Hello, I am 10ROT and this is my first photo thread. :)

Here are some pics of the downtown of the city that I live in, Hartford. It is in the state of Connecticut, which is in the New England section of the US...almost perfectly between New York and Boston.

I took these pics last Saturday on a beautiful sunny day...let's begin!

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7246/captionhn8.png

FYI: These were taken with a Flash disposable camera. I don't have a digital camera at the moment...but I have been looking at the Canon Powershot A570 IS...

Our journey begins west of the city...

This is the park that is closest to my neighborhood, called Elizabeth Park, home to the oldest municipal rose garden in the United States. No pics of that, for now.

It's largely a quiet park...although there are LOTS of joggers in the morning.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-055-26.jpg

There is a vantage point to see the skyline of Hartford from the park.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-051-24-1.jpg

Just to the left...a big hill...a lot of kids go down it after it snows...too warm now, ignore my finger
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-049-23-1.jpg

Okay, now we are in downtown.

Pratt Street, a small street barely wide enough for cars. There are a lot of bars and restaurants on this street...heavens knows why they don't make it car-free already.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-003-0-1.jpg

Don't demolish it, just build around it!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-009-3-1.jpg

Trumbull Street...through one of Hartford's "canyons"
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-007-2-1.jpg

Walking down the street...now we are in Bushnell Park...I thought that this statue was cool
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-017-7-1.jpg

Bushnell Arch
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-015-6-1.jpg

Walking up the hill...a decent shot of the skyline
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-013-5-1.jpg

Right to the back of me...Connecticut State Capitol...it's like a castle!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-011-4-1.jpg

There are a few interesting side streets hidden downtown
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-027-12-1.jpg

Goodwin Hotel, some really expensive place to stay
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-021-9-1.jpg

Nice shots. Quite good quality for a disposable camera as well. But how big is Hartford?

Skyscraper time. :happy:

Hartford has a large corporate profile for a city it's size (125k in city, 1.3m metro), mostly in the financial services industry. It was once called "the insurance capital of the world". I am not sure if that title is accurate today, but insurance plays a big role in the city. Hence, lots of skyscrapers. Insurance may have helped Hartford recently. Out of all the industries in finance...Insurance was possibly the least affected by the subprime mess.

Enough talk...more pics. :D

CityPlace towers...the tallest building between NY and Boston (163m)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-025-11-1.jpg

Hartford 21...a newcomer (completed 2006). Tallest residential building in New England.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-019-8-1.jpg

Another pic of how tall it is...(134m)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-005-1-1.jpg

100 Pearl Street, I like shiny buildings. :tongue2:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-023-10-1.jpg

A bit of a hike farther...the Travelers Tower...built in 1919, and at 161m
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-045-21-1.jpg

My favorite building in Hartford, IMO
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-029-13-1.jpg

Another vantage point of the skyline
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-031-14-1.jpg

An older pic of another cool building...the Phoenix...taken from the side (original size)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/1.jpg

The Phoenix Courtyard, another old pic (original size)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/34728364.jpg

Here is a admittedly bad angle of Constitutional Plaza.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-035-16-1.jpg

I'm in Riverfront Recapture, which connects Hartford to the river. I'm above Interstate 91 here.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-033-15-1.jpg

East Hartford, a suburb, on the other side of the Connecticut River
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-039-18-1.jpg

Be back in a bit...the tour is not just over yet! :D

Woot woot.

I cant wait till you actually buy a digital camera so these can become more frequent. Keep on posting the pictures.

Very good for a disposable.

where's the hood?

Hood's coming...don't fret. (:D). I want to get rid of the skyscrapers first.

Trust me...we got a lot of hood here in Hartford.

Okay, I'm going to post the remainder of my pics now.

State House Square...the "heart" of Hartford
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-047-22-1.jpg

CT science center being built, with the Convention Center and the Marriott Hotel in the background. All three structures were not around 3 years ago. Hartford is changing.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-041-19-1.jpg

A pic of the Connecticut River, with my fucking finger in the way. Sorry! :lol:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/4514004-R1-037-17-1.jpg

That is all for now. But do not get impatient...I'm going back on the shoot on Wednesday, and I will post them on Friday (got business to do on Thu). Thanks everyone for bothering to look at this thread from a newbie!

I'll post some more of DT Hartford, the places that I missed, with the South part of the downtown and possibly some hoods to the south of the city too. It depends on the weather. This thread is NOT over! :D

Interesting pics, I wish I had more time to explore Hartford, you (everyone) can check out my pics of Hartford by following the link in my signature.

Finally we get some work out of you 10ROT!

Great pics mate - and nice city indeed - some really nice buildings there! :)

About the camera you should be able to pick up a cheap digital camera for very little cash - unless you are going all pro that will be more than enough - atleast IMO...

Me I get by just fine with a Sony Cybershot... if I had to carry all sorts of lenses and bags around I would never get any pictures taken.. :)


Anyway looking forward to more of your pics :)

nice shots. it always amazes me that even the smaller north-american cities have a decent skyline... on the other hand this usually comes with a sprawly cityscape... :dunno:

Hartford proper is actually quite dense for American standards. When it comes to density (population and building), downtown is actually one of the least dense parts of the city.

However, the city is small in area (45 sq km), so the vast majority of the metro area is sprawl. And there's a lot of that. But, there are a lot of nice town centers scattered through out the region. Maybe when I have more time (downtown is just a walk from my home) I will post the suburbs...but that will be after I'm done with Hartford.

Anyway, I'm going back downtown later. The sun is out. :D


About the camera you should be able to pick up a cheap digital camera for very little cash - unless you are going all pro that will be more than enough - atleast IMO...


I was looking at that. I may have one in 2-4 weeks. Just browsing for now. :)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/442960485_234e34197c_b.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1029/1401812757_08f1f241ee_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1125/1459902037_7839bc2c11_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1318/1487400429_e5dc9644a3_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1094/1396750554_0758786919_o.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1431/1395043354_28e52deb10_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2392/2058047657_81ce964205_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2223480411_6eb366de95_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2236185151_9fa53c061d_b.jpg
Just a few things to see Hartford hood LOL

Great pics. :drool:

You should post them in your own thread though. Mine don't deserve to be in the same place...with a disposable camera, they aren't in the same level graphically. I'll ask a mod to help you put them in your own place...two Hartford threads never hurt anyone.

