A series of entries designed to capture the ongoing adventures of NINA! See how we came to be where we are today, and follow along as we enter the new century of social media!
Page: 10These streets are part of the section of Asylum Hill between Asylum and Farmington – it isn’t Sigourney Square, and it isn’t Nook Farm, it is literally in between. Walking it this evening, though, I again found a collectively cohesive section of the neighborhood.
Also, it’s already taking longer to get dark out. Blast the rotation of the planet!
36 lights, 2 out, plus the broken light that created a dramatic spotlight for the sidewalk.
Another short walk, this time around the “hospital adjacent” district.
We’re starting to move into our new website dedicated to Asylum Hill history, and as a part of gathering some additional content I was out at 847 Asylum and then over at Asylum Hill Congregational Church. The big quest for today: finding the church’s cornerstone, which I did, lying on my belly, peeking behind some shrubbery.
The shots of 847 are an effort to get a visual sense of 847 in its historic milieu on Asylum Avenue. They include a photo of the “seldom seen” western side of the house.
The cornerstone, as well as some additional artsy exteriors will be featured on the page dedicated to the church on our new website.
Always speeds things up when all but one of the lights are on one side of the street.
Tonight it was South Marshall, Marshall, Laurel, and Case Streets. So far, this has been the most active section of the neighborhood I’ve been through, probably because it includes the densest commercial district on Farmington Avenue. Between the retail and the apartment buildings, this was a very well lit part of Asylum Hill.
52 lights, 4 out.
Another night, another walkabout – this time on Fraser Place, Spring Street, Edwards Street, Myrtle Street, and Spruce Street, basically the area between Union Station and Liam McGee Park. These streets collectively comprise the upward slope of the Hill, and I was surprised to discover how cohesively they fit together as a district within the neighborhood. Union Station, by the way, is a lot like Saint Francis Hospital: awash in light.
Tonight: 50 lights, two out. Also, the sky was a lovely shade of indigo.
Ashley Street, like Sargeant Street, benefits from decorative streetlights between Garden and Huntington Streets, but unlike Sargeant Street, on Ashley Street the decorative streetlights double, not triple, the number of streetlights. Ambient light was again a factor to take into account, especially between Atwood and Woodland – the Saint Francis Hospital campus produces an enormous amount of light. And here’s a note that I should’ve already considered: porch lights make a huge difference!
I took a walk up and back on Sargeant Street this evening. Out of 57 streetlights, there was one that was out. It made surprisingly little difference, probably because of its location at the Veeder Place parking lot. This makes me think that we should consider ambient light as well as direct lighting as we move forward with our analysis of crime data. This evening, this would also apply to lighting at intersections, lighting at commercial buildings, and lighting from inside Sigourney Square Park.
Also, Sargeant Street between Huntington Street and Garden Street benefits from an extra set of decorative streetlights that were installed on both sides of the street. These double the number of lights on the north side, and they add lighting on the south side of the street that isn’t present west of Huntington Street. Past Huntington Street, there are only standard cobrahead lights along the north side of the street, and it’s almost startingly how quickly I noticed the difference in both directions.
In a couple of the photos, you can see the lighted cross atop the Cathedral of Saint Joseph.
