Ever since the great suburban exodus of the postwar years, American cities have experienced varying degrees of panic about their identities.

"But then the suburban Jewish exodus started, too," said Dr. Brandes.

But as young women they were swept apart by the 1960's suburban exodus that emptied their neighborhood of working-class Jewish families.

Across the country, former New Yorkers who were part of the suburban exodus from New York City of previous decades are trying to reconnect to communities they never thought they would miss.

The group contends that if New Haven is going to improve its image after years of incisory highway projects, overaggressive urban renewal and suburban exodus, it needs to showcase its architectural gems, not conceal or alter them.

And they provide a background for understanding what was sacrificed by the suburban exodus of the postwar decades.

While undeniably a great urban landmark, it is also a monument to the centrifugal forces - first trains, then cars, now modems - that since the 1920's have hastened the suburban exodus of the middle class.

Sophisticated, cosmopolitan fixtures for those who declined to join the suburban exodus, they light a path back to the years when J. D. Salinger characters spouted Zen and folks sat cross-legged around the hibachi.

In the era of suburban exodus, the urban core was not sufficiently alluring to attract people after work hours.