:cheers:

10ROT - very nice. Thank you. Keep doing the good work :okay:

Some pics that I took this afternoon. I said that I would, and I did. :D

Spring is in the air, today was 15°C and sunny. I went more into the outlying neighborhoods this time, but first I will post some parts of downtown that I missed the first time around.

The XL Center, our arena. It just had a major facelift
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-054-25A_027.jpg

Walking down Church Street...it's a...church! Forgot the name, but built in 1919
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-052-24A_026.jpg

Interesting looking skyway.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-050-23A_025.jpg

Be back soon!

I'm back! I had some stuff to do that interrupted my posting. :lol:

I am posting my pics in 640x480 from now on. It looks better.

Below the Skyway
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-048-22A_024-1.jpg

The XL building. They own the rights to the Civic Center (now XL Center)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-042-19A_021-1.jpg

Some infill in the foreground. A lot of the stuff in this pic were not around 5 years ago.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-040-18A_020-1.jpg

A better pic of State House Square
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-044-20A_022.jpg

From the other side, Founder's Bridge, which starts a highway that goes to Southeastern Connecticut
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-046-21A_023.jpg

A bit farther away, the abandoned Hartford Times Building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-038-17A_019.jpg

It's such a travesty that a beauty like this is abandoned :ohno:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-036-16A_018.jpg

The Whitehead Expressway. It goes below the Public Library, which in in the foreground
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-034-15A_017.jpg

A rather blurry pic of the skyline from the highway. Decent vantage point
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-032-14A_016.jpg

South Downtown and Charter Oak

I'm now south of downtown. This part of the city has the major governmental offices for the state, so it gets busy at times. There are a lot of "groundscrapers" here. A lot of decent historic architecture too, however it is also plagued with parking lot seas. Charter Oak is a neighborhood that is adjacent of downtown that I took some snaps of at the end.

Pulaski Circle in the far background
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-030-13A_015.jpg

I hate parking lot seas! Unfortunately, Hartford has plenty of them. :bleep:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-028-12A_014.jpg

I took this picture on the steps of a Church
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-026-11A_013.jpg

Brownstones. This housing style in general is rare in Hartford
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-024-10A_012.jpg

Harlem? Bedford-Stuyvesant? No, but you can get a place here for a fraction of the price
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-022-9A_011.jpg

Main Street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-020-8A_010.jpg

A statue of that Pulaski guy
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-018-7A_009.jpg

A small walkway. Me thinks it's much more better looking in the summer
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-016-6A_008.jpg

Some nice historical buildings in Charter Oak
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-014-5A_007.jpg

Another church. I believe that DT Hartford has at least 20 churches. :dunno:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-012-4A_006.jpg

An abandoned factory. It has great loft potential
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-008-2A_004.jpg

Popieluszko Court. This must have been a Polish neighborhood before White flight
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-006-1A_003.jpg

Went back north to City Hall. Here is some weird looking public art display
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-004-0A_002.jpg

There's my bus!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420091-R1-002-00A_001.jpg

That's it...for now. I'm planning of going back on Saturday, if weather permits. :yes:

I'm debating either going to Asylum Hill or Frog's Hollow. :dunno:

That skyway was neat!

Hartford's lovely

Better go head Hartford!!!:banana:

Good job 10rot. Never heard of Hartford before it "meet" you here on SSC:)

(and I found the answer to my question (snap-shot-thread) here)

I've decided to make this into my photo blog. :D

NOTE: Just wanted to clear up that I wanted to make this thread highlighting my work, not a general photo thread like in the Cityscapes forum where anyone can post photos. If you have any pictures of Hartford that you want to showcase, I suggest that you create your own thread. I won't tolerate any other pics here and I will ask a mod to delete them. You are warned.

Okay, now since that has been dealt with, I shall post the pics of the areas that I shot today. Today, I went west of downtown, to a neighborhood called Asylum Hill. This is where a large portion of the Insurance companies, like Aetna and The Hartford, are located. Lots of historic architecture too. It has been seeing the early beginnings of gentrification, rentals and housing prices have more than tripled here since 2000. Still lots of hood though.

It was cold today (3 degrees) and windy, so I didn't go too far. Since Hartford is a suitcase city (lively on weekdays, dead on weekends), that helps me take pics...I still feel weird taking pics in front of people. :shifty:

Here is the land that I covered today, in red.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/9572/65141970lz8.png

Borrowed a digital camera from a friend today.

I start downtown. This is Union Place, our Train and Bus station
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E001_001.jpg

Just up a hill, the skyline. I was fiddling with the darkening features on this pic
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E002_002.jpg

The Hartford: An Insurance company
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E003_003.jpg

Some government buildings on Farmington Avenue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E004_004.jpg

Farmington Avenue looking to downtown
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E005_005.jpg

St.Joseph's Cathedral. Interesting design, I must say
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E006_006.jpg

...with an equally interesting carving on the bottom
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E007_007.jpg

Aetna HQ, another big insurance company in the city
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E008_008.jpg

A street intersection nearby
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E009_009.jpg

Connecticut Culinary Institute, a big cooking school
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E010_010.jpg

I took a right onto Sigourney Avenue, which goes into the North End. Now, we are in the heart of Asylum Hill. Lots of nice historic buildings here, but it is unfortunately filled with parking lots too. :bash:

The house on the left is a halfway house
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E011_011.jpg

Asylum Hill Firehouse. Little, cute building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E012_012.jpg

Some modern building that totally ruins the historic landscape
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E013_013.jpg

First Congregationalist Church. This was, at one time, Connecticut's state religion
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E014_014.jpg

Hartford Small Arts Center from a church parking lot
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E015_015.jpg

Another historic building, think it's a clinic
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E016_016.jpg

Most people here live in apartments like there
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E017_017.jpg

The Hartford makes sure people don't get in their property. Trespassers get shot. :jk:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E018_018.jpg

Some more historic housing. Love this style
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E019_019.jpg

In the background, another Insurance building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E020_020.jpg

Triple Decker housing. This is a common housing style in Hartford
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E021_021.jpg

Hartford seems like an awesome city. Seems a little sprawly in some areas tho.

Do you ever think your going to go to West Hartford I heard it was really nice.

