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: 27
It's always fun to pull down the modern walls in a historic building, because you just never know what you'll find. At 117 Sigourney Street, we found a bucket above the ceiling. Best guess is that it was a worker who left it there, from when the building was built or for some repair work done after that.
The Friends of Sigourney Square Park hosted the Fifth Annual Caroling in the Park tonight. The event was sponsored by the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association and NINA, with support from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford and Youth Challenge. Santa arrived on a sleigh provided by the Hartford Fire Department, and he heard Christmas wishes from kids (and adults!) and helped to lead the singing. The Glory Chapel Choir provided cover for anyone too nervous to sing, and afterwards we all went to Glory Chapel for hot chocolate at Glory Chapel, just a block away on May Street.
Pictured in the slide show are members of the Glory Chapel Choir, Santa Claus, Luwannia Martin, Val Carrier, David Corrigan, and David MacDonald.
Photos by Bernie Michel.
A group of volunteers from The Hartford's IT section came in today to help out on 117 Sigourney Street. They helped out with removing nails and hauling in the new windows, which arrived this morning.
Over at 117 Sigourney, we've started on new egresses as well as closing up old ones. Along the south side of the building, we've removed the doors that led to the fire escape, and this work is then a prelude to removing the fire escape altogether. Around at the back of the building, we're adding a new egress: this new back door will lead to a new, interior staircase that will have access to each of the three units. We think this will make for a much more attractive, safe, and sustainable building. The old iron fire escape is not particularly safe, and it can get very slippery. The new staircase, which opens up directly onto the parking lot, will be protected against inclement weather and will probably now become the main point of entry for the future residents. Who would want to take their groceries all the way around the front of the building?
That's Matt Pearce looking back at us from the basement. He's building the new staircase for us.
We're moving along at 115 Sigourney Street: the insulation is going in, and we've constructed the new staircase to the second floor. This will open up the foyer into a two-story cathedral ceiling, and we think it will have the dramatic effect that this house deserves. Also, there's still one reminder left from the office that used to be on the first flor: the old desk! It's been moved out of its original location in what will be the kitchen into what will be the dining room, and it's proving quite handy for our contractors.
We had a group in from The Hartford today, and they did some particularly dirty work! Inside they pulled nails, part of the interior demolition process, and outside they hauled stuff from the basement to the dumpster. It isn't always glamorous, but every volunteer contributes directly to the future affordability of our homes!
A group from Aetna came in today to pull nails. This still counts as interior demolition, and it allows us to hang new walls and ceilings cleanly.
We bid a sad (not really!) farewell today to the parking lot at 80 Hawthorn Street, as MC Paving removed the asphalt from the site as a next step toward breaking ground on the new homes here.
And not just any volunteers: these were our good friends from The Hartford's Office of Corporate Social Responsibility! We work with this team throughout the year to revitalize Asylum Hill on projects that range from our homeownership development to our annual summer walking tours (a Hartford Happening) to helping to organize other groups of volunteers from The Hartford to come out and work on our sites. We really appreciate them coming out today to volunteer with us!
We had a very large grouip of volunteers from The Hartford come out today for their annual Day of Caring. We expected most of the group, but we also picked up a couple of people from a nearby volunteer site after they finished their project earlier than anticipated. This was a great turnout, and we got a ton of stuff done today!
