Asylum Hill
Originally known as ‘Lords Hill’, in 1807 the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf was founded, and for one hundred years, provided services to the deaf. The institution relocated to its present home in West Hartford, whereupon it became the American School for the Deaf.

The Hartford Fire Insurance Company was the first major corporation to move into the neighborhood, followed by the Rossia Insurance Company and the Aetna Life Insurance Company. With the advent of these businesses, clerical workers began to move into the neighborhood, creating a demand for lower-cost housing.

One of Hartford’s most historic areas, notables such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Calvin Day, James Goodwin and U.S. Senator James Dixon, lived on the Hill. The area became a prominent residential district in the 1840’s as wealthy families sought more spacious homes outside of the city. Throughout the 19th century, impressive homes were constructed, many of which remain today.

Asylum Hill also was home to many educational institutions. The original Hartford High School was designed by architect George Keller, but was demolished in 1963 in favor of construction of Interstate 84. The Hartford Theological Seminary built its headquarters on Broad Street in 1879 and was based there until moving to its current location in the West End Neighborhood.

The Connecticut Culinary Institute recently opened in the former Hastings Hotel and Conference Center next to AETNA. The Hastings was a primarily business hotel that once housed former President Bill Clinton when he came to the city. The hotel closed abruptly in 2004 but has just reopened as a second site for the Connecticut Culinary Institute.

Barry Square
Barry Square takes its name from Father Michael Barry, whose Catholic parish built St. Augustine’s Church on Campfield Avenue in 1902.  Many early parishioners at St. Augustine Church were Irish who came to Hartford as laborers, the greatest number having come from County Kerry.

The central part of the neighborhood served as a military campground in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, due to the open fields west of Campfield Avenue. In fact, this how the street acquired its name—the camp field stretched south and east from the site of the existing Campfield branch of the Hartford Public Library.

Two monuments in the area commemorate officers in the Civil War.  Griffin Alexander Stedman, born in Hartford and a graduate of Trinity College, joined the 14th Connecticut Infantry and almost immediately became a captain in the 5th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. He was fatally wounded on August 5, 1864 at Petersburg. 26 years old at the time of his death. He is interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

With a complement of residential and commercial properties, the residents of Barry Square are a multicultural mix who enjoys the community atmosphere of their neighborhood.

Behind the Rocks
Behind the Rocks was named from the rocky outcropping that serves as the western border of the Trinity College campus. In the 1890’s, the Rocky Hill Quarry, located on what is now called Rocky Ridge, produced trap rock which was used primarily for road building.

Much of the heavy labor was performed by Irish immigrants. In 1876, the first St. Lawrence O’Toole Church was constructed to meet community needs.  At the turn of the 20th century, trolley lines along Zion Street, Fairfield Avenue and New Britain Avenue opened up the neighborhood for residential development.

Blue Hills
Blue Hills Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare, is the oldest road in the neighborhood. It was built as a colonial turnpike to Granby, and, in the mid-19th century, was lined with farm houses.

The neighborhood did not develop as a residential area until a number of factors were in place, including the establishment of the trolley line into the neighborhood and the development of Keney Park at its eastern border. As with some other neighborhoods in Hartford, Blue Hills experienced tremendous growth in the post-World War I era.

The North Branch of the Park River runs through a length of the western part of the neighborhood. A two-mile nature trail straddling the floodplain between the river and Mark Twain Drive has been developed on what was the site of illegal dumping grounds. The project, coordinated by the Eastern Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Area, encourages teachers, students and residents to learn about the wildlife and habitats found in the Park River watershed.

Situated in the northeast corner of Blue Hills is much of the campus of the University of Hartford, which relocated to its current suburban location from downtown Hartford in the 1950’s. The University is an active member of the neighborhood, striving, along with other members of University Park, Inc., towards the betterment of livability in the area.

The neighborhood’s revitalization is also the joint goal of the Blue Hill Civic Association and its affiliate, the Blue Hills Merchants Association. Together, they have worked since 1988 to invigorate the commercial area on Blue Hills Avenue.

Clay Arsenal
Clay Arsenal is one of Hartford’s oldest neighborhoods, developed in the middle and late 19th century. It was mainly farmland prior to 1847, when the Hartford-Springfield Railroad, which now forms the neighborhood’s eastern border, was constructed.

The section west of Main Street lies on a gentle rise above Downtown and is known as Clay Hill, so named for the type of soil there. The area east of Main Street has been known since 1812 as the Arsenal District, when a State Arsenal was constructed. The Arsenal was demolished in 1909.

Multi-family dwellings were the dominant development in the late 19th century as the neighborhood became home to Irish and Jewish working class families. The Irish had been immigrating to Hartford through a recruitment effort for work on the Enfield Canal in Windsor Locks. In 1895, Clay Hill was predominantly Irish and was served by Saint Patrick’s church in downtown Hartford.

Although the area has been primarily residential, in the post-Civil War era, the railroad attracted businesses, including a lumber yard, brewery and carriage works. Additionally, the Hartford County Jail was built in 1873 on Seyms Street. Designed by Hartford architect George Keller, it embodied the High Victorian Gothic style. The structure was demolished in 1978.

Downtown
Downtown is Hartford’s primary business district. It is home to such corporations as Travelers, The Hartford Steam Boiler, Phoenix Insurance, Prudential Retirement and United Technologies Corporation most of which are housed in huge office towers that were constructed over the last 20-30 years.  Downtown is also home to several historic sites and cultural attractions.   Hartford’s City Hall is located on Main Street, as is the Hartford Public Library, the Old State House and the Wadsworth Atheneum.