Capitol West Building

The last five pictures for now that I have are of the Capitol West Building, an building that has been abandoned since the mid nineties, when Hartford's economy was in a deep recession. There has been many plans to demolish it, but nobody has because there is asbestos in the building.

Prime real estate, though. The views of downtown here are incredible, and literally walkable to most employment centers. This eyesore has pretty much kept values down, and most of the housing here is filled with poor immigrants.

The entrance
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E027_027.jpg

A poster on the entrance door. I thought it was funny. :lol:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E026_026.jpg

The back, lots of graffiti here
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E023_023.jpg

A better view. The whole building has been boarded up
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E024_024.jpg

The apartments in the back. For such a good location, they are dirt cheap
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E025_025.jpg

But what a view!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420185-R1-E022_022-1.jpg
That's all I got for now. It was too cold today, and my ears were hurting because of the wind. I hope to go out on Monday or Wednesday. Hopefully it is warmer by then. I'm going further west. :)

Hartford seems like an awesome city. Seems a little sprawly in some areas tho.

Do you ever think your going to go to West Hartford I heard it was really nice.

Yeah, this area is pretty sprawly because the Insurance companies located here demolished the dense housing and replaced them with parking lot seas. :ohno:

There are denser parts of the city that have luckily been untouched by this. :D

As for going to West Hartford, yes it's nice but unfortunately most of it is boring suburbia that I don't really want to shoot. I'm thinking of hitting West Hartford Center and Elmwood (a neighborhood) in the future though.

I'm also thinking of hitting East Hartford, Manchester, and New Britain. They also have urban historic cores in a big sea of suburbia. However, I want to cover all (if not most) of Hartford city first.

Yeah, this area is pretty sprawly because the Insurance companies located here demolished the dense housing and replaced them with parking lot seas. :ohno:

There are denser parts of the city that have luckily been untouched by this. :D

As for going to West Hartford, yes it's nice but unfortunately most of it is boring suburbia that I don't really want to shoot. I'm thinking of hitting West Hartford Center and Elmwood (a neighborhood) in the future though.

I'm also thinking of hitting East Hartford, Manchester, and New Britain. They also have urban historic cores in a big sea of suburbia. However, I want to cover all (if not most) of Hartford city first.

Sounds good to me (the exploring part, not the parking lot seas). When I heard that Hartford was the insurance capital I kind of thought they would be in high rise's downtown.

Hartford is still the "insurance capital", but that was inaccurate though. Our economy is pretty diversified. We're also the HQ for United Technologies, which produces things from Elevators to Helicopters. :D

But, yeah, most of the big insurance dogs are just outside the city center. There are some Insurance companies downtown though...St.Paul Travelers, Phoenix, and ING offices are downtown, I've actually posted pics of them in this thread.

When it comes to employment in HFD, south downtown has the state government, west of downtown is where the insurance hqs are, and Downtown proper is filled with more Banking (Bank of America, Wachovia, Sovereign Bank, and People's bank).

There's no one around in the last group of pics you posted!

Yeah, that's the way I like it. I avoid people in my pics. :D

Downtown Hartford, oddly for a weekend, was packed yesterday.
I believe there was a hockey game or something.

Nice shots!! Keep it up.

It's about time that you took pictures of Hartford. Hopefully you get a camera soon and your thread can take off.

:D

I have been a lazy one. But, I did say that I would take pics of Hartford...so I kept my promise.

I'm going back on the shoot on Wednesday. Thinking about hitting the West End.

Nice city. :okay:

The city's downtown looks cold and uninviting? Is it?

^^ I did that on purpose. :D

Except for the second batch of pictures, they were taken on Saturday afternoons, which are usually when Hartford's downtown are sleepy (Hartford is a suitcase city).

The second batch were taken on Wednesday afternoon, around rush hour. Hartford is crowded during weekdays. I avoided the downtown areas, but they were crowded. After taking that pic, it took me almost a half hour to get home by bus and I live like 2 miles away! :nuts:

Nice photo's :) I'm also looking for a Canon Powershot.. only than the XS 100 Version ;)

Hood's coming...don't fret. (:D). I want to get rid of the skyscrapers first.

Trust me...we got a lot of hood here in Hartford.

Okay, I'm going to post the remainder of my pics now.

heh 10ROT dont spoil it ! i live not too far from you in Simsbury. No shots of the north end PLEAAAAASE
great pics of downtown tho.

Hartford poised between Montreal, NYC and Boston has no excuse to be so boring. Neither does Albany for that matter. Boring cities are the result of boring people. Wish I was an insurance underwriter....yawn.

What's up with Frog Hollow these days?

heh 10ROT dont spoil it ! i live not too far from you in Simsbury. No shots of the north end PLEAAAAASE
great pics of downtown tho.

You don't want to see the North End? Why?

Hartford poised between Montreal, NYC and Boston has no excuse to be so boring. Neither does Albany for that matter. Boring cities are the result of boring people. Wish I was an insurance underwriter....yawn.

What's up with Frog Hollow these days?

Hartford is downright tiny compared to the cities that you've compared it with. I do wish that there was some more nightlife though, you make a good point there.

For what it's worth though, it's better than it was in the past. :dunno:

Anyway, I haven't been actually down Frog Hollow in a while. If you are comparing it to how it was in the nineties when there was a gang bust like everyday, yeah it's quieted down. Park Street has cleaned up somewhat, but it's still pretty dirty if you ask me.

Don't bother with a digital, I love the vignetting and general vintage-esque effect from your disposable. ;)

I went back on the shoot today.

Today, as promised, I went west to the West End. Out of the three major ends (North, West, South), the West End is definitely the most affluent, diverse, and quintessentially urban one. This is also my hood. It's divided into two parts...a more suburban and affluent northern part, and a more urban, inner-city southern part.

I went to the southern part naturally, down the Farmington/Asylum Avenue corridors. A lot of the buildings here are on the National register of historic places (name?). Anyway, let me start putting out the pics.

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6/53564734sj0.png

I start my "journey" at downtown, this is in back of the Train station
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-054-25A_026.jpg

Going to the Bus stop, an interesting ad
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-052-24A_025.jpg

Waiting for the bus, with a sneak snapshot of the skyline
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-050-23A_024.jpg

Got off the bus, and I'm on Asylum Avenue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-048-22A_023.jpg

Took a left down Woodland Avenue, in the middle of Hartford's other "high rise cluster"
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-046-21A_022.jpg

Beautiful house. Too bad it's some kind of stuffy snob club
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-044-20A_021.jpg

Continued...

