Hartford, Connecticut

City of Hartford
Hartford's downtown seen from across the Connecticut River
Hartford's downtown seen from across the Connecticut River

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Nickname(s): The Insurance Capital of the World, The Heartbeat, New England's Rising star
Location in Hartford County, Connecticut
Location in Hartford County, Connecticut
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Connecticut
NECTA Hartford
Region Capitol Region
Named 1637
Incorporated (city) 1784
Consolidated 1896
Government
 - Type Mayor-council
 - Mayor Eddie Perez
Area
 - City 18.0 sq mi (46.5 km²)
 - Land 17.3 sq mi (44.8 km²)
 - Water 0.7 sq mi (1.7 km²)
 - Urban 469 sq mi (1,216 km²)
Elevation 59 ft (18 m)
Population (2006)[1]
 - City 124,512
 - Density 7,025.5/sq mi (2,776/km²)
 - Metro 1,188,241
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 061xx
Area code(s) 860
FIPS code 09-37000
GNIS feature ID 0213160
Airport Bradley International Airport(Windsor Locks, CT) - BDL (International/Major)
Website: www.hartford.gov

Hartford is the capital of the State of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state and 24 miles south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population of 124,512[1] ranks Hartford as the state's second-largest city[2], after Bridgeport. New Haven, located 40 miles south of the city, has a population nearly identical to that of Hartford.[1] Greater Hartford is also the largest metro area in Connecticut and 45th largest in the country (2006 census estimate) with a metropolitan population of 1,188,841.

Nicknamed the 'Insurance Capital of the World,' Hartford houses many of the world's insurance company headquarters, and insurance is the region's major industry.[3] At almost 400 years old, Hartford is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and, following the American Civil War took the mantle of the country's wealthiest city from New Orleans[4]. In 1868, Mark Twain described the city as follows: "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief"[5].

With a brand new convention center and hotel, upcoming science center, reclaimed river front and an infusion of residential and commercial ventures in the city, Hartford has begun to attract new development, especially to its downtown, after years of relative stagnation. It is home to the nation's oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest public park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (Hartford Courant), the second-oldest secondary school (Hartford Public) and the sixth-oldest opera company in the nation (Connecticut Opera). Its vibrant arts scene, ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the region's highly educated workforce, have added to the city's appeal as a regional hub of economic and social activity.

In 2004, the Hartford metropolitan area ranked second in per capita economic activity nationwide, behind San Francisco, California. Hartford is ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and generates more economic activity than sixteen U.S. states[6][7].

Contents

History

This is a summary. For more information, see: History of Hartford, Connecticut

After Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the area in 1614, fur traders from the New Netherland colony set up trade at Fort Goede Hoop (Good Hope) at the confluence of the Connecticut and Park Rivers[8] as early as 1623, but abandoned their post by 1654. Today, the neighborhood near the site is still known as Dutch Point. The first English settlers arrived in 1635 and their settlement was originally called Newtown, but was renamed Hartford in 1637. The name "Hartford" was chosen to honor the English town of Hertford.

1877 Map of Hartford

The leader of Hartford's original settlers from what is now Cambridge, Massachusetts, Pastor Thomas Hooker, delivered a sermon which inspired the writing of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, a document (ratified January 14, 1639) investing the people with the authority to govern, rather than ceding such authority to a higher power. Hooker's conception of self-rule embodied in the Fundamental Orders went on to inspire the Connecticut Constitution, and ultimately the U.S. Constitution. Today, one of the Connecticut's nicknames is the 'Constitution State'[9] [10].

On December 15, 1814, delegations from throughout New England gathered at the Hartford Convention to discuss possible secession from the United States. Later in the century, Hartford was a center of abolitionist activity. Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of Lyman Beecher and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, lived in Nook Farm, part of the Asylum Hill section of the city.

In July 6, 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire destroyed the big top at the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, the deadliest circus fire in the history of the United States.

