Founded in 1635, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States. It is home to the country's oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest publicly funded park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (theHartford Courant), the second-oldest secondary school (Hartford Public High School), and the oldest school for deaf children (American School for the Deaf), founded byThomas Hopkins Gallaudet in 1817.[10] It is the location of theMark Twain House, in which the authorMark Twain wrote his most famous works and raised his family. He wrote in 1868, "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."[11]
Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades following theAmerican Civil War.[14] Since 2015, it has been one of the poorest cities in the country, with three out of ten families living below the poverty threshold. In sharp contrast, the Greater Hartford metropolitan statistical area was ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and 8th out of 280 metropolitan statistical areas in per capita income in 2015.[15]
Nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of the World" and "America's filing cabinet",[16][17] the city holdshigh sufficiency as aglobal city, as home to the headquarters of many insurance companies, the region's major industry.[18] Other prominent industries include the services, education and healthcare industries. Hartford coordinates certainHartford–Springfield regional development matters through the Knowledge Corridor Economic Partnership.[19]
The first Europeans known to have explored the area were theDutch underAdriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders fromNew Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post and fortify the area for theDutch West India Company. The original site was located on the south bank of thePark River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was calledFort Hoop or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from thePequot chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps a couple of families and a few dozen soldiers. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is known today as Dutch Point; the name of the Dutch fort "House of Hope" is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue.[21][22] A significant reason for establishment of the Dutch trading post was to better control the flow ofwampum, the de facto currency of New Netherland and portions of New England, to and from valuable Native American fur traders.[23]
The Dutch outpost and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers who were stationed there did little to check the English migration, and the Dutch soon realized that they were vastly outnumbered. The House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. In 1650,Peter Stuyvesant met with English representatives to negotiate a permanent boundary between the Dutch and English colonies; the line that they agreed on was more than 50 miles (80 km) west of the original settlement.
The English began to arrive in 1636, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods.[24]Puritan pastorsThomas Hooker andSamuel Stone, along with GovernorJohn Haynes, led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown in theMassachusetts Bay Colony (nowCambridge) and started their settlement just north of the Dutch fort.[25] The settlement was originally called Newtown, but it was changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stone's hometown ofHertford, England. Hooker also created the nearby town ofWindsor in 1633.[26] The etymology ofHartford is theford whereharts cross, or "deer crossing."
As the Puritan minister in Hartford, Thomas Hooker wielded a great deal of power; in 1638, he delivered a sermon that inspired the writing of theFundamental Orders of Connecticut, which provided a framework for Connecticut's separation forMassachusetts Bay Colony and the formation of a civil government. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the legal basis for Connecticut Colony until the1662 royal charter granted to Connecticut byCharles II.[27]
The original settlement area contained the site of theCharter Oak, an old white oak tree in which colonists hidConnecticut's Royal Charter of 1662 to protect it from confiscation by an English governor-general. The state adopted the oak tree as the emblem on the Connecticut state quarter. The Charter Oak Monument is located at the corner of Charter Oak Place, a historic street, and Charter Oak Avenue.[28]
In 1860, Hartford was the site of the first "Wide Awakes", abolitionist supporters ofAbraham Lincoln. These supporters organized torch-light parades that were both political and social events, often including fireworks and music, in celebration of Lincoln's visit to the city. This type of event caught on and eventually became a staple of mid-to-late 19th-century campaigning.[35]
Hartford was a major manufacturing city from the 19th century until the mid-20th century. During the Industrial Revolution into the mid-20th century, the Connecticut River Valley cities produced many major precision manufacturing innovations. Among these was Hartford's pioneer bicycle and automobile makerPope.[36] Many factories have been closed or relocated, or have reduced operations, as in nearly all former Northern manufacturing cities.
Colt's Armory from an 1857 engraving viewed from the eastOld Post Office and Custom House next to the Old State House (left) in 1903. The building was completed in 1882 and demolished in 1934.Underwood Typewriter factory in Hartford,c. 1911–1912
Around 1850, Hartford native Samuel Colt perfected the precision manufacturing process that enabled the mass production of thousands of his revolvers with interchangeable parts. A variety of industries adopted and adapted these techniques over the next several decades, and Hartford became the center of production for a wide array of products, including:Colt,Richard Gatling, andJohn Browning firearms; Weedsewing machines; Columbia bicycles; Pope automobiles; and leading typewriter manufacturersRoyal Typewriter Company andUnderwood Typewriter Company which together made Hartford the “Typewriter Capitol of the World” during the first half of the 20th century.[37]
ThePratt & Whitney Company was founded in Hartford in 1860 by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney. They built a substantial factory in which the company manufactured a wide range of machine tools, including tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1925, the company expanded into aircraft engine design at its Hartford factory.