The Mark Twain House, a landmark in Hartford.
That was the guy who wrote "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-042-19A_020.jpg

And next door, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House
This was the woman who wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin".
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-022-9A_010.jpg

Just a walk west down Farmington Avenue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-040-18A_019.jpg

A side-street. Nice Triple Deckers
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-038-17A_018.jpg

Infill
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-036-16A_017.jpg

Corner of Farmington and Sisson. This is where I get food
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-034-15A_016.jpg

I'm at the parking lot of my local bank here. And not too far, my BK!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-032-14A_015.jpg

Who says that Hartford is not diverse?
In this pic, there is an Ethiopian, an Italian, and a Mexican restaurant, and I'm in the parking lot of a Japanese one. And there's a Jamaican one next to that. :lol:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-030-13A_014.jpg

More West End housing
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-028-12A_013.jpg

I know a cat lady in the big apartment in this pic
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-026-11A_012.jpg

Interesting architecture
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-024-10A_011.jpg

The people in this pic were loudmouths. I think they were drunk. :dunno:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-018-7A_008.jpg

Our version of the row house
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-016-6A_007.jpg

This is near the Halal supermarket that I sometimes go to
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-014-5A_006.jpg

Cool Apartments. There was a fire here once, made big smoke
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-012-4A_005.jpg

Strip mall. There is a cool African market here. :cool:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-020-8A_009.jpg

More retail. This pic is actually in Asylum Hill
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-010-3A_004.jpg

Last pic at the Culinary institute. I thought that the combination of old and new was cool
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420476-R1-008-2A_003.jpg

Haven't thought of a certain place to hit yet, but I'm definitely going to take more pics...hopefully on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will be nicer...today so fucking windy that my hat fell off my head! Well, thanks for looking at the pics. I'll be back. :)

Very interesting that Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe lived next door to each other. Was that by coincidence or did one of them move next to the other on puspose?

That infill looks nice, except that there is that large area on the front of the house with no windows.

Don't think so. I believe that Harriet Beecher Stowe was there much earlier...

Back in the 1800s, most of Hartford was still farms and small houses like that.

Interesting photos of a city completely unknown to me, looks very typical of the US north-east. :)

yes, I never heard about this city until some weeks ago :)

The only reason, I bet, that you both even heard of Hartford in the first place is because of me! :colgate:

I'm reppin' Hartford real hard up in this piece, ha.


------

Anyway, I'm thinking of hitting Frog Hollow and Parkville next, which both are slightly southwest of downtown. I was thinking of going on Saturday, but the problem is that the weather doesn't look very good then. I may buy the digital camera next week. Found a sweet deal for one online.

Sorry for the delay for a while, I've actually been quite busy lately.

Today, I went to West Hartford Center. I was there for a dentist appointment, but the weather was so nice (21 degrees), and the forecast for the next few days look bad, so the logic was that I may as well went now. :D

West Hartford is not in Hartford's city limits. It's a suburb. Thanks to Connecticut's archaic annexations laws, it's like every backyard can be considered it's own town. I'm only about 6km west of downtown Hartford here, and just down the street from the West End pics that I posted earlier. Such a different world though...you go from the inner city urbanity to yuppieland in a couple of minutes. So much expensive restaurants, joggers and people walking with dogs. Seriously. :ohno:

Anyway, West Hartford is affluent, and is a good way to show how much money is here in Greater Hartford. The majority of people in this town have a college degree, and the average income is over $66,000. Most of the city is inner suburban, but the center has a good amount of density. Development in West Hartford is booming at the moment. Anyway, here's pics.

http://i29.tinypic.com/2aht7vn.png

The tallest point in West Hartford, the First Congregational Church
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-040-18A_020.jpg

The town green across the street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-042-19A_021.jpg

Some monument in the green
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-022-9A_011.jpg

An admittedly bad pic of the "skyline" afar
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-044-20A_022.jpg

A courtyard in the middle of a building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-046-21A_023.jpg

Pic in the parking lot
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-010-3A_005.jpg

The town hall. It's magnificent. :drool:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-008-2A_004.jpg

A closer pic of the town hall
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-006-1A_003.jpg

A side street, lots of nice cars here
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-052-24A_026.jpg

Pic in an alley, although most stores here are independent, Starbucks snuck in
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-012-4A_006.jpg

Farmington Avenue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-016-6A_008.jpg

A little nice corner
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-020-8A_010.jpg

If you can see, there are tables on top of that building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-014-5A_007.jpg

From a distance...that sign looks like it says "slavery" :lol:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-018-7A_009.jpg

West Hartford Center is surrounded by this: suburban and quiet areas
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-050-23A_025.jpg

Blue Back Square, which I will post pics of next, in the distance
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-048-22A_024.jpg

Blue Back Square

As I said earlier, development in West Hartford is booming. A major mixed-use project, Blue Back Square, opened last November. It's the largest development in West Hartford's history. It has, a large amount of upscale chains, plenty of restaurants, a clinic, a gym, banks, and housing. A lot of the stores and restaurants here are having their first locations in the area.

I'm not sure if much people live in the housing yet. A large amount of the housing was originally proposed as condos, but as the housing market has tanked (although not as bad as many other areas in the US), they were converted into apartments instead. Hartford's rental market is booming...it's becoming hard to find a good place here. A large portion of the apartments here are targeted to yuppies and empty nesters.

The thing that's remarkable about this major development is that it's urban and centered like on walking...something almost unheard of in 99% of Suburban Hartford. Cars are allowed in, but parking fees are high and discourage parking. Paid almost $10 and I was there for less than 2 hours.

West Hartford became a city in my eyes after this, although it is technically a "town" by government decree.

