We're down to the porch rail and the exterior paint at this point.  Also, we like the view of The Hartford in the background -- The Hartford has supported this house with funds and volunteers, and it shows that they are quite literally our neighbor on this project.

It's long been a part of NINA's strategy that a restored facade can make a world of difference on the neighborhood.  Instead of driving by a gloomy, dour, rundown building, people coming into Hartford now see this beauty.  It dramatically improves the perception of the neighborhood, and it's why we always work from the outside in.

PreviousNext

It's gloomy in Asylum Hill, but 54 Huntington Street is helping to brighten up.  First, new copper flashing was put into place on the roof, and even in the low light it really stands out.  And then our paint swatch grew, so now we have a really good sense of what these colors will look like.

We're thinking, um, no, not so much.

PreviousNext

At the AHNA monthly meeting this evening, Georges Annan-Kingsley presented a painting to the neighborhood.  This painting was commissioned by The Hartford, and it will be translated into a much larger format and hung on the Collins Street side of The Hartford's new parking garage.  Georges, an immigrant from Cote d'Ivoire, is an internationally known artist, and he has been very active in Asylum Hill.

Best way to choose paint colors:  paint a swatch!

NINA is very pleased to announce that we received a $10,000 grant from the People's United Community Foundation to support our initiative to expand affordable homeownership opportunities in Asylum Hill for low- to moderate-income families.  The support provided by the People's United Community Foundation also furthers the Foundation's goal to increase homeownership opportunities in Hartford.

People's United Community Foundation has been a tremendous partner with NINA for over five years, and its funding has contributed to the creation of over 20 owner-occupied homes in Asylum Hill.  This year, their grant will help NINA to complete its work on 54 Huntington Street.  

Tammy Torres of People's United Community Foundation came by today for a ceremonial presentation of the check to Ken Johnson, our executive director.  They are pictured here standing on the front porch of 54 Huntington Street.

Many thanks to our friends at People's United Community Foundation!

PreviousNext

As we've been reading up on the history of Asylum Hill, we've come across several important people, some of whom will be known to a larger audience but most of whom will not.  Today, we decided to take a ride up to Spring Grove Cemetery, in Hartford's North End, to see if we could find some of them:

• Lydia Sigourney:  the "Sweet Singer of Hartford" was the first woman to make a living as a published poet in the United States.  She empurpled many of her poems, so much so that they don't hold up so well today, but they were all the rage in Hartford in the mid- to late 19th century.  We consider her the namesake for both Sigourney Street and Sigourney Square Park, but we're finding indications that Sigourney Street may have existed before Lydia's poetry did -- stay tuned -- but she was a resident of the Hill and contributed to the neighborhood's identity.
• Frederick Mahl:  a prolific builder in the second half of the 19th century, he built close to a dozen houses on Ashley Street including at least two NINA homes, 47 and 51 Ashley Street.  He may also have built 30 Ashley Street, but we haven't quite confirmed that yet.
• Henry Green:  a recent discovery of ours, Henry was a glassblower turned "roetgenologist" who made significant contributions to the history of medicine.  Unlike Horace Wells, the oft celebrated Hartforder who may or may not have maybe sort of kind of discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, Henry created glass vacuum tubes that focused X-rays and turned them into the practical diagnostic tool that they are today.  He also invented a coin-operated public X-ray machine, but we'll leave that one aside for now!

Hartford truly has a rich and amazing history that matches its richly diverse and amazing present.  We'll be running our summer walking tours again in 2016, and you should definitely consider coming out on one or all of them!  And we're also going to start looking for ways to promote some more of this history we're learning.  As we said above:  stay tuned!

So we were over at 207 Garden Street taking more pictures of the new brick facade, when we noticed this giant broccoli attempting to devour a nearby house -- okay, so maybe we're a little loopey at the moment, but seriously:  doesn't that tree look like a giant head of broccoli?

PreviousNext

The new facade is all bricked up.  Close-up shots are from the lower rooftoop.  Also included are views of and from 221 Garden Street.  It's truly amazing how far a little facade work can go.

PreviousNext

A storm rolled in this evening, an excuse for some dramatic shots.