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Elizabeth Park
Now that writers have lost Borders as their place to work outside of the home, area freelancers and novelists may be looking for new venues in which to earn their bread.
Here are a few suggestions. Continue reading 'The Ten Best Places for Busting Writer’s Block'»
Not fatigued yet by all these development meetings? Here are four more to add to your schedule then:
June 22: Handel Performing Arts Center on the corner of Albany Avenue and Westbourne Parkway will host the discussion pertaining to Asylum Hill, Blue Hills, Parkville, and the West End.
June 23: Metzner Recreation Center at 680 Franklin Avenue. This meeting is for the Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, South End, and Southwest neighborhoods.
June 27: Hartford Public Library will host the meeting for Downtown, Frog Hollow, Sheldon/Charter Oak, and South Green.
June 29: Parker Community Center at 2621 Main Street will host meeting for Clay Arsenal, Northeast, and Upper Albany neighborhoods.
The meetings about Livable & Sustainable Neighborhoods are described as opportunities for the public to learn about how the One City One Plan projects are being implemented. Literature sent from the City of Hartford says this will pertain to “infrastructure, community development, and anti-blight projects” happening “over the next two years.” A press release from the City indicates that this is part of the One City, One Plan. The One City, One Plan — the Plan of Conservation and Development through 2020 — was developed after receiving input from NRZs and the public. The projects vary from neighborhood-to-neighborhood. All of these meetings run from 6-7:30pm.
With the exception of several of Fairfield Avenue, most of the homes in the South West section of the city are unassuming. If there is any glimmer of truth remaining to the American Dream myth, it appears here, in tiny homes that can comfortably hold a small family plus Golden Retriever.
This neighborhood includes Cedar Hill Cemetery, and the quiet of that seems to wind around all the side streets which form a kind of labyrinth which can only be escaped with luck.
(This house is appropriate for today’s date 1/11/11 and post time of 0111. Notice how the siding resembles corduroy wales?)
The last casa linda of 2010 is a cute bungalow in the South West part of the city.
In 1896 there was a proposal to build reformatory buildings on about sixty acres in this area. Do not be mistaken– NIMBYism is not a recent phenomenon. A Hartford Courant article from the time stated that many “prominent citizens of Hartford” opposed the plan.
Here are festive homes from the South West and South End neighborhoods. These photographs do not properly indicate exactly how bright these homes were lit up. The house above was found thanks to a reader tip about a truly awesome display in the South End. I’m not going to give the address, but will give the hint that it is on one of the first side streets if coming up from Wethersfield.The photo directly below is of a house maybe two blocks away from the first; it’s not on a main thoroughfare, but is visible from one.
Continue reading 'Casas Linda: Christmas Bonus Edition'»
On Monday we looked at what residents are concerned about in the Upper Albany, Clay Arsenal, North East, Blue Hills, West End, and Parkville neighborhoods; yesterday, we examined the data from Downtown, and from South Green, Sheldon/Charter Oak, South Meadows, South End, and South West neighborhoods. Today, we’re going to look at the rest: Behind the Rocks, Barry Square, Frog Hollow, and Asylum Hill.
Behind the Rocks’ three most frequent 311 cases are related to pesky trees, graffiti, and housing concerns. Housing concerns were the major cause of complaint for folks in Barry Square — almost three times as many as the next highest item of concern, trees. The top two issues for Frog Hollow right now are housing complaints and bedbugs. There are 28 cases related to housing in Asylum Hill; all other 311 cases in that neighborhood currently total in at 28. Continue reading 'The 311 Data Dump: What Do Hartfordians Worry About? (part 3/3)'»
Asylum Hill, Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, Frog Hollow, Hartford, North East, North Meadows, Parkville, Sheldon/Charter Oak, South End, South Meadows, South West, Upper Albany, West End, access, blight, commentary, community, downtown, neighborhoods, quality of life, south green
Yesterday, we looked at 311 data for most of the city’s North neighborhoods. Today, we’re going to look at two separate sets of data: Downtown; South End, South West, South Meadows, South Green, and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods.