Took this from the heights of the stairs
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-054-25A_027.jpg

The main square of Blue Back Square
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-002-00A_001.jpg

The Cheesecake Factory!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-004-0A_002.jpg

An intersection
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-030-13A_015.jpg

Across the street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-028-12A_014.jpg

Housing is zoned on the top of these stores
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-026-11A_013.jpg

Near the parking garage
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-034-15A_017.jpg

Apartments still U/C
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-032-14A_016.jpg

We're getting a new BOSE store too
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-036-16A_018.jpg

Constructing a new square or a monument here
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-038-17A_019.jpg

Cool. I like this.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/420804-R1-024-10A_012.jpg

Hope you liked the pics. I'll be back. :cool:

Going back into the city for the next batch of pics, but I'm planning to go back to West Hartford in the future...we'll check out Elmwood, the "blue-collar" side of West Hartford.

Nice tour. I'm looking forward to you getting a digital camera, though, so that the pictures are much clearer.

Err...actually those were from a digital camera. I guess it's shitty. =/

Great work mate!

Like Øland I had never heard of it before I met you on SSC either - it's a great way of learning about a new place - thanks bro! :)

oh it's quite interesting how polish cities in similar size differ from american ones
i wish we had just a piece of your park lots in our downtowns

Thanks, all.

I'm thinking of taking some more pics tomorrow. Tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and pretty warm, so nice. Spring isn't going anywhere here. The next pics will be in Hartford again...I don't know where to go actually...there are so much places that I can actually hit!

As for the digital camera, I may get it Next Friday or Saturday. I have the money to get it now, but I want to at least have double the money so I can at least cushion the expenses.

I love looking at pics of American cities, they look so similiar to Australian cities its scary.

Love Northeastern cities!

Okay, these are not strictly urban pictures, but here are some pics anyway.

Spring is finally here in Hartford! The last few days have been hot (Friday was 28 degrees) and it has been sunny every day since last Monday. This weather has made the plants start to bloom. :D

These pics are near my clinic in the burbs...

Cute flowers near a bank
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-032-14A.jpg

Bus stop in the background
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-028-12A.jpg

Across the street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-030-13A.jpg

These were from my office window
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-026-11A.jpg

The white building is a local library
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-024-10A.jpg

Our local shopping mall, Westfarms Mall, I took this from a Wendy's :D
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-034-15A.jpg

Here are a few pics (only 5) from my school, Central Connecticut State University. :D

I hope to post some pictures of this (and other universities in the Hartford area) again. Didn't take much because I was in a hurry. Got some decent shots of our main building though. :)

Davidson Hall, the main Administration building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-040-18A.jpg

Another shot
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-038-17A.jpg

A parking garage. Concrete and Brick is in vogue here
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-036-16A.jpg

The International studies building and some sculpture
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-042-19A.jpg

We are "blooming" here :)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-044-20A.jpg

If the pics are loading slowly, sorry...there seems to be something odd going on with Photobucket, ATM.

nice, I've never been in that area of hartford.. looks quite charming.

Looking forward to more pictures.

Sweet, I had no idea of what Hartford was before this. Love the comments for each photo.

Cities like Hartford will benefit when the gas prices get higher. One of the least northeastern of the northeastern cities due to a desolate downtown and no subway or light rail. One thing about most Northeastern cities is that they have habitable 24/7 walkable downtowns. Hartford is a lot like Richmond to me. Providence is smaller but its downtown is much more vibrant in classic Yankee style.

Er...thanks, I guess.

I lived in Boston and got to know New England quite well. One thing that is odd about Hartford is that it is so far inland. Cities in New England by waterways used for commerce seem to be more naturally thriving. The same is true for Springfield and Worcester. I know that is a sweeping generalization but I see it as a pattern.

American cities do not look like Australian cities IMO. Australian cities look like newer English cities or eastern Canadian cities if there were tropics. South African cities look a bit like Australian cities but without the vibrancy at street level and the general safety.

It makes me think now. What is the most Australian looking US city? Perhaps San Francisco.

Time to bring this thread back on track. :happy:

I finally got a digital camera! Sadly though, not the Canon Powershot A570-IS that I originally wanted. The price was too high for me at the moment. I am getting from that stimulus package around $300, but I decided to use that money to pay some bills and tune up my car instead.

I got a Samsung S630. It was only $70. Admiteddly not the best considering the price, but it gets the job done. The pics are much better than the disposables. The only beef I have with it is that it's a battery sucker. :(

But at least now, I don't have to worry about that 1-hour photo BS!

Going to post a crapload of pics that I took today now, be patient! :D

Good set! I haven't visited Hartford in quite some time. I had family who once lived there and at times in the past traveled there for certain jobs. Hartford sits perfectly between Boston and NYC as mentioned, a good position if you happen to travel much between these cities.

Here are some pictures I took today. South of downtown.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9149/41212754jp7zo0.png

We start at Main Street
http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/7399/s6300022vo0.jpg

Barnard Park, affectionally known as bum park, across from a shelter
(this is the dumping ground, few homeless up in downtown)
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300023.jpg

Skyline from Wethersfield Avenue
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300024.jpg

A revitalized side street
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300025.jpg

It's prime for gentrification, but for now, predominately Section 8
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300026.jpg

Near the Hartford Hospital now
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300028.jpg

Hartford Hopsital. It has a mini skyline
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300032.jpg

Cool Cow
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300029.jpg

Some remodeling being done
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300027.jpg

Another building
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300031.jpg

Connecticut Children's Hospital. The goofiest modern building in the city :lol:
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300033.jpg

The back of the children's hospital
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300030.jpg

A bit south...the cheapest gas station in the city of Hartford. :D
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300034.jpg

Local side street
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300036.jpg

Vacant Lot
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300035.jpg

Hartford Magnet School complex
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300037.jpg

Someone forgot to close their door!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300038.jpg

The Institute of Living. Basically a crazy house
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300039.jpg

No Americans allowed!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300040.jpg

Abandoned apartment buildings
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300041.jpg

Gang Taggings
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300042.jpg

Walking down the sidewalk
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300043.jpg

Department of Children and Families. Bad Parents beware
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300044.jpg

Thought for the longest time that this was a commieblock...it's just an ugly office building
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300045.jpg

Park Street. I'll revisit this area at a later date
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300046.jpg

Crappy graffiti and a Mustang
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300047.jpg

Stupid people throwing anything into the garbage cans
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300048.jpg

Infill being built
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300049.jpg

Most new public housing looks like this here
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300050.jpg

What a view!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300051.jpg

Parking lot seas!
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300052.jpg

Ugh. Pregnancy and Religion. Two things that are big here in Hartford
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300053.jpg

I was here before. Here is a close up on one of those brownstones
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300054.jpg

Good set! I haven't visited Hartford in quite some time. I had family who once lived there and at times in the past traveled there for certain jobs. Hartford sits perfectly between Boston and NYC as mentioned, a good position if you happen to travel much between these cities.

