The demolition of the structure at 1161 Main Street will only be a success if what happens afterward is meaningful, expedient, and future-thinking. While the promised attempt for the City to acquire and destroy this property has many gleeful, the absence of a strong and specific plan for the vacant plot is, at the least, eyebrow-raising. Mayor Segarra, in a press release said:
This is a critically important project. This is an economic development priority for a number of reasons. This is prime real estate that connects our Downtown with our neighborhoods. It is important to beautify all aspects of our city, our visitors deserve to look out of a hotel window and have a wonderful view of our glorious city, our arts community— like the neighboring Hartford Stage which is in the process of a multi million dollar renovation— deserves a neighboring entity that will contribute to the quality of life of Hartford. The reasons to act now are plenty. I can’t think of a single reason to wait any longer.
The 1161 property has been considered an eyesore, which it surely is, but the blight extends beyond this building. This section of Main Street is an example of some of the worst design decisions of the 20th century, which a poorly conceived and maintained roadway. It’s the spot where motorists clog the streets to exit from or enter I-84. Pedestrians wishing to travel along this section of Main are forced to play Frogger with impatient drivers, as the crosswalks are seemingly nonexistent. Malfunctioning WALK signals are a common complaint. Continue reading '1161 Main: Only One Part of the Downtown Blight Problem'»
Economics, Hartford, Urban Renewal, access, architecture/design, blight, commentary, community, downtown, political b.s., quality of life, transportation
Jazz pianist Zaccai Curtis performed solo at the Polish National Home Saturday evening. More about the stunning performance in a bit.
The Polish National Home is to the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood, as Connecticut’s Colonial Charter was to the Charter Oak, which is to say that both are/were well hidden in plain sight.
If one approaches the building after having just exited I-91, then she may assume she took a wrong turn. On her left, while traveling up Charter Oak Avenue, she would see a closed factory with its own ecosystem– something that has a way of deadening the surrounding area. It’s simply one more forgotten building in the city, so forgotten that trees are popping out of it.
At the same time, the Polish National Home is next to an elementary school, as well as the somewhat also hidden, but lively, Pulaski Mall, a park nestled between the Sheldon Oak Cooperative housing units, which are not exactly fine examples of attractive architecture, but appeared to lack greenery inappropriately growing out of their walls. My own trip to the PNH included gallivanting around Main Street, then through Pulaski Mall, where kids, many of them, were playing outside in an area that seemed like safe refuge from traffic. Continue reading 'A Polished Performance'»
This is/was 142-144 Park Terrace in the process of being demolished yesterday.
To find out the locations of other blighted properties, see the website put together by HART and Trinity College.
All three photographs by Christopher Brown
Will this become yet another parking lot?
142-144 Park Terrace is slated for demolition today. The City’s assessor website lists “142 PT LLC” as the owner of 142 Park Terrace. The six-unit apartment building is suffering from internal collapse.
You can see more photos of the structure, pre-demolition, on my Photobucket page.
Community gardens are a valuable resource for those of us who have postage stamp (or smaller) yards. They provide a place for gardeners to relieve stress by pulling weeds; having beautiful flowers and growing our own food is another bonus.
Garden space is relatively inexpensive and allows one to know exactly where her food is coming from that season, depending on how able of a gardener she is and how much she chooses to plant. I have seen people successfully grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, beans, peas, chard, cabbage, fennel, collard greens, corn, brussels sprouts, strawberries, raspberries, squash, zucchini, carrots, thyme, rosemary, basil, mint, beets, radishes, onions, garlic, spinach, broccoli, ginger, cauliflower, and pumpkins in Hartford. Continue reading 'Community and Food'»
Education, Environment, Hartford, Urban Renewal, blight, commentary, community, food, fun, myth busting, neighborhoods, photos, quality of life, shopping
Earlier this month we reported that a resolution was drafted which would allow for a “Save the Lyric” fund to be set up. Tonight, we received word that the remaining section of the Lyric Theater on Park Street is likely to be salvaged. Michael Fuschi, Building Official, shared that the correspondence he had with Hallisey Engineering regarding the mortar strength test results. The locations that were tested showed mortar strength to be in the range of high strength mortar. Unless something new is discovered, it sounds like the building is not in danger of being demolished.
Next week Fuschi and Glenn Geathers (Project Manager of Department of Development Services Economic Development Division) will be meeting with John Hallisey at the site. Afterwards, they will meet with the ad hoc Lyric subcommittee of the Frog Hollow NRZ. The plan is to stabilize the structure from the third floor down before winter. The roof has already been patched. It will then be “fast tracked” and put to bid.
