The Hotel Bond reigned as Hartford’s grandest hotels in the 1920s and 1930s. It was built on Asylum Street in Hartford in two sections. The first section, a 6-story block, was completed in 1913, on the site of the former Popular Restaurant. In 1921, there was a grand reopening which unveiled the attached second section, a 12-story block with an elegant 5,000 sq.ft. Grand Ballroom on the top floor. There are many dramatic photographs of the Hotel Bond during the Flood of 1936. During World War II, the Hotel Bond was a hub for servicemen passing through Hartford. By the 1950s, the Bond faced competition from the Statler Hotel, opened in 1954, and the estate of founder Harry S. Bond went into bankruptcy. In 1965, the hotel building was sold to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, which used it as the Saint Francis Hospital School of Nursing. The renovated Bond Ballroom reopened for receptions in 2001 and the rest of the building became a Homewood Suites by Hilton in 2006.
Above is a picture of the Hotel Bond’s Egyptian Room. Below is the original 1913 section, before the 1921 section was built.
Beautiful building. I absolutely love your site. Keep up the fantastic work. We need a site dedicated to documenting these amazing and historic buildings…thank you!
Amazing building. I love Hartford’s architectural past. Reason why my wife and I had our wedding reception at the Bond Ball Room.
I remember many, many times, as a child during the 50’s, visiting my father Ivor Hugh, as he did his classical music radio show “Good Evening, Good Music” on WCCC in the lower mezzanine of the old Hotel Bond. It was a grand hotel, with plush red carpets, balconies and marble stairs.
I can still feel the cold air-conditioned studio, hear the ticker tape news machine and the bubbling water cooler.
Dad passed away last Wednesday, September 18, 2013, at the age of 86.
I’ll always cherish my memories of him at the WCCC radio station at the old Hotel Bond in Hartford.
I also, have many memories of the Bond Hotel. My father had a jewelry store in the lobby for many years and later moved to the Garde Hotel a few doors down. I remember walking past the WCCC studios as a young girl, too, and through the dining room.
I’ve got an original Richard Welling ink drawing, in the original frame, of the Bond Hotel. It’s for sale due to not having medical insurance, and needing surgery.
I am interested in any information regarding the original bar in the cocktail lounge.I may have information as to where it might be.
Hi! I am the new owner of the Bond Ballroom and would love any information or would like to purchase the Richard Welling ink drawing of the Bond Hotel. Thank you!
Nina,
You might want to contact the Connecticut Historical Society. They have a collection of Richard Welling material.
Dan