Thanks. That's one great thing about Hartford, yes. I love the location.

I spend quite a bit of time in Queens, my parents live there, and I lived there when I was younger. It's great that the Big Apple is just 2 hours (over 3 hrs with traffic), but we have a fraction of the cost of living. :D

Boston's close too. Always great potential for a day trip here. :yes:

More pics now, let me post them in a different post.

Downtown Hartford

I went back downtown to try out the new camera. Also hit a few parts that I failed to hit during my last shoot in the area. I took the majority during the work hours, so some are crowded, but I avoided crowded areas in most of the pics...well, enjoy anyway.

A sign of a Bar. The coolest one ever, may I add
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300055.jpg

Whitehead Expressway. I'm on it right now as it goes in a tunnel
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300056.jpg

Traveler's Building and the Wadsworth Anthaneum, first public art gallery in the US
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300057.jpg

State House Square
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300058.jpg

Central Row, with the Phoenix in teh background
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300059.jpg

Another pic of State House Square
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300060.jpg

Bank of America building. They are thinking of converting some condos here
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300061.jpg

Marriott Hotel and Capital Community College
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300062.jpg

I'm on Pratt Street, our "Chinatown". :lol:
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300063.jpg

Another pic of Pratt Street
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300064.jpg

CityPlace and Hartford 21
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300065.jpg

Another shot of the skyscrapers
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300066.jpg

LOL. Hartford hit the big time
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300067.jpg

A abandoned building across I-84 known as the "Butt Ugly Building"
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300068.jpg

Prudential Tower
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300069.jpg

Trumbull Street
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300070.jpg

The ugliest corner in DT Hartford, although getting revamped apparently
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x296/hashihareer/S6300071.jpg

That's it for now! Thanks for seeing...I'll post some more later.

Wow that "Butt Ugly Building" interests me lol

and that "Emperor at the Linden" bar sign is awesome!

good job 10rot, the city looks great
thank for the pics

Thanks. :yes:

Here are 3 pics that I forgot to upload...was in a hurry when I posted those pics earlier.

Connecticut Convention Center
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300020.jpg

The construction of the Science center to the right
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300021.jpg

A couple blocks to the west, Allyn Street. There are some nightclubs here
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300016.jpg

Wow that "Butt Ugly Building" interests me lol

and that "Emperor at the Linden" bar sign is awesome!

LOL.

The reason that it's the "Butt-ugly building" (besides the fact that it's ugly) is that while it is such an eyesore, there has been no real effort to demolish it. Too much asbestos in the building, scares people. The neighborhood that it's in, right north of I-84, called Clay-Arsenal, is among Hartford's poorest neighborhoods...people avoid it like the plague.

Last time I heard, the building was to be demolished and replaced with two twin 25-story condo buildings. That obviously fizzled. In a way it stands for Hartford's problems. As much as I like historic buildings and preservation, it's almost next to impossible for some reason to demolish buildings in this city.

great pics.

and park street, I've been there couple of times....yeah no a fun place to be in sometimes...but there are some good restaurants there.

Nice photos, very interesting. Hartford is pretty big but if it wasn't for 10ROT, it would be unknown on SSC!!

Wow, nice . Didn't know Hartford is modern city.

What a great tour that was! I had never known much about Hartford before, so this has been very educational!

Looking good mate - thanks!

Some MORE pics of DT that I forgot to upload that night:

Tried to be artistic in this pic. :shifty:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300085.jpg

Street corner
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300134.jpg

Who is the Russian Lady, I wonder? Is she hot?
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300135.jpg

Retail on Asylum
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300136.jpg

And above!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300137.jpg

Hmmm...the circus is in town. Is that why I saw that elephant earlier?
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300138.jpg

Here are some pics I took today...

State Government sector

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/3966/66570537ul8.png

Hartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, which is in the northeastern edge of the United States in a region known as New England.

So Government is big business here. The state is a very avid supporter of historical buildings, and the sector is filled with classical buildings through out the area. They are also quite anti high-rise, but with the CBD a short walk away, it's not a problem. :)

The CT state capitol from Bushnell Park
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300091.jpg

Thought this was cool
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300092.jpg

A walk away, an express bus. These take commuters from the suburbs
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300093.jpg

The building on the right is the Bushnell Hall, our concert hall
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300094.jpg

Some governmental building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300095.jpg

A statue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300096.jpg

Nice backside. :yes:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300126.jpg

Sight downhill from the green
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300127.jpg

Another statue, of Christopher Columbus
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300128.jpg

The State Library/Supreme Court building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300097.jpg

Another pic of the Capitol. This is on the register of historic places. It's a gem
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300098.jpg

Onramp to I-84. The building in the background is the Legislative building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300101.jpg

Some other government building, don't know what it is
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300102.jpg

Intersection of Broad and Capitol Ave.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300104.jpg

The only gas station in Downtown Hartford. Notorious for gouging :bash:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300105.jpg

The richest state in the Union can't afford decent paving apparently
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300106.jpg

More Government buildings, on Capitol Avenue
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300107.jpg

Capitol Avenue Corridor

As said earlier in one of my pics, the state of Connecticut is the richest state in the US by per capita income. Downtown Hartford, for the most part, reflects that wealth. However, poverty is quite literally across the street from the government here in Hartford. You will see that in the next batch of pictures.

Street scene, literally a 2 second walk from the State Library
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300103.jpg

Cool mural
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300108.jpg

Be careful for the deaf child
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300117.jpg

This is a SEX-decker. A six family home. :D
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300118.jpg

Poverty amidst wealth
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300119.jpg

Neighborhood park
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300116.jpg

A government high rise, quite the oddity here in HFD
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300115.jpg

Nearby I-84. It makes an elevated viaduct that cuts through the city. It may be demolished
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300114.jpg

Another NIMBY. Not sure what it is really, but it emits steam
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300111.jpg

Rowhouses in the Historical District
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300109.jpg

This style is incredibly rare in Hartford, but common in cities like Philly and Baltimore
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300110.jpg

I'm in the Alley
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300112.jpg

These are some beautiful homes. :cheers:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300113.jpg

That's it for now! Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for viewing.

very nice, hadnt seen much of Hartford before now, looks huge for its population though? :happy: the tour is greatly appreciated :yes:

Cool thread, thx for sharing.

