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There are two upcoming opportunities to see what the iQuilters think should be changed about Bushnell Park and parts of Downtown, and these events give the public the chance to go on record with our thoughts. Continue reading 'Public Comment on Final iQuilt Designs'»
A sukkah is a temporary, outdoor tent or hut, constructed for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Charter Oak Cultural Center along with Riverfront Recapture will be presenting Sukkah City, as part of the harvest festival. This will be installed at Charter Oak Landing during early October.
To make it happen, they are looking for architects and artists to submit designs. Six will be selected for construction, and winning designers will receive a $100 stipend. Artists of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply; being Jewish is not a requirement. Continue reading 'Sukkah City: Call for Artists'»
Try ignoring dozens of sunflowers towering over you.
Neither could Mayor Segarra nor Governor Malloy while talking about how arts and cultural institutions have shown themselves as assets to the economy. Segarra said that being at events where there are fresh flowers and vegetables make him a “happy mayor”; Malloy reminisced about the sunflowers that bent under their own weight, which he saw on his last vacation before taking office as governor.
On Wednesday afternoon, they, along with Cary Wheaton (Executive Director of Billings Forge Community Works) and Elizabeth Hucker (Director of Community Investment with the Greater Hartford Arts Council) addressed a small gathering on the green in front of the community garden beds at Billings Forge on Broad Street. A few gardeners tended their plots while all this was happening a few yards away. Continue reading 'Billings Forge Recognized on Governor Malloy’s Jobs Tour'»
Depending on how you measure it, this may be the oldest church in Connecticut. It’s definitely the oldest church in Hartford.
Center Church was founded in 1632 in Cambridge (née Newtown), Massachusetts. Thomas Hooker was the minister, who, after some kind of dispute with the State of Massachusetts, said “we out” and brought his congregation to Hartford in 1636. Hooker is credited as being the founder of Connecticut; a parade has been named in his honor.
This meeting house piqued my curiosity over the years, mainly because of the historical angle. If facing the church from Main Street, you can see the Ancient Burying Ground to its right, where something like 90% of those buried never received grave markers, and where Hooker is rumored to be buried. It is also rumored that Hooker’s grave is underneath Center Church.
How is that possible? Continue reading 'Hartford Pew Review: Center Church'»
I can’t believe it’s not Catholic.
And neither can some actual Catholics Continue reading 'Hartford Pew Review: Christ Church Cathedral'»
Photo by Christopher Brown
Riverfest — which has not actually been held on July 4th for years — drew lots of people into downtown Hartford on Saturday evening. The tradition has become to seek out a new spot for viewing each year. In the past we’ve tried the overlook at Elizabeth Park, the Riverfront Plaza, East Hartford’s Great River Park, and this rooftop, just to name a few. For those with a low tolerance for crowds, I recommend the latter.
Photo by Christopher Brown
Rivaling the fireworks display was the post-show entertainment: watching traffic jams, a safe distance from impatient motorists.
Photo by Christopher Brown
Even with the exodus following the fireworks display, restaurants were doing well hours after the show ended. One establishment that can usually neatly fit all customers into the bar was forced to reopen its formal dining area.
Photo by Christopher Brown
Spaceship. Volcano. Tent. Spider web.
I’ve heard this building described as resembling all of those things, not without good reason. The design of the Unitarian Society of Hartford Meeting House reflects its style of worship– unconventional, sort of quirky, and fun.
image on the Order of Service
This structure — dedicated in 1964 — was designed by an architect who followed the Frank Lloyd Wright model of organic design. Combining form and function, the twelve concrete piers that support the structure are all different sizes. It’s also no accident that there are many paths leading into the building.
Before my visit during June, I checked out the USH website for a clue about what I would be encountering. Buttons at the bottom of their homepage indicate that the website is eco-friendly and powered by wind energy. Elsewhere on the site, they state that they are a welcoming community in about a dozen different ways, so upon arrival, I was expecting to feel welcomed in. Continue reading 'Hartford Pew Review: Unitarian Society of Hartford'»
At the halfway point of the planning stage for the Bushnell Park Restoration Plan and GreenWalk, the iQuilters held another public forum on Tuesday evening; the skepticism that had subsided during the last session has reemerged.