After yesterday’s update on the Lyric Theater, Councilperson Cotto provided me with a draft of the resolution which will be submitted to the City Council today. The language of it is as follows:
WHEREAS, On March 27, 2010, the Broad Street portion of the Lyric Theater was demolished because it was deemed to be an imminent threat to public safety; and
WHEREAS, The Park Street portion of the Theater is in severe need of renovation; and
WHEREAS, The remaining portion on Park is in the heart of the busiest retail center in the City and upkeep of the area’s physical environment must be a priority; and
WHEREAS, The Fiscal Year 2010-2011 budget has allocated eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000.00) towards the preservation of the remaining portion of the Lyric Theater, though some believe that may not be enough; and
WHEREAS, There has been an outpouring of community support to preserve the Lyric Theater’s remaining portion; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Court of Common Council requests that the Director of Finance establishes a “Lyric Theater Fund” so that individuals and organizations can make contributions towards the Lyric Theater’s preservation.
On June 10th, the Licenses and Inspections Division of the Hartford Department of Development Services should have answers.
At the May 27th Frog Hollow NRZ meeting, Building Official Michael Fuschi gave a presentation on the structural review and feasibility study of 585 Park Street (parcel 226-537-068) — the remaining part of the Lyric Theater. On March 27th, the main section of the theater — 856 Broad Street– was demolished. In the presentation, Fuschi shared a letter from Hallisey Engineering Associates. There were some inaccuracies in the letter: “This building is a three-story structure with a basement that was built in approximately 1900 based upon City records” and “Based on [conversations with Fuschi], the structure has been uninhabited for at least several years and possibly up to 15 years.” From the grand scheme of things, yes, the building was constructed around the 1900’s, but it’s more accurate to say that it was built in approximately 1920. Besides this, the building has been uninhabited for much longer than 15 years. It was destroyed by fire in 1979. It has been demolished by neglect for a time period of thirty years; it was acquired by the Hartford Redevelopment Agency about fifteen years ago. Not attending to such details raises questions about the accuracy of content in the letter.
Based on the letter, the fate of the remaining structure does not look promising. A “significant mold infestation” due to “water infiltration over the years” was noted, as was the potential presence of asbestos (not likely) and lead (very likely). A “significant breach of the roof system” was found, which is not surprising, as the building languished in disrepair for so long. The letter reports: “based on our experience, it is our opinion that the roof breach has significantly reduced the capacity of the structure. Although we cannot say with certainty that the structure will collapse, there is a danger that it could collapse in the near future due to the reduced capacity of the bearing walls and overloading the floor framing.” This sounds uncertain, and reflects poorly on the City of Hartford for ignoring the condition of the building for as long as it did.
There’s more. Continue reading 'Can the Remainder of the Lyric Theater Be Saved?'»
High Water Marks: Art & Renewal After Katrina opened in the Amistad Center for Art & Culture (within the Wadsworth Atheneum) at the beginning of May.
Music — which should be pumped throughout the museum, so that the deafening solitude which marks it vanishes into the background — plays in the exhibit, to help set the mood. One of my strongest recollections of a trip to MASS MoCA last summer was the music that was part of a New Orleans’ themed artwork. The uptempo jazz was juxtaposed with photos of New Orleans– a culturally natural and appropriate combination, but odd when the images were of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction. Here, at the Wadsworth, a similar thing happens when this music (though the volume is fairly muted) is the backdrop for a Katrina-themed exhibit.
This exhibit contains an interesting mix of materials — washboard, pots and pans, an umbrella, wood, and then more traditional media. The “Black Bowl” by Donald Boudreaux is a black umbrella against a black backdrop. The artist invites visitors to sit in a chair to view it. From this spot, one can look out the window and see the giant red Travelers’ umbrella. Luis Cruz Azaceta’s “At the Bottom of the Pot” is an assortment of pots and pans that are covered with photographs depicting Hurricane Katrina’s damage. Radcliffe Barley’s “Storm at Sea” is a dramatic mixed media piece that blocks off an entire hallway.
The exhibit runs through mid-September of this year.
Art, Crime & Justice, Environment, Hartford, Race & Ethnicity, blight, class, downtown, not Hartford, system, weather
Today, supporters of immigrants’ rights marched through Hartford.
Continue reading 'Pro-Immigration March'»
Activism, Clay Arsenal, Crime & Justice, Hartford, History & Politics, Immigration, Race & Ethnicity, blight, community, downtown, photos, privilege, quality of life, south green
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