This video is about an urban renewal project in Hartford’s old East Side that coincided with the construction of the Bulkely Bridge in the first decade of the twentieth century. The old riverfront area was cleared to make way for the construction of the new Connecticut Boulevard. The demolished buildings included old houses, tenements, warehouses and businesses dating to a lively period along the city’s waterfront. These changes took place almost a half century before the destruction that preceded the building of Constitution Plaza and the interstate highways.
Crossing the Connecticut, a 1908 book about the building of the Bulkeley Bridge.
A better photo of Asa Farwell’s warehouse at the corner of Ferry and Commerce Streets.
New Video: Hartford’s Lost Riverfront
Well done. You may want to consider doing something similar for Middletown, CT’s waterfront where the Centre Street’s Italian-American neighborhood was removed, first for Acheson Drive, and later for Route 9. The Arrigoni Bridge played a similar role to the Bulkeley Bridge. Prior to all that the waterfront was a center of West Indies trade. If you are interested, I can get you access to lots and lots of great images from the collections of the Middlesex County Historical Society.
Alain,
Thanks for the suggestion! I will have to consider that for a future video!
Dan
Thank you so much for chronicling Hartford’s history over the years. My ancestors founded the city, but I didn’t move here from California until the 1980’s. It provides my family and me with a deep sense of rootedness to see the evolution of the city from a colonial settlement to its modern incarnation today. This is a true public service.
Nancy,
Thank you for watching!
Dan