On November 3, 1981, Thirman L. Milner became the the first black mayor elected in New England. In 1987, Carrie Saxon Perry was elected mayor of Hartford, the first female African-American mayor of a major American city.

Starting in the late 1950s the suburbs of Hartford grew while the capital city began its long, slow decline. This decline may have been accelerated by construction of highways (including I-84 & I-91 which intersect in downtown Hartford). Many residents moved out of the city and into the suburbs, and this trend continues. During the 1980s, Hartford experienced an economic boom of sorts and by the late 1980s, almost a dozen new skyscrapers were proposed to be built in the city's downtown. For various concerns, including the economic recession that followed in the early 1990s, many of these buildings were never built. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, many workers in Hartford lived in towns located more than a twenty-minute drive from the city. In the last few years, development, both commercial and residential, has increased downtown.

Geography and Climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.0 square miles (46.5 km²), of which, 17.3 square miles (44.8 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (3.67%) is water.

Hartford is bordered by the towns of West Hartford, Newington, Wethersfield, East Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor, and Windsor.

View of southern portion of Downtown Hartford (1990).

The Connecticut River forms the boundary between Hartford and East Hartford.

The Park River originally divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was a major part of Bushnell Park but river was nearly completely enclosed and buried by flood control projects in the 1940s.[8] The former course of the river can still be seen in some of the roadways that were built in its place, such as Jewell St. and the Conlin-Whitehead Highway.[11]

Hartford lies in the Humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, while winters are typically cold with frequent snowfall. The average annual precipitation is approximately 44 inches, which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Hartford typically receives about 48.0 inches of snow in an average winter; the record seasonal snowfall was 115.2 inches in 1996.[12] The first snowfall typically occurs in mid to late November and the last snow of the season usually occurs in late March, although accumulating snow has occurred as early as late September and as late as mid-May in extreme events. During the summer, temperatures often exceeding 90°F (32°C). Thunderstorms are common during the summer months since the frontal boundary that separates the tropical air mass from colder air to the north moves back and forth over the city throughout the summer. While these thunderstorms may be severe with damaging winds and hail, tornadoes are rare. Tropical storms and hurricanes have also struck Hartford, although the occurrence of such systems is rare.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F (°C) 71 (21.6) 73 (22.7) 89 (31.6) 96 (35.5) 99 (37.2) 100 (37.7) 102 (38.8) 102 (38.8) 99 (37.2) 91 (32.7) 81 (27.2) 76 (24.4)
Norm High °F (°C) 34.1 (1.2) 37.7 (3.2) 47.7 (8.7) 59.9 (15.5) 71.7 (22.05) 80 (26.6) 84.9 (29.4) 82.5 (28.05) 74.3 (23.5) 63.1 (17.3) 50.9 (10.5) 39 (3.8)
Norm Low °F (°C) 17.2 (-8.2) 19.9 (-6.7) 28.3 (-2.05) 37.9 (3.3) 48.1 (8.9) 57 (13.8) 62.4 (16.8) 60.7 (15.9) 52.1 (11.2) 40.6 (4.7) 32.6 (0.3) 22.6 (-5.2)
Rec Low °F (°C) -26 (-32.2) -21 (-29.4) -6 (-21.1) 9 (-12.7) 28 (-2.2) 35 (1.6) 44 (6.6) 36 (2.2) 30 (-1.1) 17 (-8.3) 1 (-17.2) -14 (-25.5)
Precip in (mm) 3.84 (97.536) 2.96 (75.184) 3.88 (98.552) 3.86 (98.044) 4.39 (111.506) 3.85 (97.79) 3.67 (93.218) 3.98 (100.33) 4.13 (104.902) 3.94 (100.076) 4.06 (103.124) 3.6 (91.44)
Source: USTravelWeather.com [3]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1800 3,523
—
1810 3,955 12.3%
1820 4,726 19.5%
1830 7,074 49.7%
1840 9,468 33.8%
1850 13,555 43.2%
1860 26,917 98.6%
1870 37,180 38.1%
1880 42,015 13%
1890 53,230 26.7%
1900 79,850 50%
1910 98,915 23.9%
1920 138,036 39.6%
1930 164,072 18.9%
1940 166,267 1.3%
1950 177,397 6.7%
1960 162,178 −8.6%
1970 158,017 −2.6%
1980 136,392 −13.7%
1990 139,739 2.5%
2000 121,578 −13%
Est. 2006 124,512 [13] 2.4%
Population 1800 - 1990[14]

