A tale of two cities
I just returned from a week's vacation in Maine with my husband and boy do I feel refreshed! It was a vacation for which I bought a souvenir that I never expected to buy and now it has me thinking.
We were in Portland, Maine on Friday and unfortunately, the rain was preventing us from doing much of the sightseeing we had looked forward to so we ducked into an art gallery to regroup. The gallery was full of cityscapes drawn by an artist of whom I was unfamiliar but his work was extraordinary. As we marveled at the detailed drawings of New York City, Chicago, St. Louis and of course, Portland, the gallery owner walked up and started a conversation.
"Where are you folks from?" he asked. Most people in Maine can spot out-of-towners a mile away and are merely being polite when they ask you where you are from.
"Connecticut," we replied. A defeated reply at that because we had been in Maine for five days already and the question was getting a little repetitious.
"Oh, from what part?" the gallery owner asked.
"Hartford," we said. No, we don't live in Hartford, we live in the town next to it but it easier to say that because almost everyone in New England has a geographical idea of Hartford, Connecticut and where it is.
The gallery owner obviously saw us staring at the cityscapes and told us that ironically, the artist had sketched one of Hartford as well. He lead me to the back of the shop and there it was, a print of the Hartford skyline circa 1980.
The gallery owner said the artist, William C. Harrison, sat on the Route 5/15 overpass, also known as the I-84 connector, for four hours and drew the scene in pencil as the traffic whizzed by him at 60 miles per hour. It is a harrowing atmosphere having experienced it myself once when I blew out a tire on that same overpass and was forced to change it by myself, in a dress.
As I looked closer at the print, I was able to see the differences between Hartford in 1981 and the present day. The old Connecticut Natural Gas building which was imploded in 2001 to make way for the Front Street and Adriaen's Landing development was still standing in this picture. There was no band shell on the bank of the Connecticut River or Riverfront Plaza near the Founders Bridge. The Hartford Aetna National Bank building, which used to sit at the corner of Main and Asylum Streets, was still part of the skyline. Hartford 21, now the tallest residential building in Hartford, wasn't even a thought in a developer's mind. And last but not least, in the print, Harrison took great care to write "Hotel Sonesta" on one of the signs atop a building on Constitution Plaza. That hotel has been abandoned, much like most of the other buildings on Constitution Plaza, for more than 10 years. Standing next to that building was my old workplace, the WFSB Channel 3 television studios. If you look hard enough in this print you can see the zig-zag roof pattern of that building, which was torn down several years ago and is now just a hole in the ground at the corner of State Street and Columbus Boulevard.
It must have appeared as if I was having some sort of emotional catharsis while looking at this picture because the gallery owner piped up and said, "You know, I have another print somewhere. Let me see if I can find it." He rifled through the prints securely cellophane-wrapped onto cardboard backings and he found another Hartford, CT cityscape just for me. I am now the proud owner of print # 40 out of 1,000 and it feels good.
Possibly it is because I used to work in a building that is now a gaping hole in the ground that this print makes me nostalgic and sad when I think about Hartford's future as opposed to its past. Maybe it is because I possess happier thoughts of Hartford from my younger days when my family and I used to go to the Civic Center for events and check out the Christmas lights on Constitution Plaza. Then again, maybe it is because never again might a man sit patiently on a highway overpass and sketch a scene of Hartford.
I wish so many things for the city of Hartford but mostly I wish that it will once again be a city that artists, intellectuals, and innovative people will want to visit and capture in some creative way. There is so much of that in Hartford's history but there needs to be more of it in the future.
As I walked around Portland, ME I experienced a wonderful selection of food, art, history and maritime culture. Maybe it is because I live so close and I take Hartford for granted but I was really thinking that Portland has it all over Connecticut's capital city. But it doesn't have to be that way.
As we sat at breakfast at Local 188 in Portland on the last day of our visit, we overheard a couple talking about how much they loved living there. Could I say the same thing about Hartford? No, I couldn't and that was sad because ten years earlier I had turned down a job in Portland to stay in Hartford! This recent trip out of state and my subsequent purchase have inspired me to fight for good things in my own backyard.
