I was looking for a shot to line up with the “before” photo for our web page on 847 Asylum.  You can’t really tell the difference, because the exterior looks substantially the same, despite our repairs to the slate roof and the masonry.

This improvement is much needed:  new traffic lights that give left turn signals all ways will help keep traffic flowing through the intersection.  Not sure who’s doing this work, whether it’s DOT or DPW, but kudos for the change.  What are the chances that they’ll do a decent job repairing the asphalt they’ve torn up for this project?  I suggest proceeding with caution through this intersection for a long time!

New framing on the front porch, and walk around the interior.  Is it me, or does the toilet seem lonely?

Repairs being made to the rear porch, plus some additional shots of the front and side of the house.

The Archdiocese of Hartford is going to open a new parochial school at 765 Asylum Avenue this fall.  Work on the renovations to the building should begin soon, if they haven’t already.

The Archdiocese announced this plan at a recent meeting of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association, and everyone was thrilled both by the plan for the new school and because the building, which has been empty for awhile, will be brought back into productive use.  I vaguely recall that this building was, once upon a time, the State Department of Agriculture, and it may even have housed the “grown locally” market.  At the AHNA meeting, Ted Carroll noted that the building had been a hotel originally.  Who knew?