As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 121,578 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,025.5 people per square mile (2,711.8/km²). There were 50,644 housing units at an average density of 2,926.5/sq mi (1,129.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 27.72% White, 38.05% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 26.51% from other races, and 5.44% from two or more races. 40.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, chiefly of Puerto Rican origin. 17.83% of the population classified itself as non-Hispanic White.

There were 44,986 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 29.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city, the population distribution skews young: 30.1% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.

With thirty per cent of the population living below the poverty line, Hartford's rate of poverty is second in the United States only to Brownsville, Texas.[16] About 28.2% of families were below the poverty line, including 41.0% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,820, and the median income for a family was $27,051. Males had a median income of $28,444 versus $26,131 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,428. After World War II, and continuing through the latter half of the 20th century, many Puerto Ricans moved to the city. As of 2000, 32.56% of Hartford residents claimed Puerto Rican heritage. This was the second largest concentration of Puerto Ricans on the US mainland, behind only Holyoke, Massachusetts [17]

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[18]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
  Democratic 30,332 5,981 36,313 65.81%
  Republican 2,248 351 2,599 4.71%
  Unaffiliated 12,880 3,324 16,204 29.37%
  Minor Parties 48 13 61 0.11%
Total 45,508 9,669 55,177 100%

Neighborhoods

Main article: Neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut
Pratt Street in Downtown Hartford

Hartford's neighborhoods are a diverse and historic lot. The central business district, as well as the State Capitol, Old State House and a number of museums and shops are located Downtown. Parkville, home to Real Art Ways, is named for the confluence of the north and the south branches of the Park River. Frog Hollow, in close proximity to Downtown, is home to Pope Park and Trinity College which is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher learning. Asylum Hill, a mixed residential and commercial area, houses the headquarters of several insurance companies as well as the historic homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The West End, the most upscale neighborhood and home to the Governor's residence, Elizabeth Park, and the University of Hartford, abuts the Hartford Golf Club. Sheldon Charter Oak gains renown as the location of the Charter Oak and its successor monument as well as the former Colt headquarters including Samuel Colt's family estate - Armsmear. The North East neighborhood is home to Keney Park and a number of the city's oldest and ornate homes. The South End features "Little Italy" and was the home of Hartford's sizeable Italian community. South Green hosts Hartford Hospital. The South Meadows is the site of Hartford-Brainard Airport and Hartford's industrial community. The North Meadows has retail strips, car dealerships and the Dodge Music Center. Other neighborhoods in Hartford include Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, South West, and Upper Albany.

Economy

Intersection in Downtown Hartford, with the rear of City Hall in foreground and the Travelers Tower in the background.

Hartford is the historic international center of the insurance industry, with companies such as Travelers, Aetna, The Hartford, The Phoenix Companies, Inc. and Hartford Steam Boiler based in the city and major operations of companies such as ING. The area is also home to CIGNA, Colt Firearms, U.S. Fire Arms and United Technologies.

Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Hartford was a major manufacturing and publishing city. Among these was the pioneer automobile maker Pope.[19] As in many northern industrial cities, many factories have been closed, relocated, or reduced operations.

Hartford has long been important to insurance companies and is often called the "Insurance Capital of the World," although recent insurance mergers reduced employment at insurance companies in Hartford. MetLife and Lincoln Financial have cut their Hartford workforces and MassMutual has relocated its Hartford operations to Enfield, Connecticut to be closer to its headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. Recently, Hartford has shown viability as an insurance mecca. Travelers Insurance Company has announced it will bring 600 jobs to the area (500 of them in downtown Hartford); Aetna is moving more than 3,500 employees to the city from Middletown, Connecticut.