Here is one thing you can do to help. The gallery owner of Mainely Frames & Gallery said he is looking for more people who would like to buy the Hartford, CT cityscape print by William C. Harrison. He will frame the print and ship it for free to anyone who is interested, you just need to get in touch with him. This is in no way a plug for his business, just a small, personal campaign. Maybe if more people get in touch with the old Hartford, they will want to fight for the new Hartford.
We were in Portland, Maine on Friday and unfortunately, the rain was preventing us from doing much of the sightseeing we had looked forward to so we ducked into an art gallery to regroup. The gallery was full of cityscapes drawn by an artist of whom I was unfamiliar but his work was extraordinary. As we marveled at the detailed drawings of New York City, Chicago, St. Louis and of course, Portland, the gallery owner walked up and started a conversation.
"Where are you folks from?" he asked. Most people in Maine can spot out-of-towners a mile away and are merely being polite when they ask you where you are from.
"Connecticut," we replied. A defeated reply at that because we had been in Maine for five days already and the question was getting a little repetitious.
"Oh, from what part?" the gallery owner asked.
"Hartford," we said. No, we don't live in Hartford, we live in the town next to it but it easier to say that because almost everyone in New England has a geographical idea of Hartford, Connecticut and where it is.
The gallery owner obviously saw us staring at the cityscapes and told us that ironically, the artist had sketched one of Hartford as well. He lead me to the back of the shop and there it was, a print of the Hartford skyline circa 1980.
 |
| Found on the wall at Mainely Frames & Gallery |
As I looked closer at the print, I was able to see the differences between Hartford in 1981 and the present day. The old Connecticut Natural Gas building which was imploded in 2001 to make way for the Front Street and Adriaen's Landing development was still standing in this picture. There was no band shell on the bank of the Connecticut River or Riverfront Plaza near the Founders Bridge. The Hartford Aetna National Bank building, which used to sit at the corner of Main and Asylum Streets, was still part of the skyline. Hartford 21, now the tallest residential building in Hartford, wasn't even a thought in a developer's mind. And last but not least, in the print, Harrison took great care to write "Hotel Sonesta" on one of the signs atop a building on Constitution Plaza. That hotel has been abandoned, much like most of the other buildings on Constitution Plaza, for more than 10 years. Standing next to that building was my old workplace, the WFSB Channel 3 television studios. If you look hard enough in this print you can see the zig-zag roof pattern of that building, which was torn down several years ago and is now just a hole in the ground at the corner of State Street and Columbus Boulevard.
 |
| My former place of employment ... |
It must have appeared as if I was having some sort of emotional catharsis while looking at this picture because the gallery owner piped up and said, "You know, I have another print somewhere. Let me see if I can find it." He rifled through the prints securely cellophane-wrapped onto cardboard backings and he found another Hartford, CT cityscape just for me. I am now the proud owner of print # 40 out of 1,000 and it feels good.
 |
| My piece of history. |
I wish so many things for the city of Hartford but mostly I wish that it will once again be a city that artists, intellectuals, and innovative people will want to visit and capture in some creative way. There is so much of that in Hartford's history but there needs to be more of it in the future.
As I walked around Portland, ME I experienced a wonderful selection of food, art, history and maritime culture. Maybe it is because I live so close and I take Hartford for granted but I was really thinking that Portland has it all over Connecticut's capital city. But it doesn't have to be that way.
As we sat at breakfast at Local 188 in Portland on the last day of our visit, we overheard a couple talking about how much they loved living there. Could I say the same thing about Hartford? No, I couldn't and that was sad because ten years earlier I had turned down a job in Portland to stay in Hartford! This recent trip out of state and my subsequent purchase have inspired me to fight for good things in my own backyard.
Here is one thing you can do to help. The gallery owner of Mainely Frames & Gallery said he is looking for more people who would like to buy the Hartford, CT cityscape print by William C. Harrison. He will frame the print and ship it for free to anyone who is interested, you just need to get in touch with him. This is in no way a plug for his business, just a small, personal campaign. Maybe if more people get in touch with the old Hartford, they will want to fight for the new Hartford.
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