In March, there was a lengthy public discussion about ways to improve Bushnell Park. (You can read all about that here, here, and here. ) A few participants wondered if those steering this plan were perhaps steering a bit too hard. Upon the release of the Programming and Pre-Design Report and the recent so-called public forum, this question might be asked even louder. One might also ask whose interests are being served by this plan.
For the time being, let’s set aside the factual inaccuracies that can be found in the report– we will get to some of that later. First, let’s do a compare/contrast between what people (the public, of that public forum) thought were great ideas and what the iQuilters have decided to run with, even if these concepts were not popular during the meeting.
On page 13 of the plan, they list “Possibly Recommended Uses” for Bushnell Park: volleyball, ping pong, basketball, bocce/petanque, horse-drawn carriage rides around the park, biking, skateboarding, farmers markets, book loaning/book carts, weather station, puppet theater, barbecuing, and a Christmas market. It seems as if planners are pushing these ideas, even when the public at the March workshops had not gravitated much toward any of these. Skateboarding, for instance, is silly to promote as a possible activity when the City is currently hashing out funding for a skate park in an already established skating area of north Downtown. Nobody even knew what a weather station was at this previous meeting and only one person seemed to be fascinated by the book loan idea, which would again be redundant, as the library is in very close proximity to the park. None of the ideas on that aforementioned list really resonated at the March public workshop. Reading the Programming and Pre-Design Report before attending Tuesday evening’s public forum was a warning of what was to come.
In that document, it is stated “all agreed that the park has sporadic use during the weekdays, some use during the weekends, and little to no evening activity” (13). There is no indication as to who was in this group of “all,” and as someone who travels through Bushnell Park on weekdays, weekends, and evenings, I find it to be inaccurate. The characterization, for instance, of the western side of the park as getting little use except for during concerts is false. During the school year, gym classes have regularly used that side for major parts of the day during the week. This inaccuracy was not the only one presented in the iQuilt documents and presentations. The Programming and Pre-Design Report erroneously states:
Bushnell Park Café, which is open only in the summer months, occupies the building’s southern wing, and offers drinks and dining on an outdoor patio. (15)
This establishment has not been in operation for several years. Though it is expected that designers and planners from out of town might make this error, it is astounding that nobody has corrected this mistake during their dozens of meetings. Continue reading 'Whose Quilt?'»
The “oh, hell no!” heard throughout Hartford today was in response to the Historic Preservation Commission’s agenda item:
I Historic Review
a. 77 Wadsworth Street — Demolition of building for the purpose of repaving the property as a surface parking lot. Applicant– Jeffrey Dressler, Owner- 77 Wadsworth Street, LLC
Let’s look at a few of the problems with this.
1. Hartford does not need more surface parking
2. This particular area does not need more surface parking. Though technically in the South Green neighborhood, it is considered by some as part of South Downtown.
View 77 Wadsworth St in a larger map
3. The City of Hartford’s adopted Plan of Conservation and Development is pretty clear about reversing the trend of creating surface parking. The part of the adopted POCD dealing with Downtown directly states, the need to “rationalize Downtown parking” by “Encourag[ing] removal of surface parking.” Not a single section of the plan under the “neighborhoods” category suggests creating surface parking.
4. In nearly every discussion that has happened involving the direction of Hartford in the last two years, sustainability has been part of the conversation. There is nothing ecologically sustainable about surface lots.
5. Tearing down an historic building entirely to create parking is shortsighted.
The Historic Preservation Commission will be meeting on Wednesday May 18th at 4pm in the conference room at plaza level — 260 Constitution Plaza. If you can not make that meeting, you can email the Director of Planning, Roger O’Brien, at obrir001@hartford.gov or send the message to him via Lynda Crespo, Administrative Assistant. at cresl001@hartford.gov
Last Saturday, about 25 people took part in a free walking tour through parts of the Frog Hollow neighborhood. The purpose of this was mainly to highlight the remainder of the Lyric Theater, but also to show some of the other interesting historical and cultural aspects of the area. For those who missed it, here’s how it went.
The group met up at La Paloma Sabanera and headed up Babcock Street to the Park Branch of the Hartford Public Library.
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