Hartford Travel Guide
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115 miles NE of New York; 103 miles SW of Boston
Dissidents, fleeing the rigid religious dictates of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, founded Hartford in 1636. Three years later, they drafted what were called the "Fundamental Orders," the basis of a subsequent claim that Connecticut was the first political entity on earth to have a written constitution, hence the nickname "Constitution State."
Unfortunately, Connecticut's capital and second-largest city endures a drooping uneasiness it hasn't been able to shake. There was hope for revival a few years ago when it appeared that the governor had persuaded the New England Patriots to move to downtown Hartford. A new stadium was to have been the centerpiece of a $1-billion, 35-acre riverfront development. At the last contractual minute, the Patriots exercised an escape clause, choosing to remain in the Boston area. While it is possible that parts of the plan will yet be realized, there was a great whoosh of despair when the balloon burst.
It was uncertain that even the ambitious original scheme would have reversed decades of decline. Hartford continues to point gamely to its grand edifices -- the divinely overwrought gold-domed capitol, the High Victorian Mark Twain House, and the august Wadsworth Atheneum. Worthwhile as these sites certainly are, they don't prevent visitors from noticing the miles of distressed housing, weed-strewn lots, and hollow-eyed office structures that radiate out from the center.
It isn't as if efforts haven't been made to heal the wounds. A civic center was completed in 1975 in an attempt to attract business downtown, and a flyway connects it with the newer 39-story CityPlace. Both venues offer concerts and art exhibits, and the 489-seat Hartford Stage Company has a 10-month theatrical season in its own 1977 building cater-corner from the center. A block away, the gracious Old State House enjoyed a 4-year renovation. Across Main Street, a shed has been provided for a daily farmers' market; a local paper sponsors noontime rock concerts in summer. All these efforts have encouraged the establishment of a few cosmopolitan restaurants and a couple of good hotels, so most of a day trip or overnight visit can be contained within only a few square blocks.