If ever you come to Manhatan don't forget to take awesome pictures or you are only interested in Harford...Do you have night scenes of Hartford?

^^ Well, I live in Hartford, which makes it easier for me. IF I am ever in NYC (I usually go often, but I don't usually go to Manhattan when there), I will take some pics and share some. :tongue2:

Anyway, I took some new pics today.

I went NORTH of downtown today, to Clay-Arsenal, possibly the poorest neighborhood in Hartford, Connecticut, and New England. The neighborhood is just literally north of I-84, and is walking distance to downtown. It was hit by race riots in the sixties and seventies and never truly recovered.

I put them in black/white to make them look more gritty. The overcast skies helped too. :D

Skyline from I-84
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300041.jpg

I-84/I-91 Interchange
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300042.jpg

The "Butt-Ugly" building down Main Street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300020-1.jpg

Close up. This building is filled with asbestos inside
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300021-1.jpg

If you don't have a cell phone, tough!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300022.jpg

Walking down Main Street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300023.jpg

Now taking a left onto a side street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300025.jpg

We in da hood, G
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300026.jpg

Hmmm...
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300032.jpg

This could be so beautiful if there was some investment
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300024.jpg

The entire building is boarded up
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300027.jpg

Looking at the backyard...there is an A/C
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300028.jpg

There is garbage...I think there are actually people there. :sly:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300029.jpg

In the backyard, looking south
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300030.jpg

Cool building that is abandoned
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300031.jpg

Upon further looking, it will be renovated by the city
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300033.jpg

A bit of a walk further, there is an entire road blocked off by the public..hmmm
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300034.jpg

The best graffiti that I could find, most of it here is trashy
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300035.jpg

People live in this building
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300036.jpg

Another skyline shot, sorry! This area just has some of the best shots!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300037.jpg

I'm above the railroads
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300039.jpg

This has been here for years!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300040.jpg

Urban Prairie
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300038.jpg

As I was leaving, the skies started to brighten, damn!
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300044.jpg

Thanks for visiting! That's all for now! :cheers:

^Nice work mate once again :)

Not a fan of b&w pics, but to each his own :)

Thanks!

As for the black/white...I wanted to try something new, make my pics look more artistic. Plus, it seems to summarize the feeling in the area, which looked bombed out. There are places in this city that are downright depressing to look at, and the overcast skies and cold temps make it perfect. Voila!

Strangely, I found myself being the only one walking around when I was taking them. :shifty:

Your pictures and information are getting better by the page. Keep up the good work. Get a digital camera as well, because it will make the pictures clearer for us, and multiple disposable cameras will be expensive if you continue to take pictures.

The Capitol is gorgeous and perfect 1-84 skyline shot

I'm really enjoying this pics.. and learning a lot about this area! xzmattzx is right.. an inexpensive digital is cheaper in the long run than disposable cameras! Nowadays you
can get a decent digital camera for not a lot of money.

Guys, I have been using a digital camera for the last few shoots! Thanks for the praise though! :D

Couldn't take that disposable camera BS, so I shelled $70 for a Samsung S630. Not the best and not what I orginally wanted (I wanted the Canon A570-IS), but it gets the job done.

http://www.mobilewhack.com/s630B-03%20copy.jpg

I guess I went too cheap, did I? I'm such a miser. :ohno:

As for the black/white...I wanted to try something new, make my pics look more artistic. Plus, it seems to summarize the feeling in the area, which looked bombed out. There are places in this city that are downright depressing to look at, and the overcast skies and cold temps make it perfect. Voila!I always get flack for almost only posting pics with blue skies and sunny weather, but I hate talking pics when it's cloudy - grey weather can make anywhere look depressing :(

Everything looks better when the sun shines and the cities are so much more alive and full of colour.. :)


Anyway great work as always!


I know its not the right thread but I am kinda curious how such like this: http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300020-1.jpg can come to be in so many US cities..

From the looks of the highrises the property price looks high, so why have unused abandoned buildings or "gravel parking lots" around?

Is it the city waiting for the right option or is it for investment reasons or why?
Empty lots in central locations shouldn't logically last very long...

10Rot, very nice pictures of your area, glad i clicked on you signature today :)

Thanks for bumping this thread. :)

If the weather is good, I'm going to take some new pics next week. I have been bitterly lazy lately...I wanted to go take pictures on Friday, but I forgot my camera. :cry:



I know its not the right thread but I am kinda curious how such like this: http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300020-1.jpg can come to be in so many US cities..

From the looks of the highrises the property price looks high, so why have unused abandoned buildings or "gravel parking lots" around?

Is it the city waiting for the right option or is it for investment reasons or why?
Empty lots in central locations shouldn't logically last very long...

Sorry for the long reply, from a month ago.

Segregation mostly. Hartford's downtown almost abruptly ends at I-84 (a major highway), property values plummet because you get into the North End territory, which is the "ghetto" of the city.

That building is called the "Butt-Ugly building" because everyone wants it down, but people are too afraid to demolish it because of all the asbestos in it. I heard of a proposal of demolishing and replacing it with twin 25-story condos, but I guess that this project never happened because it's still there.

I don't know the values of the buildings downtown (lots of vacancies), but they are several times higher than just north of the highway.

Its a very honest presentation of Hartford from our friend Mr 10ROT :D

Anyway, if you don't mind I want to see more houses in your neighborhood. Plus the pics of the nearest supermarket ( not mall ) from your house :cheers:

Huge skylines for me atleast. Weird mixture of parking lots and very nice red brick buildings.

Might recommend you to look into Casio Exilim , the only current digital camera I have used somewhat. Though not mine at the moment buying something next week. Sharper pictures but problem with greyness, maybe higher iso advisable. If it's sunny no problem at all. 200 eurodollar.

Thanks for bumping this thread. :)

glad to help :) and will wait to see your new pictures :cheers:

^yeah - it's about time for some new pics mate :yes:

Wow I just stumbled upon this thread for the first time. Excellent job Rotten. There are parts of Hartford I have never seen in this photo (I mostly have been to Downtown, the North Side, and Asylum areas). I can't wait to see the reaction to the North Side.