Education

Colleges and universities

Trinity College

Hartford houses several world-class institutions such as the Wadsworth Atheneum and Trinity College. Other notable institutions include the Hartford Conservatory (in the Asylum Hill neighborhood), The Institute of Living, Capital Community College (located Downtown in the old G. Fox Department Store building on Main Street), the University of Connecticut School of Business (also Downtown), the Hartford Seminary (in the West End), the University of Connecticut School of Law (also in the West End) and Rensselaer at Hartford (a North Meadows branch campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). The University of Hartford is located in the city's West End as well as in neighboring West Hartford and Bloomfield.

The Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts region hosts over 26 colleges and universities including each State's flagship university - the University of Connecticut and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Other area schools include Wesleyan University and Manchester Community College. The Hartford-Springfield area has been monikered as New England's Knowledge Corridor for the second largest concentration of institutions of higher learning in New England.

Primary and secondary education

Hartford is served by the Hartford Public Schools [4]. Hartford Public High School, the nation's second oldest high school, is located in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford. The city is also home to Bulkeley High School on Wethersfield Avenue, Weaver High School on Granby Street, and Sport Medical and Sciences Academy on Huyshope Avenue. In addition, Hartford contains The Learning Corridor, which is home to the Montessori Magnet School, Hartford Magnet Middle School, Greater Harford Academy of Math and Science, and the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts. One of the technical high schools in the Connecticut Technical High School System, A.I. Prince Technical High School, also calls the city home.

The Hartford area is also home to a number of prestigious private schools including Avon Old Farms, the Ethel Walker School, Kingswood-Oxford, Loomis Chaffee, Miss Porter's, Suffield Academy, the Watkinson School, the Westminster School and the Master's School.

The American School for the Deaf, founded in Hartford in 1817 by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, is the first institution for the education of the deaf in America.

Culture

Points of Interest

Armsmear
Cheney Building
Connecticut State Capitol building
Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Mark Twain House
Old State House
Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Arch
Wadsworth Atheneum

Hartford Views

Sports

Club Sport League Venue
Hartford Wolf Pack Ice Hockey American Hockey League XL Center
Hartford Wanderers Rugby Union New England Rugby Football Union Colt Park

The Discover Hartford Bicycling and Walking Tour is a family friendly tour of downtown Hartford. The most recent tour took place Saturday, September 8, 2007 and was co-sponsored by the City of Hartford and the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance. More than 45 Hartford community organizations are supporting this unique experience of Connecticut's capital city. The tour includes 10-mile (20 km) and 25-mile (40 km) bicycling options, and a 2-hour walking tour option.

Hartford was once home to the NHL's Hartford Whalers who have since moved to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The University of Connecticut men's and women's basketball team - the UConn Huskies - also play a number of their home games at the XL Center downtown. Other home games are played at Gampel Pavilion located on the university's campus in Storrs.

New Development

Connecticut Convention Center

Billed as "New England's Rising Star"[20], Hartford has generated renewed interest with both local and national developers who are investing heavily in the city through a variety of projects. Investments include commercial and residential projects such as the new 36-story Hartford 21 apartment tower, the new river front Connecticut Science Center (opening Spring 2009), an extensive system of riverfront trails and parks, neighborhood improvements to Park Street and Parkville, renovation of the historic Colt building in line with National Park standards, and significant development in the central business district of condominiums and retail space.

In 1997, the city lost its professional hockey franchise, the Hartford Whalers, but efforts are being made to bring an NHL team back to the city. City officials and developers are talking about the possibility of a new city arena to house this team.

Currently there are more than 1 billion dollars' worth of private and publicly funded projects happening throughout the city's 17 neighborhoods. The overlying theme for development is to create more activity downtown and attract more residents to the city's different neighborhoods.