Pratt & Whitney Factory, 1940
Just three years after Colt's first factory opened, theSharps Rifle Manufacturing Company set up shop in 1852 at a nearby site along the now-buriedPark River, located in the present-day neighborhood ofFrog Hollow. Their factory heralded the beginning of the area's transformation from marshy farmland into a major industrial zone. The road leading from town to the factory was called Rifle Lane; the name was later changed to College Street and then Capitol Avenue.[38] A century earlier, mills had located along the Park River because of the water power, but by the 1850s water power was approaching obsolescence. Sharps located there specifically to take advantage of the railroad line that had been constructed alongside the river in 1838.
The Sharps Rifle Company failed in 1870, and the Weed Sewing Machine Company took over its factory. The invention of a new type of sewing machine led to a new application of mass production after the principles of interchangeability were applied to clocks and guns. The Weed Company played a major role in making Hartford one of three machine tool centers in New England and even outranked theColt Armory in nearby Coltsville in size.[38] Weed eventually became the birthplace of both the bicycle and automobile industries in Hartford.
IndustrialistAlbert Pope was inspired by a British-made, high-wheeled bicycle (called a velocipede) that he saw at the1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and he bought patent rights for bicycle production in the United States. He wanted to contract out his first order, however, so he approached George Fairfield of Weed Sewing Machine Company, who produced Pope's first run of bicycles in 1878.[39] Bicycles proved to be a huge commercial success, and production expanded in the Weed factory, with Weed making every part but the tires. Demand for bicycles overshadowed the failing sewing machine market by 1890, so Pope bought the Weed factory, took over as its president, and renamed it thePope Manufacturing Company. The bicycle boom was short-lived, peaking near the turn of the century when more and more consumers craved individual automobile travel, and Pope's company suffered financially from over-production amidst falling demand.
In an effort to save his business, Pope opened a motor carriage department and turned out electric carriages, beginning with the "Mark III" in 1897. His venture might have made Hartford the capital of the automobile industry were it not for the ascendancy of Henry Ford and a series of pitfalls and patent struggles that outlived Pope himself.[40]
In 1876, Hartford Machine Screw was granted a charter "for the purpose of manufacturing screws, hardware and machinery of every variety." The basis for its incorporation was the invention of the first single-spindle automatic screw machine. For its next four years, the new firm occupied one of Weed's buildings, milling thousands of screws daily on over 50 machines. Its president was George Fairfield, who ran Weed, and its superintendent was Christopher Spencer, one of Connecticut's most versatile inventors. Soon Hartford Machine Screw outgrew its quarters and built a new factory adjacent to Weed, where it remained until 1948.[41]
On the week of April 12, 1909, theConnecticut River reached a record flood stage of 24.5 feet (7.5 meters) above the low-water mark, flooding the city of Hartford and doing great damage.[42] On July 6, 1944, Hartford was the scene of one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. Claiming the lives of 168 persons, mostly children and their mothers, and injuring several hundred more. It occurred at a matinee performance of theRingling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus on Barbour Street in the city's north end and became known as theHartford Circus Fire.[43]
Connecticut River Flood, 1930Connecticut River Flood, 1930
AfterWorld War II, many residents of Puerto Rico moved to Hartford.[44] Starting in the late 1950s, the suburbs ringing Hartford began to grow and flourish and the capital city began a long decline. Insurance giant Connecticut General (nowCIGNA) moved to a new, modern campus in the suburb ofBloomfield.Constitution Plaza had been hailed as a model of urban renewal, but it gradually became a concrete office park.[45] Once-flourishing department stores shut down, such as Brown Thomson,Sage-Allen, andG. Fox & Co., as suburban malls grew in popularity, such asWestfarms andBuckland Hills.[46]
In 1997, the city lost its professional hockey franchise, with theHartford Whalers moving to Raleigh, North Carolina—despite an increase in season ticket sales and an offer from the state for a new arena.[47] In 2005, a developer from Newton, Massachusetts tried unsuccessfully to bring an NHL team back to Hartford and house them in a new, publicly funded stadium.[48]
Hartford experienced problems as the population shrank 11 percent during the 1990s.[49] OnlyFlint, Michigan;Gary, Indiana;St. Louis, Missouri; andBaltimore, Maryland experienced larger population losses during the decade. However, the population has increased since the 2000 Census.[50]