Cool snaps 10ROT, but it still .. where the hood at?

Anyway, keep up the good work - more pics S.V.P. :)

Talk about a trip down memory lane. I grew up close to Hartford, so this thread is giving me a bunch of flashbacks.

I went to Elizabeth Park so many times, and had some very pleasant experiences there. Although one night I was escorted out by Hartford's finest. :)

I hope you can get some North End pics for us. Albany Ave, Blue Hills, Woodland St, Kenney Park, and maybe some shots of Bloomfield???

I remember bringing a girl to this same Wendy's. Crazy. Those were the days.

Our local shopping mall, Westfarms Mall, I took this from a Wendy's :D
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/5555555-R1-034-15A.jpg

Thanks for the thread!

^ Really? Wow...where in the area are you from?


Damn, you guys are making me guilty as hell...I've been incredibly slacking on the photos lately. I've been very busy lately. I wanted to go out last weekend, but went visiting people instead. And I found out that my SD card on my camera broke too..

I'm leaving for Buffalo, New York for school on August 20. May not be in Hartford again until December. Because of this...I'm going to try to take some massive pics before I go. Maybe on the weekend even, although not certain. Maybe I will hit Albany Avenue or something...I'd love to go to the North End, as a fan of grit and such.

To compensate, how about just 4 pics that I forgot to post before? :)

Took these ones when before work one day.

Science Center Construction, it's kind of very behind schedule now
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300193.jpg

The bridge on the Riverfront
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300194.jpg

Skybridge mania
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300196.jpg

The Northeast edge of Downtown, the I-84/91 interchange
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300197.jpg

Sorry about the picture quality...twas a very sunny day.

^ Really? Wow...where in the area are you from?

I grew up in South Windsor ...yeah, suburbia. :)

I was in Hartford at least once a week for church. I went to Faith Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 500 Woodland St., so I'm still interested in that area. (It wasn't nearly as bad a neighborhood as it would look to outsiders.)

So I hung out on Albany Ave, Blue Hills. There were some great Jamaican bakeries on Albany. My first girlfriend lived on Kent St.

Dang, now I want to go back.

Good pics there 10rot. Always thought Hartford was some shithole how you sometimes go on about it, looks the opposite, nice place etc. Hope for some new pics fella.

Nice new pics mate!

Hartford is a shitehole, with some nice areas.

how are things in Hartford now with all these financial issues (shambles) going on?

Why did you bump this thread, I'm almost 700km from Hartford and won't be there until December. No pics till then. :(;)

As for the economic situation, not too sure. Most of the insurance companies were not in subprime, they were in health and other kinds of insurance. Hartford's insurance industry is not all that affected by Wall Street. I think that there may be some problems because Merrill Lynch and BoA has some workers in downtown.

In Connecticut, the problem is more for the NYC suburbs affected by Wall Street than Hartford. As for HFD...it was hit by worse recessions in the past. In the 1990s, the downtown was devastated by insurance mergers, with vacancies hitting 35%. That's not happening right now.

Compliments on your shots. Really enjoyed looking at 'm and reading your comments. :okay:

Very nice pics :okay:

I enjoyed these, thanks!

I just found this place, good job with the pictures 10rot. I don't know if you still around or not, but I'd like to see some shots of the northend :skull:

i enjoyed watching the pictures, thanks :)

I'm back! :D

I've been in Hartford for at least a month now. Summer, you know. Here are a couple pictures from the last week or so.

Here first is a sighting of the skyline, from at least 15km in the east...at a regional mall parking lot.

Feels like Hartford is just one giant forest with only the highrises of downtown uncovered by the greenery.

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300750.jpg

BTW, I'm putting the next pics in 800X600...think more can be seen that way. More pics coming, btw.

I went to take pics at Trinity College, which is a relatively small Liberal Arts college south of downtown.

Expensive private and prestigious college, but it is surrounded by a few unsavory neighborhoods. Great school though!

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300752.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300753.jpg

Some guy on a statue...
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300754.jpg

Downtown isn't far away
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300755.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300756.jpg

Admissions office
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300757.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300758.jpg

Apparently this castle-like building is a Fraternity
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300759.jpg

However, as rich as it is inside, it is poor right off college property
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300760.jpg

Next few pics are just outside Pope Park, one of Hartford's major parks.

Down Summit street
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300762.jpg

Most buildings here are brick triple-deckers
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300763.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300764.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300766.jpg

View towards the Northwest Hills...
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300765.jpg

Next few are in Parkville, a neighborhood on Park Street west of I-84. Some are east though.

The sign on top of the railroad (owned by Amtrak, I believe)
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300778.jpg

Refurbished industrial building, inside is apartments and a Brazilian restaurant
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300777.jpg

Another one
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300779.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300776.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300775.jpg

This one was turned into an Art gallery
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300774.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300773.jpg

Highway mania
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300772.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300771.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300770.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300769.jpg

A canceled project (or delayed, don't know).
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300780.jpg

Half of the plaza is abandoned.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300781.jpg

Hartford's "twin towers".
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300768.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300767.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300782.jpg

"dirt hill"
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300783.jpg

Right under the I-84 Overpass
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300784.jpg

This highway sees almost 185,000 cars drive it every day.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300786.jpg

I know that I have already taken pics of downtown too much, but I haven't been there for several months.

Forgive me. :D

Rotting Interstate 91 sign
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300787.jpg

Next few pics at Bushnell Park, here's the skyline.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300788.jpg

Another one
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300791.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300790.jpg

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300792.jpg

Disgusting algae-filled brown water...
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300793.jpg

NOT a statue...:lol:
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300794.jpg

Our version of Stonehenge
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300795.jpg

Around 90% of commuters in Hartford get to work in a car alone
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300796.jpg
(...the various bus stops downtown are busy too though)

State House Square...Hartford's town green.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300797.jpg

Construction at the Science Center is almost done.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300798.jpg

The Phoenix building...
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n101/rotten777/S6300799.jpg

That's it for now...look forward to updates in the upcoming future though, and thanks for visiting this thread! :cheers:

Looking forward to seeing more pics! I don't think I ever stopped in Hartford, so I am learning a lot from your photos!