Bushnell Park provides not only respite from concrete and steel, but is a venue for several festivals, fairs and events. Downtown Hartford’s newest attraction, Riverfront Plaza, provides a terrific view of the Connecticut River, as well as the site of river-related events.

Frog Hollow
Frog Hollow takes its name from the marshy conditions in the low land near what is now the corner of Broad and Ward Streets.

The neighbor-hood was originally developed as three- and six-family buildings to house the immigrant population who worked in the factories which lined Capitol Avenue. The Park River, now underground, once was used as a source of water power by the factories. An inlet of the Park River Tunnel lies near Pope Park, providing an entry point for tunnel explorations by urban speleologists.

Lafayette is the neighborhood’s oldest street, appearing on a 1640 map of Hartford as part of the “Road from George Steele’s to the Great Swamp.” It was called Cooper Lane between 1838 and 1851 and was home to the pre-Civil War African-American community in Hartford.

The neighborhood is home to Pope Park, designed by renowned Olmsted Brothers landscape architects, Land for the park was donated by industrialist Albert Pope, who believed that the success of any business was in large part reliant upon the happiness of its employees. Today, the 75-acre park provides recreational facilities for neighborhood families.

North East
The North East neighborhood is bounded by Spring Grove Cemetery to the south, the railroad yards to the east, and Keney Park to the north and west.

The area north of the cemetery was mostly farms until the purchase of Keney Park, which was established in 1896 through the efforts of Reverend Francis Goodwin, chairman of the Board of Park Commissioners. He had convinced Henry and Walter Keney, successful merchants, to will a large part of their property for a park. The Olmsted Brothers landscape architectural firm was hired to create a naturalistic theme. Once completed, the presence of the park inspired residential development nearby.

Keney Park has 695 acres, 100 of which extend into the town of Windsor. The park contains a golf course, cricket fields, tennis courts, baseball fields, a swimming pool, basketball court and playgrounds.

One of the largest municipal parks in New England, the park also provides auto roads in a naturalist setting, as designed by the Olmsted Brothers landscape architectural firm.

The area north of the Spring Grove Cemetery gradually developed along horse trolley lines as far as Capen Street. During the 1920’s, the Tower Avenue area was built up, serving largely an upwardly mobile Jewish population.  From the 1890s the neighborhood has been primarily residential, with small trades people. However, some manufacturing was established, including the Bishop Ladder Company and The Fuller Brush Factory.

North Meadows
The North Meadows underwent tremendous change in the late 20th century. It has become a center for business and industry, with large parcels of land, and convenient access to Interstate 91 and Downtown Hartford. The Meadows Music Theatre is located here, bringing concerts and music events year-round.

Riverside Park offers a playground, picnic facilities, a public boat launch and two-story Victorian-style boathouse. It is the northern terminus of the Riverside Walk and home to the Riverside Cricket Club.

Parkville
Parkville takes its name from its location at the junction of the North and South Branches of the Park River.  The area, similar to others surrounding Hartford, was primarily farmland through much of the 19th century. In 1878, residents tried to secede from Hartford, claiming they were over-taxed merely because their land was not developed.

By the early 1880’s, the expansion of the adjacent Frog Hollow neighborhood, coupled with the extension of the railroad line southwest towards New Haven, forever changed the complexion of Frog Hollow.

In 1907, Royal Typewriter was built along the railroad tracks and other factories moved into the neighborhood, stimulating the need for housing for workers. The early population of the neighborhood was Irish, followed by French Canadian, Scandinavian and German.  Today, the neighborhood is comprised of a large population of Portuguese.

Sheldon/Charter Oak
The neighborhood is located just south of downtown with the Connecticut River and I-91 running at the eastern end of the neighborhood. The Charter Oak monument is located at the corner of Charter Oak Place, a historic street, and Charter Oak Avenue.

The area was home to the Colts Firearm Factory which was started by Samuel Colt, who invented the revolver. Along with building a factory, Mr. Colt also made a village with houses, a library, and recreational activities so that his employees could be close to work. Colt’s estate, Armsmear, was given to the city as Colt’s Park after Mr. and Mrs. Colt’s death. A developer is currently in the process of renovating the whole facility to create office space and apartments for completion in 2006/2007.

South Green
The South Green neighborhood is adjacent to Downtown’s southern border.  The public green known today as Barnard Park was originally laid out as a common pasture in the 17th century and remained so well into the 19th century. It is said to have been the site of witches’ gatherings in Puritan days. These were not tolerated by the early settlers and Hartford saw its share of hangings for those convicted of practicing witchcraft.  In 1898, the green was renamed Barnard Park in honor of Henry Barnard, who pioneered the establishment of the American public school system, and whose home was located on Main Street overlooking the park. The Barnard home still stands today, used as transitional housing. The building was listed in 1965 as a National Historic Landmark.

Congress Street, which runs from Wyllys to Morris Streets, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Greek Revival and Italianate buildings line both sides of the street, accommodating both residential and commercial uses.

Washington Street, which creates the western boundary of the neighborhood, was once referred to as Governor’s Row, due to the large mansions which lined the street. Among those still standing today is the Samuel N. Kellogg house.  The neighborhood is also home to Hartford Hospital and The Children’s Medical Center.