In 1987,Carrie Saxon Perry was elected mayor of Hartford, becoming the first female African-American mayor of a major American city.[51] Riverfront Plaza was opened in 1999, connecting the riverfront and the downtown area for the first time since the 1960s.[52]
A significant number of cultural events and performances take place every year at Mortensen Plaza (Riverfront Recapture Organization) by the banks of the Connecticut River.[53] These events are held outdoors and include live music, festivals, dance, arts and crafts.[53] Hartford also has a vibrant theater scene with major Broadway productions at the Bushnell Theater as well as performances at theHartford Stage andTheaterWorks (City Arts).[54][55]
In July 2017, Hartford considered filingChapter 9 bankruptcy. After years of contending with a shrinking population base and high pension obligations,[56] a $65 million budget gap was projected for the year of 2018.[57] The city had cut budget of public services and gotten union concessions however these measures did not balance the budget.[56] A state bailout later that year kept the city from filing for bankruptcy.[58][59][60]
Downtown Hartford is busy during the day with commuters, but tends to be quiet in the evenings and weekends. However, more residential and retail development in recent years has begun changing the pattern.[61]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.0 square miles (47 km2), of which 17.3 square miles (45 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (3.67%) is water.[62][63]
ThePark River originally divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was a major part ofBushnell Park, but the river was nearly completely enclosed and buried by flood control projects in the 1940s.[65] The former course of the river can still be seen in some of the roadways that were built in the river's place, such as Jewell Street and theConlin-Whitehead Highway.[66]
TheKöppen climate classification categorizes Hartford as the hot-summerhumid continental climate (KöppenDfa) bordering on Cfa humid subtropical under the 0 °C isotherm. Winters are moderately cold, with periods of snow, while summers are hot and humid. Spring and fall are normally transition seasons, with weather ranging from warm to cool. The city of Hartford lies inUSDAHardiness zone 6b-7a.[67]
Seasonally, the period from April through October is warm to hot in Hartford, with the hottest months being June, July, and August. In the summer months there is often high humidity and occasional (but brief) thundershowers. The cool to cold months are from November through March, with the coldest months in December, January, and February having average highs of 35 to 38 °F (2 to 3 °C) and overnight lows of around 18 to 23 °F (−8 to −5 °C).[68]
The average annual precipitation is approximately 47.05 inches (1,200 mm),[69] which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Hartford typically receives about 51.7 inches (131 cm) of snow in an average winter—about 40% more than coastal Connecticut cities like New Haven, Stamford, and New London.[69] Seasonal snowfall has ranged from 115.2 inches (293 cm) during the winter of 1995–96 to 13.5 inches (34 cm) in 1999–2000.[70] During the summer, temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 17 days per year;[69] in the winter, overnight temperatures can dip to a range of 5 to −5 °F (−15 to −21 °C) on at least one night a year. Tropical storms and hurricanes have also struck Hartford, although the occurrence of such systems is rare and is usually confined to the remnants of such storms. Hartford saw extensive damage from the1938 New England Hurricane, as well as withHurricane Irene in 2011. The highest officially recorded temperature is 103 °F (39 °C) on July 22, 2011, and the lowest is −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 22, 1961; the record cold daily maximum is −2 °F (−19 °C) on December 2, 1917, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 80 °F (27 °C) on July 31, 1917.[69]
The central business district, as well as the State Capitol, Old State House and a number of museums and shops are located Downtown.[75] Parkville, home toReal Art Ways, is named for the confluence of the north and the south branches of the Park River.[76] Frog Hollow, in close proximity to Downtown, is home toPope Park andTrinity College, which is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher learning.[77] Asylum Hill, a mixed residential and commercial area, houses the headquarters of several insurance companies as well as the historic homes ofMark Twain andHarriet Beecher Stowe.[78] The West End, home to the Governor's residence,Elizabeth Park, and theUniversity of Connecticut School of Law, abuts the Hartford Golf Club.[79] Sheldon Charter Oak is renowned as the location of theCharter Oak and its successor monument as well as the formerColt headquarters includingSamuel Colt's family estate,Armsmear.[80] The North East neighborhood is home to Keney Park and a number of the city's oldest and most ornate homes.[81] The South End features "Little Italy" and was the home of Hartford's sizeable Italian community.[82] South Green hostsHartford Hospital.[83] The South Meadows is the site ofHartford–Brainard Airport and Hartford's industrial community.[84] The North Meadows has retail strips, car dealerships, and Comcast Theatre.[85]Blue Hills is home of theUniversity of Hartford and also houses the largest per capita of residents claiming Jamaican-American heritage in the United States.[86] Other neighborhoods in Hartford include Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Clay Arsenal, South West, and Upper Albany, which is dotted by many Caribbean restaurants and specialty stores.[87]