Some of the major projects include: Adriaen's Landing: The state- and privately-funded project is situated on the banks of the Connecticut River along Columbus Boulevard, and connects to Constitution Plaza. Constitution Plaza forced hundreds of households to relocate when it was built a few decades ago. The latest project includes the 540,000-square-foot (50,000 m2) Connecticut Convention Center, which opened in June 2005 and is the largest meeting space between New York City and Boston. Attached to the Convention Center is the 22-story, 409 room Marriott Hartford Hotel-Downtown which opened in August 2005. Being constructed next to the convention center and hotel is the 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) Connecticut Science Center.

The final component of the project, 'Front Street', sits across from the Convention Center and covers the entire plot of land between Columbus Boulevard and the Hartford Times Building. The Front Street development combines retail, entertainment and residential components. Publicly funded parts of the project will include transportation improvements. There have been significant delays in the Front Street project - the first developer was removed from the project because of lack of progress. The city has chosen a new developer, but work is yet to begin on the retail and residential component of Front Street. The city and state may soon take action increase the speed with which the project enters implementation phases. There has been talk of bringing an ESPN Zone to the Front Street retail space, which would make sense considering that ESPN is headquartered in nearby Bristol. On the back side of Front Street, the historic Beaux-Arts Hartford Times Building is being converted into the home of administrative offices for the Wadsworth Athenaeum. In 2004, Underground Coalition, a Connecticut hip hop promotion company, produced The First Annual Hartford Hip Hop festival, which also took place at Adriaen's Landing. The event drew over 5,000 hip hop enthusiasts from throughout New England to the Hartford waterfront.

Hartford 21: Recently completed on the site of the former Hartford Civic Center Mall (now known as the XL Center), the project includes a 36 story residential tower—the tallest residential tower between New York City and Boston. Attached to the tower is 90,000 square feet (8,000 m2) of office space and 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2) of retail space, all contained within a connected complex. The Greater Hartford YMCA has opened in the complex and will soon be closing its Jewell Street site which will be knocked down for another project. The XL Center Arena remains open and hosts the AHL Hartford Wolfpack and the UConn men's and women's basketball teams, as well as shows and concerts.

Capital Community College at the 11-story G. Fox Department Store Building: The 913,000-square-foot (84,800 m2) former home of the G. Fox & Company Department Store on Main Street recently underwent a complete renovation and is now the new home of Capital Community College as well as offices for the State of Connecticut and ground level retail space. Capital Community College helps train (mostly) adult students in specific career fields. On Thursdays, vendors sell crafts on the Main Street level. Two music clubs, Mezzanine and Room 960, are housed in the building.

Rentschler Field

Connecticut Culinary Institute: The school recently relocated its main campus to the former Hastings Hotel and Conference Center, which is next to Aetna headquarters in the city's Asylum Hill neighborhood just west of downtown. The school also has a branch campus in Suffield, Connecticut. The Hastings Hotel and Conference Center, which closed abruptly in 2004, was the hotel where former President Bill Clinton stayed when he was in the city.

Rentschler Field: Though in neighboring East Hartford, the stadium for UConn football was part of the revitalization plan for Hartford and was built on some of the lands donated by United Technologies. The bulk of the land donated will be used for technology, entertainment, lodging and retail development. A high-tech research park is also currently being planned for the site.

Transportation and parking changes: The New Britain-Hartford Busway is in the works. Local activists are pushing for more bike lanes, as well as for these lanes to be respected by motorists and kept clear of debris. The local bicycle advocacy organization formed in 2005, Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance, has been making surprising inroads in Hartford and the surrounding suburbs.

Some roads were turned into pedestrian walkways to reduce gridlock, while other roads were widened or made one-way. Some intersections were also improved to better handle traffic. A large parking garage was built downtown to ease parking problems. A series of shuttle routes was created, known originally as the "Downtown Circulator Project" and now run by the Greater Hartford Transit District.

