847 Asylum Avenue

847 Asylum Avenue, also known as the Linus Plimpton House, counts as one of NINA’s largest projects. It stands as one of Asylum Hill’s – and Hartford’s – most distinctive homes, and it showcases a vibrant, revitalizing neighborhood. Built ca. 1862 and then substantially expanded 1884-1885, it was very nearly 70 years home to the Plimpton family. NINA acquired the house from the South Park Inn in 2021, and we restored it as an owner-occupied three-family.

Before & After

The exterior didn't really change, so I went with a change in the seasons.

1st Floor

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2nd Floor

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3rd Floor

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Project History

CT Insider published an article on 847 Asylum Avenue 1/10/2025 CT Insider ran an article online about the Plimpton House today. It covers a lot of information that we have, but it also included some references that we hadn’t previously found – which is to say,
		847 Asylum Avenue is on the market! 12/18/2024 The house is ready!  And if you’re interested, the real estate agent has put together a very nice video tour of the house.
Evening at the Plimpton House 12/18/2024 Shots are of the front of the house, the steeple at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, and Asylum Hill Congregational Church with The Hartford in the background.
		Fast approaching the finish line at 847 Asylum 12/5/2024 So close!  Some shots of what’s done and some shots of what isn’t, including the walk-in closet in the primary bedroom in the owner’s unit.  The house will go on the market this month!
Seeing through the tower at 847 Asylum Avenue 11/6/2024 On a beautiful clear day like today, you can see right through the windows on the second and third floors of the tower on the east side of 847 Asylum Avenue. An interesting historic artifact is also visible in the detail shot.  The brownstone cutting across the tower, just below the third story window, is probably the original soffit.  We think that the Plimptons, as part of th
		A quick visit inside 847 Asylum Avenue 11/6/2024 We are nearly there - we think the house will be on the market next month.  If you look closely in the photo of the kitchen cabinets, you can see Ken reflected in the leftmost cabinet and me, taking the phot, two cabinet doors over.
In the run up to the big event 10/30/2024 We opened up the Plimpton House this evening as a preview for the funders and peers who supported us on this project.  These are some shots from before the event. The man in the green shirt on the staircase is Jonathan Clark, who donated 102 Huntington Street to NINA and has been one of NINA’s longest supporters.  The woman in the gray shirt is Erin Fletcher, a NINA homeo
		Two of our carpenters on the project 10/30/2024 Pictured here are Mohamad Alktefan and Lionel Robert, two of the finish carpenters who worked on 847 Asylum Avenue and who attended this evening’s preview open house.  They came to the project through our partner Fresh Start Pallet Products, and they were hired by Bellevue Home Solutions, which installed the cabinets in the house. This photo was provided by Jenna Columbus, Fre
Preview open house at 847 Asylum Avenue 10/30/2024 Shots from the event.  We had close to 100 people attend.  Food and beverages provided by Catering at the Forge.  There were brief remarks as well:  Lynda Godkin, NINA’s board chair, moderated, and speakers were Arunan Arulampalam, Hartford mayor; Ken Johnson, NINA executive director; and Andrew Daly, NINA board president.
		Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 10/16/2024 Carpet installation in the apartments, and further along in the kitchen in the owner’s unit.  Also, Ramon being camera shy.
Getting there at 847 Asylum Avenue 10/7/2024 The kitchen is coming together – the wainscoting is nearly in and painted, the cabinets are being installed, and the new window, where there used to be a door, is being framed and installed. Around the rest of the house, the crown molding and baseboard is underway and a new mantle has been installed in the fireplace in the formal parlor (now the “ballroom”).  Paint
		The front walk solved 9/12/2024 The curved cuts are a nice touch.
Work to finish the kitchen underway 9/12/2024 Ramon Martinez and Bob Rosenberg discussing the installations of the cabinets, among other things.
		More restoration work in 847 Asylum 9/4/2024 The finer details are returning.
The front walk at 847 Asylum 9/4/2024 Something of a conundrum.  We have to connect the new slate with the old, and then we have to figure out how to soften the angle of the walk from the driveway as it connects to the front walk.
		Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 8/28/2024 Crown molding in the formal parlor – or maybe, now, the ballroom.  Restoration in the foyer.  Bathroom in the northeast bedroom, 2^nd floor in the owner’s unit.  Restoration in the billiard room.  Bathroom, 3^rd floor in the owner’s unit.  Top of the staircase, owner’s unit.  Hardwood floor, dining room.  Sign that t
