Growing up, I made maps of the woods, marking all of the forts. Most of those “forts” were not structures as much as imaginary spaces, large rocks, or easy-to-climb trees. Because this was my map, the places would be named and given the status of “secret forts.” Some of the images in this edition of In Your Neighborhood represent secret forts around Hartford’s Behind the Rocks neighborhood. I’m not going to give exact coordinates for where each photograph was taken, but all of the locations can be found with the willingness to explore the city on foot.
In Your Neighborhood is a weekly photo series showcasing Hartford’s neighborhoods.
Jennifer S.
Oh that poor bunny!
Kerri Provost
It looked like it was just playing dead.
Josh LaPorte
Are a few of these pictures taken in Parkville? I feel like some are on the west side of the river.
Josh LaPorte
Eh, I see newer maps are showing Olive/Belmont as being part of Behind the Rocks… Odd, I used to work in Parkville and am very sure that we considered that area part of Parkville. Maybe another one of these NRZ-created fuzzy boundaries, as was done in several other neighborhoods. I found old documents in the files of the Parkville Community Association that West Boulevard was considered the northerly boundary of Parkville some years back. I find these adjustments interesting. I have noticed that many people who live on Woodland Street in Asylum Hill declare that they live in the West End.
Kerri Provost
I use this site consistently as the guide for neighborhood boundaries: http://hartford.omaxfield.com/
As for the “West End” thing — I think some of that is wishful thinking…like people know that of the neighborhoods, the West End is one viewed as most attractive by those who don’t live here.
Bernie Michel
Per the NRZ legislation there is no requirement to use any other existing boundaries for NRZ boundaries. Asylum Hill simplified their boundaries to largely include the railroads and the Park river both for simplicity sake and to include Art Space on Asylum Ave as part of Asylum Hill. The railroad bridge is a much stronger boundary on Asylum Ave.
Tony C
Some excellent composition in this batch of photos. Particularly like the MDC and T-A-V-I-S shots. The one a couple before TAVIS with the green streak into the Park River was very nice.
Somewhat related to the bunny. Was walking tracks near Colt Building and came across a headless dead chicken. Right in the middle of the tracks. So weird.
Kerri Provost
And that’s why the chicken should’ve crossed the road.
Thanks, Tony!