Downtown is a creature unto itself. There are only 31 active 311 cases for downtown, and many were issued by the same person. What’s interesting about the downtown data is what’s not on the list: parking. Since there are items listed as “active” that were submitted months ago, one would expect that something that is discussed daily as a problem would have appeared on the complaint registry at some point.
The complaints get more diversified and interesting when one adds more people to the mix. In the South End, someone was irritated by a person parking his/her vehicle on the front lawn. Continue reading 'The 311 Data Dump: What Do Hartfordians Worry About? (part 2/3)'»
When I first say this house, I noticed only the color scheme (I like it) and general shape of it. Some of the vegetation looks like it has seen better days, but those who live here obviously take some care of the property. The lawn is not lush, but it’s not a pile of dirt, nor is it covered in trash. In my neighborhood, there are a few properties where the front yard actually is one of those things, or a combination of the two. One spot is just dirt with some random bricks strewn about, and another property is basically the owner’s trash fenced in. The prior is lazy and seemingly unaware of how plants help discourage erosion; the latter is disgusting, as I have heard from others that he or his guests have been caught urinating through their fence, onto others’ property. The home in this picture, however, is a happy middle-of-the-road dwelling. Nothing is terribly overgrown. The roof and chimney appear to be in good shape. Sure, the two windows on the first level look bizarre, but the shutters are not peeling away from the side of the house. More proof that while lazy slobs do live in Hartford, so do people with self-respect and a sense of pride.
I know this color combination might not work for a lot of people, but I think it goes with the era of home quite well.There are decorations on the house, a statue in the front yard, and honestly, it reminds me of Edward Scissorhands. If there were some crazy topiary around the corner, I would not be surprised.
This home is in the South West neighborhood, not too far from Wethersfield.
People began gathering in Bushnell Park before seven on Saturday morning. Tents had to be set up throughout the park for three unrelated events that were scheduled at the same time. On one side was a gospel event with two stages. On the other was the annual Grandparents’ Day celebration and the start/finish point for the Discover Hartford Bicycling and Walking Tour, complete with two stages between these events.
The Discover Hartford event is not a marathon. It’s not a race. Not a competition. Before the first ever Discover Hartford tour I had the opportunity to interview a key organizer, who excitedly explained that it would be an “anti-sprawl, pro-fun, pro-sustainable city, anti-pollution, anti-couch potato, pro-bicycle pro-pedestrian event” meant to show off all the great places within the city of Hartford. It was the chance for those who never come to Hartford, or only see a limited part of it, to experience it more fully. Those who opt to walk routes receive a guided tour. Those who ride experience more of the city, but without the guide. In any case, people would see that Hartford is more than the civic center, fast food chain on the corner of Asylum and Main, and the Bushnell.
Yesterday, I saw a beautiful old building that used to be a synagogue but is now being used as a church. This was a part of Hartford’s history that I understood well. There was a strong Jewish population on the North side, which packed up and moved out to the suburbs, leaving behind ornate, lovely buildings and cemeteries.
Aside from a few events at the Charter Oak Cultural Center (south of Downtown), none of the synagogues in Hartford function as they were intended.
While riding between Keney Park and Riverside Park, we passed through what appeared to be a suburban neighborhood. The houses were all of the same style. The lawns were green and decent-sized. Every house on the street had the exact same style mailbox. If Donna Reed greeted us all with cookies I would have been less surprised. I have driven and ridden through the North Meadows, North East, and Clay Arsenal neighborhoods before, but somehow missed this street.
Keney Park, or at least the sections we rode through, looks healed. I could count the pieces of litter on one hand. Usually, I don’t bother counting. I saw no bulky items; usually it’s a dumping ground for mattresses and tires. The Week of the Parks definitely helped out the largest park in Hartford. This is where we had a rest stop on the 25-mile loop. The rest stop on the 10-mile loop was at the other spot where one can golf– Goodwin Park. 