Hartford, Connecticut – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Hartford's racial and ethnic makeup in 2019 was 36.0% White, 42.7% Black or African American, 23.7% some other race, 3.4% Asian, 1.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders. 43.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, chiefly of Puerto Rican origin.[94]Non-Hispanic Whites were 15.8% of the population in 2010.[95]
The Hispanic and Latino population is concentrated on the city's south side, while African Americans are concentrated in the north. The white population forms a majority in only two census tracts: the downtown area and the far northwest. Nevertheless, many areas in the middle of the city, in Asylum Hill, and in West End, have a significant white population. More than three-quarters (77%) of the Hispanic population wasPuerto Rican (with more than half born on the island of Puerto Rico) and fully 33.7% of all Hartford residents claimed Puerto Rican heritage.[95] This is the second-largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in theNortheast, behind onlyHolyoke, Massachusetts, approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the north along the Connecticut River.[97][98]
There are small but recognizable concentrations of people with origins in Mexico,Colombia,Peru, and theDominican Republic as well. Among the non-Hispanic population, the largest ancestry group is fromJamaica; in 2014, Hartford was home to an estimated 11,400Jamaican Americans, as well as another 1,200 people who identified otherwise asWest Indian Americans.[99]
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.[95]
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.[95]
The median income for a household in the city was $20,820, and the median income for a family was $22,051. Males had a median income of $28,444 versus $26,131 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,428.[95]
In 2008,Sovereign Bank consolidated two bank branches as well as its regional headquarters in a nineteenth-century palazzo on Asylum Street.[106]Bank of America andPeople's United Financial have a significant corporate presence in Hartford. In 2009,Northeast Utilities, a Fortune 500 company and New England's largest energy utility, announced it would establish its corporate headquarters downtown.[107]
Hartford is a burgeoning technology hub. In March 2018,Infosys announced that opening of a new technology innovation hub in Hartford, creating up to 1,000 jobs by 2022. The Hartford technology innovation hub will focus on three key sectors- insurance, healthcare and manufacturing.[108] Hartford has continued to attract technology companies includingCGI Inc.,[109] Covr Financial Technologies,[110] GalaxE. Solutions,[111]HCL Technologies[112] andLarsen & Toubro.[113] Insurance software provided Insurity is also headquartered in the city.
Local unemployment remains high in Hartford compared to other cities, the state, and the U.S. Of the four major cities in Connecticut (Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford), Hartford's unemployment rate of 7.5% in the fall of 2018 was the highest.[114] As a whole, Connecticut's unemployment rate remains above 5% while the national rate hovers just under 4%.[114]
The first American cookbook wasAmerican Cookery, The Art of Dressing Viands, Fish, Poultry, and Vegetables byAmelia Simmons, published in Hartford by Hudson & Goodwin in 1796. It was also the first cookbook to include recipes for squash and cornmeal, and it contained the first published recipe for pumpkin pie. It influenced a generation of American baking with a recipe for leavening bread with pearl ash.[115] The full text of the book is available online.[116]
Hartford's cuisine was shaped by its early settlers, who brought Dutch and English influence which combined with that of theSaukiog Native Americans in the area.[116] The first half of the 20th century brought significant Polish immigration and a number of Polish restaurants, some of which still operate today.[117] Italian food wasn't always accepted; a long-time Hartford restaurant owner recollected that, "in 1938, you wouldn't put an Italian name on a restaurant sign because everyone would think you were associated with the Mafia."[118] The New York Times remarked on the diversity of food available in Hartford in 1979, noting that "Hartford has undergone a culinary revolution in recent years."[119]
Hartford earned praise from Food and Wine as "a foodie destination".[120][121] Food trucks are restricted to designated areas in the city, mostly alongBushnell Park in Downtown Hartford and at farmers' markets.[122] Food can today be found throughout the city from a very wide variety of ethnic influence.[123]
