The North Haven Green is a large open space at the southern end of a busy commercial strip measuring approximately 780 feet by 360 feet and shaded by mature shade trees. It is roughly a parallelogram bounded by Church Street on the west, Trumbull Place on the east, St. John Street on the north and Maple Street on the south. Perpendicular parking is allowed along Church Street in front of Town Hall and the commercial buildings on the other side of the green. The noise of the city traffic is evident along the western half of the green, but it becomes quieter as one gravitates away from Church Street toward the eastern side where there are more trees to buffer the sound and provide shade.

The green was formally landscaped in 1987 by the firm of C.E. Maguire from New Britain and as a result, has a more formal layout than most of the greens in Connecticut that are products of accretions over the years. The new design includes formal plantings throughout and curvilinear paths that move primarily from north to south across the park and around the important features. These include the town Christmas tree; a large cannon; an octagonal bandstand (c. 1972); a flagpole and a paved plaza area for concerts. The predominant feature is the cemetery at the northern end surrounded by a trimmed hedge and traversed by a concrete path. Both features existed before it was landscaped in 1987. The path provides circulation across the green from St. John's Episcopal Church on the east side to the Town Hall on the west side. Some of the more informal aspects of the earlier vernacular landscape still exist including the many mature trees (mainly maples and some stately evergreens) that are randomly planted throughout (but mainly in the eastern half). The ground slopes significantly from east to west and is uneven in spots, further helping to make the recent landscaping scheme less formal in design.

The green has always been the civic and religious center of North Haven as demonstrated by the two churches facing the green, St. John's Episcopal Church on the east and the Congregational Church on the west; and the Town Hall to the north of the Congregational Church. Most of the civic and commercial activity takes place along Church and Maple Streets although it is occurring along St. John Street. Trumbull Place is a quiet residential street of single family homes dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, compatible in design and scale. At the northeast corner of the green, on a ridge and therefore very visible, is a modern condominium development that includes an earlier Italianate-style house on the site. While including the early house within the scheme is laudable, the development is set back from the green as not to be intrusive, but the break in the streetscape at that point detracts from what is otherwise a fairly cohesive streetscape of one and two story structures, many dating from the 19th century. A Mobil gasoline station at the corner of Maple and Trumbull Streets is also an intrusive element.