitter site in Meriden, and has a rare dual city of license of Hartford-Meriden. Airing a mainstream Top 40 format, the station is currently branded as KISS 95-7 with the slogan "All The Hits." Its studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.

WMRQ-FM (104.1 MHz) is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, and serving the Greater Hartford media market. WMRQ-FM is owned by Red Wolf Broadcasting and has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 14,000 watts. Its transmitter is on West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut. Its tower is shared with former sister station 95.7 WKSS. WMRQ-FM's studios and offices are located on Blue Hills Avenue (Connecticut Route 187) in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with its other co-owned radio stations. The station broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 digital subchannel carries a Spanish tropical music and contemporary hit radio format known as "Bomba FM," also heard on translator stations 97.1 W246CC in Bolton, 99.5 W258AL in Clinton and 104.5 W283BS in Bridgeport. Much of the programming is also broadcast on WSPR 1490 AM and W283CK 104.5 FM West Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as 98.5 W253BQ Meriden, Connecticut, and 104.5 W283BW New London, Connecticut. At times, Bomba FM has higher ratings than its originating station, WMRQ-FM.

WDRC-FM (102.9 FM) is a radio station with a classic rock format licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The station began broadcasting in 1959 and was the first commercial FM station in the Hartford radio market. The station is owned by John Fuller's Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation, with studios located on Blue Hills Avenue (Connecticut Route 187) in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with other radio stations and a transmitter site in Meriden, Connecticut.

Should not be confused with West Rock, another traprock summit in ConnecticutWest Peak, 1,024 feet (312 m), of the Hanging Hills, is the highest traprock peak in the state of Connecticut. The peak hangs above the city of Meriden 700 feet (213 m) below and is characterized by its vertical cliffs and sweeping views of southern Connecticut, Long Island Sound, and the Berkshires to the west. On a clear day, Mount Tom, in Massachusetts, can be seen 47 miles to the north. The 62-mile Metacomet Trail crosses West Peak. Activities enjoyed on the peak include hiking, picnicking, and bird watching. West Peak is on an important raptor migration path. Edwin Howard Armstrong, who invented FM radio and was a network radio pioneer, used West Peak as the location of one of the first FM radio broadcasts, in 1939. His original 70-foot radio mast is still there. Currently, West Peak is home to seven FM broadcast stations, WNPR, WWYZ, WZMX, WDRC-FM, WKSS, WHCN, and WMRQ-FM. It is also known as West Peak State Park.

WBOM (1470 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Meriden, Connecticut, and covering Central Connecticut. The station broadcasts an R&B format, aimed at the Hartford area. The station is owned by Full Power Radio, through Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation. WBOM's programming is also heard on FM translator W273DS (102.5); the station's branding emphasizes the FM frequency.