Hartford hosts a number of seasonal farmers' markets.[124][125] The Hartford Regional Market is the largest market between New York City and Boston.[126] In 2018, the Connecticut State Assembly voted to transfer ownership of the Regional Market to the Capital Region Development Authority, leaving its future somewhat uncertain.[127]
The seashore is less than 35 miles (56 km) away and has played a large role in Hartford's food habits.[128] Recently there has been anaquaculture boom in Long Island Sound,[129] and as a result local kelp has started to appear on plates.[130] The Connecticut River Valley is the most agriculturally productive region in New England[131] and neighboring Wethersfield is renowned for its red onions, whose smell was said to waft into Hartford when production was at its historical height in the early 1800s.[132]
Hartford and the surrounding area have a vibrant craft beer, cider, and spirit industry,[133][134] and there were more than two dozen breweries and distilleries in the Hartford area in 2017.[135] The Connecticut Spirits Trail has a number of stops in Hartford and surrounding towns.[136][137] These businesses all feed the city's collection of bars and nightclubs.[138]
Aetna building in the Asylum Hill neighborhoodArmsmearCathedral of Saint JosephCheney BuildingThe house of Katherine Seymour Day, grandniece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, adjacent to theStowe house; it now forms part of the research center dedicated to Stowe.Connecticut Science Center on the RiverfrontWadsworth Atheneum
Aetna building – Aetna building on Farmington Avenue is the world's largestcolonial revival building, crowned by a tall Georgian tower inspired by the Old State House downtown.[139]
Ancient Burying Ground – The oldest historic site in Hartford and the city's first graveyard. Many of Hartford's renowned residents and founders are buried there.[140]
Bulkeley Bridge – A stone-arch bridge spanning the Connecticut River and connecting the city of Hartford with East Hartford.[142]
Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts – The theater was constructed in the 1930s by the same architects who designed New York City'sRadio City Music Hall. It features a Georgian Revival exterior and an Art Deco interior, with a large hand-painted mural suspended from the ceiling that is the largest of its kind in the United States.[143]
Bushnell Park – This park is located below the State Capitol and legislative office complex and consists of lawn, sculpture, fountains, and a historic carousel. It is the first park in the country purchased by a municipality for public use, and it was designed byJacob Weidenmann. The Soldiers & Sailors Civil War Memorial Arch frames the northern entrance to the park, the firsttriumphal arch in the United States.[144]
Cathedral of St. Joseph – This 281-foot (86 m) limestone Roman Catholic cathedral was built in 1961 to replace its predecessor lost to fire. It is located west of downtown along Farmington Avenue in the Asylum Hill neighborhood and has large Parisian stained glass windows, an 8,000 pipe organ, and the largest ceramic tile mural of Christ in Glory in the world.[145]
Center Church – The First Church of Christ in Hartford is located at 60 Gold Street and is also known as Center Church. It was founded byThomas Hooker.[140]
Cheney Building – This building was designed in the late 19th century byH. H. Richardson. It is located downtown on Main Street and once housed the Brown, Thomson & Co. department store.[146]
City Place I – The tallest building in Connecticut at 38 stories, located at 185 Asylum Street.[147]
Colt Armory – The complex was once the main factory building ofColt's Manufacturing Company, topped with a blue and gold dome. It is currently being redeveloped and renovated and will feature apartments, retail space, and office space.[148]
Xfinity Theater (formerly the Meadows Music Theater) – An indoor/outdoor amphitheater-style performance venue located in the North Meadows.[149]
Connecticut State Library – The building also contains the Museum of Connecticut History and a number of galleries devoted toSamuel Colt memorabilia, located in the hill district near the State Capitol atop Bushnell Park.[151]
Connecticut Convention Center – The 540,000 square foot (42,000 m2) convention center is now open and overlooks the Connecticut River and the central business district. Attached to the center is a 409-room, 22-story Marriott Hotel.[152]ConnectiCon is hosted every summer at the convention center.
Connecticut Governor's Mansion – An imposing Georgian revival mansion situated near the highest point in the City of Hartford on upper Prospect Avenue.[153]
Connecticut Opera – Founded in 1942 and performing three fully staged operas per season, primarily at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.[154]
Connecticut State Capitol – This largeGothic-inspired building is located atop Bushnell Park and features many statues and engravings on its exterior. It is topped with a gold-leafed dome.[155]
Constitution Plaza – Constitution Plaza is a renowned and notorious redevelopment project built in the early 1960s. Hartford's historic Front Street neighborhood was razed to build the plaza. The complex is composed of numerous office buildings, underground parking, a restaurant, a broadcasting studio, and outdoor courtyards and fountains.
