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!
Category: News
The red cap that had been locked in place on the water fountain outside our office here on the third floor of Veeder Place has been unlocked and removed – albeit, not taken away. The cap was put into place during the pandemic to secure the health and safety of Veeder Place tenants, so its removal is a positive development!
Of course, the water fountain doesn’t work. Hasn’t for awhile. So, we’re still safe!
I went downtown to photograph Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Catholic Church today as part of getting our walking tours and our neighborhood history websites up and running. Turns out this is a terrible time of the year to try to take a photo of this church, on the south side of the street! I did get an interesting effect, though, in particular on the portrait orientation – it almost looks like a halo around the church.
So why try to photograph this church in the first place? The story around Asylum Hill is that this church is the model for the Asylum Hill Congregational Church and that possibly the two churches were twins. Problem is, the church that would have been “twinned” with Asylum Hill Congregational Church burned down in 1875 and again in 1956. It was built back both times mostly according to the original design, but not quite. The current church resembles the original church only below the belfry.
Is there actually a case to be made for this Legend of the Hill? Not really. They are certainly stylistically related because they were designed by the same architect, Patrick Keely, and it seems likely that the Asylum Hill Congregational Society likely hired him based on his local reference, i.e., Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Catholic Church, which Keely designed just over a decade before he worked on Asylum Hill Congregational Church.
I currently have several calls for photos for the neighborhood, so I took a walk around today and thought I’d share the results.
Noticed this weird pattern of sunlight on Collins Street, and then I turned around to see the source.
Trinity Health New England is demolishing the parking garage that sat at the corner of Collins and Atwood Streets. The work has exposed some views of the hospital that haven’t been seen in awhile! At least not from the street level. The garage was long enough that it cut off camera angles.
At a press conference today, State Representative (and Speaker of the House) Matt Ritter announced $1.3 million for the State's Community Investment Fund for the rehabilitation of the Comet Diner. Ritter was joined by Luke Bronin, Hartford Mayor; Douglas McCrory, State Senator for the 2nd District; Wayne Benjamin, Georgetown Associates; David MacDonald, executive director, AHNA; and Jackie McKinney, chair, AHNA. Ritter, who represents the 1st District in the State House, has been an active supporter of projects in Asylum Hill, including NINA's projects. AHNA helped put together the application for this funding. The combined support from government and community is a real boost for this project, and it will restore an important landmark and restaurant in Asylum Hill.
The Comet Diner was only one of the location's various incarnations. It was originally the Aetna Diner; later it was Oasis (which also had Pancho's, a Mexican restaurant, in the basement), Mississippi Grille, and Dishes.
The Green Committee of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association and the Friends of Sigourney Square Park organized a Green Energy Fair for today that included exhibits on green energy alternatives.
They have said they are going to rebuild. I’ll assume the foundation was filled for safety reasons.