The side porch at 847 Asylum 8/16/2024 We took out the ramp on the side porch – you can see the shadow lines, which is good, because I’m not sure I ever took a picture of it in place.  The side porch door is also restored and back in place.
		Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 8/14/2024 New floor going into the dining room.  Restored newell post.  Restoration of the billiard room nearing completion.  Tile floor in the laundry room on the 3^rd floor.
Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 7/31/2024
		Progress at 847 Asylum 7/24/2024 The highlight of these photos is the new flooring on the first floor.
The staircases at 847 Asylum Avenue 7/1/2024 Work is underway on the staircases, cleaning and restoring them.  Photos are of the main staircase in the owner’s unit and the rear staircase to the apartments and basement.
		and other progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 7/1/2024 Some random shots, plus the seldom seen basement.
Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 5/31/2024 3^rd floor apartment:  kitchen, bedroom.  2^nd floor apartment:  kitchen.  1^st floor:  dining room.
		Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 5/17/2024 The new compressor units are in.  New utilities are being connected underground.  Doors have arrived.  New cabinets are being installed in the 2^nd floor apartment.  New cabinets are being installed in the 3^rd floor apartment as well.
Progress at 847 Asylum 4/22/2024 Dining room on the first floor.  Closet in the primary bedroom of the owner’s unit, looking from second-floor hallway.  Same primary bedroom, looking out from the dressing room.  Looking out from the primary bedroom’s closet onto the second-floor hall.  Laundry room on third floor, owner’s unit.  West bedroom, second-floor apartment.  Primary bedr
		Mike Stockman at work at 847 4/11/2024 Always nice to have Mike working on site again.  He’s in the third-floor apartment, looking west.
Random daffodils at 847 Asylum 4/10/2024 Don’t remember these from last year – and even if they were there, it was still a delightful surprise to seem them this year!
		Progress at 847 Asylum 3/22/2024 The former kitchen, taking shape as a pantry and breakfast nook.  The future kitchen – the blue tape on the floor outlines the future butcher block.  Work in the formal parlor.  Kitchen cabinets delivered in the 3^rd floor apartment.  Bedroom on the 3^rd floor of the owner’s unit.  Exterior in the springtime sun.  Basement – so
A decent shot of a stained-glass window at 847 Asylum 3/11/2024 I’ve found it very hard to catch sunlight in the stained-glass window at just the right time – yes, I’m blaming the sun for being uncooperative – but here are a couple from the second floor looking into the stairwell.  Rather than casting light tinted by the stained glass, there were prisms all about.  Although, now that I look more closely, that cobweb
		Progress at 847 Asylum 1/31/2024 1^st floor kitchen and former kitchen taking shape.  1^st floor east parlor.  1^st floor main parlor with ceiling.  2^nd floor east bedroom.  3^rd floor landing.  3^rd floor back bedroom.  Repairs to the 3^rd floor billiard room.  2^nd floor apartment west bedroom.  2^nd
JELLO back at 847 Asylum 1/18/2024 And, it’s actually January!
		Progress at 847 Asylum 1/5/2024 The apartments are officially separate from the homeowner’s unit now, with insulation filling the thresholds that used to let us pass freely from the front of the house to the back of the house.  Insulation is now in all over the place as well, and there’s a new wall in the basement.  Short, but still.
In the basement at 847 Asylum Avenue 12/11/2023 A quick walk around the basement.  I hardly ever show photos of basements.  Most of them aren’t as interesting as the one here at 847.
		In the kitchen at 847 Asylum Avenue 12/11/2023 Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve shown any photos of the kitchen in awhile, either.  It is definitely starting to take shape, now that we’ve settled on moving the kitchen around to where it would have been originally in the house. Shots include the kitchen as well as the former kitchen, where the institutional kitchen had been and where we thought the kitche
Progress at 847 Asylum Avenue 10/30/2023 Ductwork for the HVAC system, second floor, future primary bedroom, owner’s unit; framing in east side parlor, first floor; new configuration, hallway, second floor, owner’s unit; framing and ductwork, second floor bedroom, owner’s unit; shower, bathroom in primary bedroom, second floor, owner’s unit; electrician’s ladder, billiard room, third floor, owner’s
		Volunteers from JELLO at 847 Asylum 10/21/2023 A group of students from Trinity College’s JELLO team volunteered at 847 Asylum Avenue today.

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