Dunkin' Donuts Park – A baseball field that opened on April 13, 2017, as the home of the Hartford Yard Goats.[156]
The Hartford Financial Services Group headquarters campus on Asylum Hill occupies the former site of theAmerican School for the Deaf, which has moved to a campus in West Hartford.[159]
Hartford Public Library – The Library was founded in 1774 and has over 500,000 holdings, an extensive calendar of programs, and free public access computers and Wi-Fi.[160]
Hartford Stage – Founded in 1963, this regional theatre company's productions have gone on to Broadway and have won severalTony Awards.[161]
TheHartt School at the University of Hartford is recognized as one of the premiere performing arts conservatories in the United States.[163]
TheMark Twain House and Museum – The home was built bySamuel Clemens and his wife in 1874. They lived here 17 years, raising three daughters. This is where Mark Twain wrote many of his most popular books. The house is open year-round for tours, events, and author programs. It is located in Nook Farm,[158] part of the Asylum Hill neighborhood on Farmington Avenue.National Geographic named it one of the ten best historic homes in the world.[164]
Polish National Home – Opened in 1930 to serve the Polish community that once dominated this part of Hartford, the building now serves as restaurant and banquet hall.[167][168]
University of Connecticut Hartford Campus – The downtown campus of the University of Connecticut, anchored on Prospect Street by the historicBeaux-Arts entrance of the former Hartford Times building.[174]
University of Hartford – The university was founded in 1877 and sits on 340 acres (140 ha) with a 13-acre (5.3 ha) campus on Bloomfield Avenue situated on land divided among Hartford, West Hartford, and Bloomfield in the Blue Hills neighborhood.[177]
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art – The oldest art museum in the U.S. is located on Main Street in downtown Hartford opposite the Travelers Tower. The museum features a significant collection of Italian Baroque old masters and post-impressionist modern art.Alexander Calder's Stegosaurus sculpture sits in a plaza between it and theHartford Municipal Building.[178]
Greater Hartford St. Patrick's Day Parade –Downtown – March – Run by The Central Connecticut Celtic Cultural Committee.[180]
Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade –Downtown,South Green, andFrog Hollow – June – Run by The Connecticut Institute for Community Development.[181]
Greater Hartford West Indian Parade –Northeast – August – Run by The West Indian Independence Celebrations since 1962.[182]
Hooker Day Parade –Downtown – May – Run by Hartford Business Improvement District.[183]
Connecticut Veterans Parade –Downtown – November – Run by The Ferris Group, LLC.[184]
Hartford became the home of the WHA's New England Whalers in 1975 after the club moved from Boston, one of four WHA teams that joined the NHL in 1979. The city was home to theNHL'sHartford Whalers from 1979 to 1997, before the team relocated toRaleigh, North Carolina, and became theCarolina Hurricanes.[188]
TheBoston Celtics played a varying number of home games per year in Hartford from 1975 until 1995, when they opened the newTD Garden.[189]
Hartford was also home to the Hartford Hellions of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).[190]
Like all cities in Connecticut exceptGroton, Hartford is legally aconsolidated city-town; both the town and the city have been legally consolidated since 1896, though since 1784 the city's boundaries have been coextensive with those of the town.[citation needed]
Hartford is governed via the strong-mayor form of themayor-council system. The current mayor isArunan Arulampalam. Hartford voted in favor of restoring a mayor-council system in 2003, more than 50 years after establishing thecouncil-manager form. MayorEddie Perez was first elected in 2001 and was re-elected with 76% of the vote in 2003. As the first strong mayor elected under the revised charter, he is widely credited with reducing crime, reforming the school system, and sparking economic revitalization in the city. However, his reputation was hurt by accusations of corruption.[194] The city council, formally known as the "Court of Common Council", has nine members.
In Connecticut, there is no county-level executive or legislative government. The state abolished county government in 1960, and since then counties have served as little more than boundaries for the state's probate, civil, and criminal courts. Connecticut municipalities provide nearly all local services such as fire and rescue, education, and snow removal.[195]
Hartford passed an ordinance providing services to all residents regardless of theirimmigration in 2008. Said ordinance also prohibits police from detaining individuals based solely on their immigration status or inquiring as to their immigration status. In 2016, the ordinance was amended to declare that Hartford is a "Sanctuary city", although the term itself does not have an established legal meaning.[196][197]
Hartford is a predominantly Democratic city and has voted for every presidential candidate in the party sinceAl Smith in 1928.[citation needed] In 2016, the city voted for Clinton 90%–8%, a slight shift from voting for Obama 93%–6% in the previous election. In 2020,Joe Biden won the city's vote by a margin of 87%–13%.
Hartford city vote by party in presidential elections[198]
Hartford is served by theHartford Public Schools.[209]Hartford Public High School, the nation's second-oldest high school, is located in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford.[210] The city is also home to Bulkeley High School on Wethersfield Avenue, Global Communications Academy on Greenfield 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 theGreater 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 Classical Magnet School is one of the many Hartford magnet schools. Hartford is also home toWatkinson School, a private coeducational day school, andGrace S. Webb School, a special education school. Catholic schools are administered by theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.[citation needed]
The city's high school graduation rate reached 71 percent in 2013, according to the state Department of Education.[211]
TheUniversity of Hartford's cultural institutions include the Joseloff Gallery, the Renee Samuels Center, and the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts center. The "U of H" campus is co-located in the city's Blue Hills neighborhood and in neighboring towns West Hartford and Bloomfield.[177]
The dailyHartford 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, theHartford Advocate, also serves Hartford and the surrounding area, as do theHartford Business Journal ("Greater Hartford's Business Weekly") and the weeklyHartford News.[213]
The Hartford region is also served by several magazines. Among the local publications are:Hartford Magazine,[214] a monthly lifestyle magazine serving Greater Hartford;CT Cottages & Gardens;[215]Connecticut Business,[216] a glossy monthly serving all of Connecticut; andHome Living CT,[217] a home and garden magazine published five times a year and distributed statewide.