New condos and apartments:

Media

The daily Hartford Courant newspaper is the country's oldest continuously published newspaper, founded in 1764. A weekly newspaper, owned by the same company that owns the Courant, the Hartford Advocate, also serves Hartford and the surrounding area, as does the Hartford Business Journal ("Greater Hartford's Business Weekly") and the weekly Hartford News.

The Hartford region is also served by several magazines. Among the local publications are: Hartford Magazine,a monthly lifestyle magazine serving Greater Hartford; CT Cottages & Gardens; Connecticut Business, a glossy monthly serving all of Connecticut; and Home Living CT, a home and garden magazine published five times a year and distributed statewide.

Several television and radio stations based in Hartford cover the entire state. These stations serve the Hartford/New Haven market, which is the 29th largest market in the U.S.

Transportation

Airports

Bradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, is twenty minutes north of Hartford and serves Hartford and Springfield. The airport offers non-stop service to locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Via Amsterdam's Schipol Airport (service ending October 2008) connections can be made to other locations in Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Other airports serving the Hartford area include:

Buses

Hartford city buses run at regular intervals throughout the city, and less frequent service to the suburbs. A free circulator bus operates in Downtown. Interstate bus service is provided by Bonanza Bus, Greyhound Bus and Peter Pan Bus Lines. Additionally, there are buses for connections to smaller cities in the state. The bus station is located on the ground floor of the transport center at One Union Place in Downtown Hartford.

Highways

Bulkeley Bridge over Connecticut River in Hartford

During the 1960s and 1970s, Hartford was a poster child for highway construction, and several highways surround the downtown area.

I-84 runs from Scranton, Pennsylvania, to its intersection with I-90 in Sturbridge, just over the Massachusetts border. I-91 starts in New Haven at a junction with I-95 and continues along the Connecticut River to Canada. The two highways intersect in downtown Hartford. Hartford experiences heavy traffic as a result of its substantial suburban population (about 10 times that of the actual city), which is proportionally much larger than that of any other nearby city. As a result, thousands of people travel on area highways at the start and end of each workday. I-84 experiences traffic from Farmington through Hartford and into East Hartford and Manchester during the rush hour.

Besides the two interstates, the Route 2 expressway runs from Norwich in the southeastern part of the state northward to East Hartford where it intersects with I-84.

Charter Oak Bridge over Connecticut River in Hartford

During the 1960s and 1970s, Hartford was a poster child for highway construction, and several highways surround the downtown area.

Known as the Berlin Turnpike, Routes 5 and 15 run south of the city. Before I-91, the roadway carried people from Hartford to New Haven. Along the Berlin Turnpike is an array of stores, restaurants, and offices in Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield. In Wethersfield, it becomes a limited-access roadway that intersects with I-91 and I-84. Past Berlin, Route 15 becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden, and later, the Merritt Parkway which runs parallel to I-95 to the New York border in Greenwich.

West of Hartford, Route 44 runs from West Hartford westward to the hills of northern Litchfield County and into New York. East of Hartford, Route 44 runs eastward to Putnam and into Rhode Island.

Bicycle

A bicycle route runs through the center of Hartford. This route is a small piece of the large eastern bicycle route - the East Coast Greenway (ECG). The 3000 mile ECG runs from Calais, Maine to the Florida Keys. The route is intended to be off road, but some sections are currently on-road. The section through Hartford is right through the middle of Bushnell Park.

Railroad

See also: Union Station (Hartford)

The dependence on railroads has decreased since the construction of federal highways through the city center. However, Hartford's Union Station at One Union Place still operates a significant schedule. Amtrak provides service from Hartford to Vermont via Springfield, and southward to New Haven, with connections to New York, Boston, Providence, and Washington DC. The station also serves numerous bus companies because of Hartford's mid-way location on the New York to Boston route.

Currently, there are preliminary plans to create a New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line with stations in communities close to I-91. It would use rail currently used by Amtrak, which in turn was formerly part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad system.

