Steps

These buildings are on Broad Street in Hartford, which runs from The Hartford, past the Hartford Courant and the state Capitol, and on toward Trinity College. 

In an area of multi-family buildings that have some deterioration, I thought these all looked great.

Bridge

Most of us take infrastructure for granted.  When is the last time you gave a thought to the supports holding up the bridge you drive over?

Here I show the simple beauty of the supports for the Founders Bridge, a bridge that takes heavy traffic from east of the Connecticut River into downtown Hartford.

Weekend Reflections: Boats at Essex

These boats are on the Connecticut River in the beautiful town of Essex, half an hour or so south of Hartford.  This photo was taken three weeks ago on a cold and cloudy day.  By now the boats will probably be in dry dock.

To see other Weekend Reflections organized by James at Newtown Area Photo, click here.

Connecticut River

It seems odd that I have posted more than 125 entries without yet having posted a photograph of the Connecticut River.  So, here it is.

The Connecticut River is the dominant geographical feature of central Connecticut. The west bank of the river is the eastern boundary of the City of Hartford.  On the other side of the river is East Hartford, an independent city.

The Connecticut River starts way up north in New Hampshire, just a few miles from Canada. For the first half of its 400 mile total distance, the river forms the border between Vermont and New Hampshire.  It then bisects Massachusetts and passes Springfield before running south into Connecticut.  North of Hartford, the river is non-navigable and is spanned by a series of locks and dams, most of which are in Massachusetts or New Hampshire.  South of Hartford the Connecticut River widens and flows slowly in a southeasterly direction until it pours into the Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook.

Victorians

The Victorian style is popular in greater Hartford.  Fortunately, many have been preserved and are well-maintained.

The top photo shows an impressive Victorian house down the street from the New Britain Museum of American Art, which was featured two days ago.  It is painted periwinkle blue.

The next two houses stare at each other across Prospect Street.  The first, with gray-green siding and dark green trim,  is on the West Hartford side.  The other, with dark green siding, is on the Hartford side of the street.

Traffic Jam

How can I have a blog about an American city without showing one of the most familiar sights, a traffic jam?

Hartford is traversed by two interstate highways, U.S. Route 91 (north-south) and 84 (east-west).  Many folks know Hartford only from past experiences sitting in heavy traffic on the road between New York and Boston.  This is a traffic jam on a sunny Sunday afternoon, about two weeks ago; yesterday it snowed in Hartford and the highways would look a lot different.

New Britain Museum of American Art

The New Britain Museum of American Art is a terrific small museum about 20 minutes west of Hartford.  The museum exhibits both traditional and contemporary American art.

This is an impressive painting commissioned by the museum from Graydon Parrish to commemorate the September 11, 2001 tragedy.  The painting was created in 2002 - 2006.

The twin blindfolded figures are Tragedy and Terror, screaming at heaven in despair.