I-84 which runs fromScranton toI-90 inSturbridge, just over the Massachusetts border, andI-91, which runs fromNew Haven along the Connecticut River ultimately to Canada, intersect in downtown Hartford.[221] In addition to I-84 and I-91, two other highways service the city:Route 2, an expressway that runs from downtown Hartford toWesterly, passing throughNorwich and pastFoxwoods Resort Casino.[222] TheWilbur Cross Highway portion ofRoute 15 that skirts the southeastern part of the city near Brainard Airport.[citation needed] A short connector known as theConlin–Whitehead Highway also provides direct access from I-91 to the Capitol Area of downtown Hartford.[citation needed] The Main St. Bridge is a historic bridge on the highway.[223]
Hartford experiences heavy traffic as a result of its substantial suburban population (nearly 10 times that of the actual city). As a result, thousands of people travel on area highways at the start and end of each workday. I-84 experiences traffic fromFarmington through Hartford and intoEast Hartford andManchester during therush hour.[224][225]
A large-scale project is being planned to rebuild the I-84 viaduct that cross through the city along with moving I-91 away from the Connecticut River.[227][228]
The city is served by the 1889 builtHartford Union Station.[229]Amtrak provides service from Hartford toVermont via Springfield and southward toNew Haven. The station also serves numerous bus companies.[230] Hartford Union Station is also served by theHartford Line, a commuter rail service that runs between New Haven and Springfield and stops at stations in communities alongInterstate 91. It uses the rail line owned by Amtrak.[231] "CTrail" branded trains provide service along the corridor, and riders can use Hartford Line tickets to travel on board most Amtrak trains along the corridor at the same prices. The service launched on June 16, 2018.[232][233][234]
Connecticut Transit (CTtransit) is owned by theConnecticut Department of Transportation. The Hartford Division of CTtransit operates local and commuter bus service within the city and the surrounding area. Hartford's Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) bus route is a free downtown circulator. All city buses are equipped with bike racks.[240]
In March 2015,CTfastrak, Connecticut's firstbus rapid transit system, opened, providing a separated right-of-way between Hartford andNew Britain. In addition, express bus services travel from downtown Hartford and Waterbury, servicing intermediate suburban communities likeSouthington andCheshire, providing reliable public transportation between these communities for the first time. CTfastrak consists of 10 stations along the dedicated New Britain to Hartford busway, as well as a downtown loop servingUnion Station and other downtown landmarks. Amenities include high-level station platforms, on-board wi-fi, ticket machines for pre-boarding fare collection, and real-time arrival information at stations.[241][242]
Interstate bus service is provided byPeter Pan Bus,Greyhound Bus andMegabus.Chinatown bus lines provide low-cost bus service between Hartford and their New York and Boston hubs. In addition, there are buses for connections to smaller cities in the state. The main bus station is located on the ground floor of the transport center at Hartford Union Station at One Union Place, servingPeter Pan Bus andGreyhound Bus customers. AllMegabus arrivals and departures are at the corner of Columbus Boulevard and Talcott Street on the opposite side of downtown.[243][244]
A bicycle route runs through the center of Hartford. This route is a small piece of the large eastern bicycle route – theEast Coast Greenway (ECG). The 3,000-mile (4,800 km) ECG runs fromCalais, Maine, to theFlorida 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.[245][246][247]
There are designated bicycle lanes on several roads including Capitol Avenue, Zion Street, Scarborough Street, Whitney, and South Whitney.[248]
The Hartford Fire Department is the fifth-largest fire department in Connecticut.[249][250] The fire department operates out of 12 fire stations located throughout the city. Three of Hartford's fire stations are on theNational Register of Historic Places.Engine 1 andEngine 15 are still in use today. The station forEngine 6, disbanded in 1984, has been repurposed as a homeless shelter.[251]
CTfastrak was built to connect the suburbs to Hartford.