Public transport

Connecticut Transit is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. CTTRANSIT operates local and commuter bus service within the city and the surrounding area. Taxi service is available from the train station at 1 Union Place or by calling one to any location in the area. There is a free downtown shuttle, and city buses are equipped with bike racks.

Famous Hartford residents

Main article: List of people from Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford has been home to many historically significant people: arts innovator "Chick" Austin (1900–1957); L. Paul Bremer (b. 1941), ex-Administrator of US-occupied Iraq and foreign service officer; city planner and parks champion Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903); dictionary author Noah Webster (1758 - 1843); inventor Sam Colt (1814-1862); and American financier and industrialist J.P. Morgan (1837-1913).

Some of America's most famous authors lived in Hartford, including Mark Twain (1835–1910), who moved to the city in 1874; his next-door neighbor at Nook Farm, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896); and poet Wallace Stevens (1879–1955), an insurance executive in the city. More recently Dominick Dunne (b. 1925) and John Gregory Dunne (1932-2003) resided in Hartford.

Actors and others in the entertainment business from Hartford include Academy Award-winning film icon Katharine Hepburn, Linda Evans, comedian Totie Fields, William Gillette, Eriq La Salle, Norman Lear, Charles Nelson Reilly, Brooke Burke, and Sophie Tucker, (1884–1966), "last of the red-hot mamas." Amy Brenneman, who grew up in Glastonbury, adapted the experiences of her mother, a Connecticut Superior Court judge in Hartford, into the television series Judging Amy.

In the field of music, residents include Mark McGrath; bass guitarist Doug Wimbish (Sugar Hill Records, Living Colour); jazz alto saxophonist Jackie McLean[21]; concert violinist Elmar Oliveira (b.1950); gospel artist Kurt Carr were born in the city; and brothers Jeff Porcaro, Mike Porcaro and Steve Porcaro of the group Toto.

New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini is from Hartford. Basketball stars include NBA players Marcus Camby, Rick Mahorn, Johnny Egan, and Michael Adams, as well as NFL kicker John Carney. Jeff Bagwell and Vin Baker attended the University of Hartford.

Sister cities

Hartford features numerous sister cities. They include:

Appearances in popular culture

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Connecticut" (CSV). 2006 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21 2006). Retrieved on June 28, 2007.
  2. ↑ In US Census estimates between 2000 and 2006, New Haven's and Hartford's populations have been estimated to be within 500. Since such differences are well within the margin of error in these estimates, the city which is actually larger will not be known until the 2010 Census.
  3. ↑ City of Hartford History (The State of Connecticut is sometimes known as "the land of steady habits.")Connecticut Nicknames, Connecticut State Library
  4. ↑ [1] (In the time following the Civil War, Hartford was the nations wealthiest city)from the New York Times, 2002.
  5. ↑ Letter from Mark Twain
  6. ↑ http://www.hartford.gov/news/ECONOMIC%20ACTIVITY%20REPORT.pdf
  7. ↑ U.S. Metro Economies: GMP ­ The Engines of America's Growth
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.bushnellpark.org/parkriver.html
  9. ↑ http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/voigt/050905
  10. ↑ Leassons from Thomas Hooker about the frailty of humanity and the importance of a worldview by Steven Voigt, September 5, 2005
  11. ↑ Main Street Bridge
  12. ↑ [www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9602/tr9602.pdf The Winter of 95-96: A Season of Extremes, National Climatic Data Center]
  13. ↑ Census data for Hartford, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 23, 2007.
  14. ↑ [2], U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed January 23, 2008.
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  16. ↑ Poverty: 1999
  17. ↑ Puerto Rican ancestry by city - ePodunk
  18. ↑ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
  19. ↑ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.37.
  20. ↑ "Hartford- New England's Rising Star- Home page". Hartford Image Project. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
  21. ↑ Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state", article in Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Other famous state residents include the late jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean of Hartford")

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