Hartford, East and West

Hartford gets a bad rap for being a dangerous town, but it offers so much by way of history, architecture, and culture. Kyle and I have had several wonderful excursions, including one last month where we explored several interesting sights downtown.

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch was
dedicated in 1886 as a Civil War Memorial
(the ashes of the designer George Keller
and his wife are buried inside the arch) 

The Wadsworth Atheneum was the first building to be
constructed as a public art museum in the United States

The Ancient Burial Grounds contains a fantastic
collection of puritan gravestones

Our favorite building on our personal tour was the State Capitol Building

As part of our tour through the city, we listened to a podcast about Hartford's modern architecture. I'm a usually drawn to classical architecture so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed learning about these modern buildings.

The Bushnell Tower was designed in the late 60's by Ming Pei,
designer of the Louvre Museum in Paris

Reflection of the First Church of Christ in the modern Gold Building

Stegosaurus by Alexander Calder

The Boat Building was the world's first two-sided building, constructed in 1961

The Hartford Stage Company Building was designed by Robert Venturi

West Hartford is the posh part of the city. We saw this firsthand as we strolled along quaint Farmington Avenue and down Blue Back Square.

Blue Back Square

Noah Webster (the father of the modern dictionary) lived near here,
so he is honored by a library, a statue, and a stairwell.

While there are several fat wallet restaurants in the area, Kyle and I were happy
to find a delicious skinny wallet alternative at the Gyro House. :)