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 andBoston. Attached to the Convention Center is the 22-story, 409-roomMarriott 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.[271]
Capital Community College at the 11-story G. Fox Department Store Building – The 913,000-square-foot (84,800 m2) former home of theG. Fox & Company Department Store on Main Street has been renovated and made 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.[272]
CTfastrak – The recently completedbus rapid transit system connects Hartford's Union Station to downtown New Britain. It was built to ease traffic onI-84.[273]
Front Street – The final component of Adriaen's Landing, Front Street, sits across from the Convention Center and covers the land between Columbus Boulevard andThe 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, and 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 to increase the speed with which the project enters implementation phases. There has been talk of bringing anESPN Zone to the Front Street (ESPN is headquartered in nearbyBristol).[274] On the back side of Front Street, the historicBeaux-Arts Hartford Times Building is being converted into a downtown campus of theUniversity of Connecticut.[275]
Hartford Line – According to Connecticut Governor Malloy, the Hartford Line commuter rail service will reach speeds up to 110 mph (177 km/h).[276] The rail line is intended to unite the densely populated, 61 mi or 98 km) region between Hartford, Springfield, and New Haven; ease the frequently congestedInterstate 91 automobile highway; and increase mobility in a region that is now almost entirely dependent upon automobile ownership. As of May 2011, Connecticut's portion of the commuter line has been three-quarters funded. Currently, the state is seeking the $227 million necessary to complete the northern portion of the line from the $2.4 billion in federal funds that Florida rejected to fund its own high-speed rail project.[276]
Knowledge Corridor Partnership – In 2000, atThe Big E inWest Springfield, Massachusetts, Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts – the two major New England,Connecticut River Valley cities with centers only 24 mi or 39 km) apart – jointly announced theKnowledge Corridor Partnership. The Knowledge Corridor Partnership aims to unite the two metropolitan areas economically, culturally, and geographically. The nickname comes from the metropolitan region's over 32 universities and liberal arts colleges, including several of the United States' most prestigious. As of the 10th anniversary of the Knowledge Corridor, it was announced that the Knowledge Corridor is beginning to receive federal funds, as opposed to either state or city funds.[19]
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Official records for Hartford kept at downtown from January 1905 to December 1948,Brainard Airport from January 1949 to December 1954, and at Bradley Int'l inWindsor Locks since January 1955.[71]
^"Mayor Bronin Delivers State of the City Address". City of Hartford. March 13, 2017. Archived fromthe original on March 27, 2017.Post Nubila Phoebus – after the clouds, the sun. Our city's motto, written a long time ago, but written for such a time as this
^"State and Municipal Compendium".The Commercial & Financial Chronicle. New York. April 1, 1897. p. 37.The town and city of Hartford were consolidated on April 1, 1896, and their debts are no longer reported separately
^Bacon, Nick. 2013. "Podunk after Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT." p. 46–64 inConfronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England's Forgotten Cities. Xiangming Chen and Nick Bacon (eds). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
^"House of Hope". The New Netherland Institute.Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. RetrievedApril 5, 2015.
^Peterson, Mark. The City-State of Boston. Princeton University Press, 2019, page 48.
^Scaeva (1853).Hartford in the Olden Time, Its First Thirty Years (1st ed.). Hartford: F.A. Brown. pp. 25–36.
^Walsh, Andrew. "Hartford: A Global History." pp. 21–45 inConfronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England's Forgotten Cities. Xiangming Chen and Nick Bacon (eds.). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books
^Clymer, Floyd.Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.37.
^Hintz, Eric (June 6, 2012)."Samuel Colt ... and Sewing Machines?".O, Say Can You See Blog. National Museum of American History.Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. RetrievedJune 8, 2015.
^Goddard, Stephen B. (December 30, 2008).Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machines: The Life and Times of a Bicycle Tycoon Turned Automotive Pioneer. McFarland. pp. 176–182.ISBN978-0-7864-4089-4.
^Sacks, Michael Paul (May 1, 2011). "The Puerto Rican effect on Hispanic residential segregation: A study of the Hartford and Springfield metro areas in national perspective".Latino Studies.9 (1):87–105.doi:10.1057/lst.2011.1.ISSN1476-3435.S2CID143975677.
^"HISTORY, TRADITION, CULTURE".polishnationalhomect.org. The Polish National Home of Hartford.Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. RetrievedJune 26, 2018.
^Luke Groskin and, Brandon Echter."Kelp: It's What's For Dinner".sciencefriday.com. Science Friday.Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. RetrievedJune 26, 2018.
^The Traveler's Guide to Western New England and the Connecticut River ValleyISBN978-0-679-74413-9 p. xvi
^Lande, Nathaniel; Lande, Andrew.The 10 Best of Everything, Third Edition: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers (National Geographic the 10 Best of Everything) (New York: National Geographic, 2012), p. 60–1.
^"Polish National Home". United States Department of the Interior. September 12, 1983.Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. RetrievedJune 22, 2018.
^Keller, George W.; Entress, Albert; Buberl, Caspar; Kitson, Samuel James; Bissell, Hiram; Budde, Augustus (1884).Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch.Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. RetrievedMay 21, 2017.
^Dixon, Ken, "Music Hall of Fame proposed for state", article inConnecticut Post in Bridgeport, Connecticut, April 26, 2007 ("Other famous state residents include the late jazz saxophonist Jackie McLean of Hartford")
Core cities are metropolitan core cities of at least a million people. The other areas are urban areas of cities that have an urban area of 150,000+ or of a metropolitan area of at least 250,000+. Satellite cities are in italics.
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