Videos

In this video I talk about Pippie’s and B. DePasquale & Sons on Front Street, the Clover Leaf Cafe’s La Rosa Dining Room and Mickey’s Villanova on Market Street and the origins of Frank’s Restaurant.

Now lost, Hartford’s two oldest restaurants were the Honiss Oyster House (1845-1982) and the Marble Pillar (1860-1993). In this video I talk about the history of both these vanished institutions.

This video is about the now lost State Theater, where from 1926 to 1960 audiences flocked to see the greatest acts in show business in Hartford, Connecticut. Check out the video if you want to learn about this piece of Hartford history and remember to subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my new videos!

Pratt Street was once called Hartford’s Fifth Avenue because of the many specialty stores that lines this short block. In this video I talk about the history of the street, from its early days as a residential block, through its period of commercial development. I talk about such landmarks as Society for Savings, the now lost Hartford Female Seminary, the reconstructed Spencer House and the many commercial buildings that line the street, built between the 1880s and 1920s. I also mention the development projects that have transformed the street over the years, particularly in the late 1980s.

During one week in February of 1914, the City of Hartford, Connecticut experienced two devastating fires that gutted Union Station (February 21) and the Auditorium Building (originally called Allyn Hall). Union Station was rebuilt using the same brownstone walls, while the Auditorium was replaced by another theater.

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This video is about old days in Hartford, Connecticut when Frank’s Restaurant, the Majestic/E. M. Loews Theater, the Allyn Theater and the Allyn House Hotel stood on the block of Asylum Street between Trumbull Street and Ann Street that’s now the south side of the XL Center and Hartford 21 Building. This block is also where the house of Rev. T. C. Brownell, Episcopal Bishop and founder of Trinity College, was located.