The tour took us as far north, south, east, and west as one could be in Hartford.
Along the eastern border, we rode along the Connecticut River, entering the path at Riverside Park and exiting before reaching Charter Oak Landing. It is possible to bike through, but the path becomes dirt and would be too difficult for a number of riders. I have no idea how the recumbent or tandem bikes would have fared, but I’m sure that the kid riding the unicycle would have managed just fine.
The tour began on Elm Street and headed further into Downtown at first. Cyclists bottle-necked in a few spots like Temple Street, which is a narrow street made narrower by trucks parked in non-designated parking spaces. Participants were able to see the relatively new construction there, along with several new restaurants. Heading down Columbus Boulevard gave riders a look at the newish Connecticut Science Center, Convention Center, hotel, and Front Street development. Later, we would ride through Front Street, which is basically complete, aside from actually having occupied storefronts.
A few months ago I was informed by the Front Street/Adriaen’s Landing folks that there would be a major announcement in August about progress; it’s well into September and I have heard nothing.
We headed from Downtown to Trinity College and rode across its lovely campus, which has some of the best bicycle parking in Hartford. Between Trinity College and Goodwin Park, some cyclists took an optional one-mile loop through Cedar Hill Cemetery, where Katharine Hepburn and other famous (and not famous) folks permanently reside.
The tour then took the last street in Hartford (before the Wethersfield line) before turning north up Franklin Avenue. I only saw two cyclists stop into one of the many bakeries on the street. If I had brought money with me, I might have spent the next half hour in Modern Pastry.
Instead of riding through Colt Park, we rode just outside of it, past the Virgin Mary shrine(s). We headed through the housing that had been set up for Colt factory workers.
As we made it up Capitol Avenue, the 10-mile riders headed back to Bushnell Park, while those attempting longer distances moved along, then up Park Terrace. And by up, I mean up. I ride often on Park Terrace. It’s near where I live. It’s fun. But before yesterday, I only rode it toward Capitol Avenue, not from it. What made it fun in the past was that I could go fast with no effort. Well, riding it uphill was no fun, but the reward was a trip through Pope Park. Later, I overheard someone asking about this “Pope character.” It sounded sort of blasphemous for a cyclist to not know about Pope. After the park loop, we rode down Laurel Street and then headed off in the direction of Asylum Hill, then the West End. If nothing else, this ride showed that the entire vibe can change within one or two blocks. Riding past the seminary and law school, it was almost silent. Nothing happening. Nobody outside. Everything changed when we landed on Woodland Street. There was suddenly traffic. We passed families while entering Keney Park. On side streets along the park, little kids stood in front of their houses and waved to us. Some older folk cheered cyclists along.
This year, cyclists had the option to take a 40-mile loop, which involved riding to Hartford-owned Batterson Park, located in Farmington. Whichever route people walked or biked, it should have been immediately clear that the Hartford they saw and experienced was not quite the same as the one frequently portrayed on the news. The closest thing to a gunshot that we heard was someone’s tire blowing out. Bulletproof vests were not necessary, though comfortable saddles were, as potholes were the largest source of discomfort for some.
As mentioned in previous posts, the registration fee for this was steep. It costs a lot to put on this kind of event, but such fees do discourage a number of residents from participating. I spoke to at least one rider who had not bothered to pay. She simply brought herself, bicycle, and helmet, and rode along. Conscious about her lack of payment, she did not partake of the refreshments provided. This seems like one responsible way to manage the sometimes prohibitive fees. Encourage everyone to ride and assume that someday they will have more disposable income. This is how academic conferences handle the issue. There are sliding scale rates, making participation more possible for students who will likely be able to cough up more money at a later date. Lacking a sliding scale rate for such events is just
More photos from the event below: Continue reading 'Biked, Walked, and Discovered in 2010'»
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