It’s a challenge to feel love at this time of year. There are days when the combination of unshoveled sidewalks and subzero windchills make something as simple as going around the corner for milk and bread not so simple. You wonder why you choose to live in a place where year-after-year people can’t manage basic snow removal, as if they are living in denial that Hartford is in New England.

But there it is. Love is not easy. It’s recognizing the positive traits, despite the flaws.

Here are a few things to love about Hartford, even when it doesn’t do a very good job of loving itself:

  1. The quiet, subdued murals like the one facing Grand Street on the Sanchez School. Just hanging out, no fanfare. It’s cool.
  2. Cream-filled doughnuts at Abrantes Bakery. Why — WHY — does anyone go to that meh chain donut place I shall not name when they’ve got this as an option?!
  3. Actually, we’ve got many options. Hartford has a high pastry option density per capita. Within a ten minute walk of my house, there’s  Los Cubanitos, Montecarlo, Sol de Borinquen, Aurora’s, Story & Soil, El Mercado, The Kitchen, Parkville Market, and very, very likely a few other places I haven’t been inside yet.
  4. Call me a stodgy dinosaur from Generation X (we’re that forgotten generation between Millennials and Baby Boomers), but when The Place 2 Be posted their video of ladies twerking on a counter to WAP, I was HERE FOR IT. Because it’s a woman-owned business. Because their marketing is on point and all about gals brunching. Seriously, look at their social. They know what they’re about and who they want filling their restaurants. Besides, who doesn’t like Waffles And Pancakes?! Even more endearing: their whole shtick has scandalized a few Downtown Dwellers. I mean, as long as they sanitized the counter after, what’s the big deal? 
  5. The fancy schmancy sidewalk plaques on Ashley Street 
  6. The sculpture of Cinque at the Old State House
  7. Markers for the old base ball grounds on the front lawn of the Church of the Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House A bunch of sparrows standing on top of a park bench
  8. Strolling Park Street on a Saturday for no reason other than it’s there.
  9. We provide the social services that many suburbs and exurbs refuse to take responsibility for, and while there’s inherent unfairness in this situation, we should be proud that we are not turning our backs on those in need of rehab, housing, mental health, Covid testing, and so on. 
  10. We can stop pretending that the West End is the LGBT neighborhood. It’s not. Openly queer individuals and families can be found in just about every Hartford neighborhood. Frog Hollow? Yep. Asylum Hill? Absolutely. South End? There, too. 
  11. The Dreamhouse on Marshall Street
  12. Hartford History Center’s online exhibit October 1920: Celebrating the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage. Go learn about the Hartford women who were among the first to vote.
  13. Connecticut Historical Society’s Connecticut Freedom Workers: Remembering the Civil Rights Movement exhibit
  14. The Night Deposit at Main and Central Row
  15. That skinny bridge in Goodwin Park
  16. Sometimes Story + Soil carries vanilla doughnuts reminiscent of the fried dough that you’d get at a fair.
  17. We had front porch culture before outdoor, distanced gatherings were cool.
  18. The menacing pigeon spikes on Cathedral of St. Joseph.
  19. Train zooming over Parkville bridgeHaving a coquito connection and multiple backup options — all of whom deliver 
  20. Those experiencing homelessness have been provided with tents. (No, this does not solve the problem, but it’s far more respectful than, say, how some cities have removed benches from subway stations to prevent people from sleeping on them.)
  21. Watching the train zoom over the Parkville bridge.
  22. No need to go on mourning the Christmas lights on Constitution Plaza. We have holiday light displays in South Green and Goodwin Park, both of which are better than that horrific concrete slab that annihilated a neighborhood. 
  23. The little mural behind Hands On HartfordRainbow mural
  24. Hartford Public Library’s order ahead, outdoor pickup for books and other materials. I’d say curbside, but their system is designed with actual library users in mind, many of whom bike, bus, or walk. 
  25. The statue of Doc Hurley in Aaron Fein Square — dressed up or not.
  26. The gravestone on Market Street
  27. When the Pratt Street shop windows get fancy for December 
  28. Seeing downtown’s non-food-court restaurants basically go from either American or Italian (plus one Caribbean place) to include two Indian, one Vietnamese, one Peruvian, and one Puerto Rican restaurant in the last few years. The neighborhoods are loaded with a range of ethnic eateries and it’s about time some of that came into the CBD. 
  29. Having “low mow” areas in parks 
  30. The fire twirler on Sisson Avenue 
  31. The Christopher Columbus statue was removed, leaving a conspicuous pedestal with his name on it, as if to rub in the fact that he lost his status. Now, if only we would rename the park on Franklin Avenue
  32. The nostalgic obsession with G. Fox that, for some, borders on a fetish.
  33. Beautiful brick buildingsWe all know about Congress Street and Pratt Street, but there are others with beautiful architecture. Go take a look at Imlay, Marshall, and Laurel Streets. 
  34. During 2020 a handful of pedestrian walk signals were automated, meaning people did not have to be reminded of their second tier status by having to touch dirty beg buttons each time they need to cross a street. I’d have more love to give the City of Hartford if they would just automate all the pedestrian walk signals already.
  35. We have not one, not two, but at least three Holocaust memorial monuments. They might not be large enough to be seen on Google Street View, but they’re here.
  36. Hartford is a sanctuary city
  37. Can’t afford rents in Downtown? Walk a few blocks into the neighborhoods and find more reasonably priced options. 
  38. The Hatuey monument installed atop the remaining Columbus pedestal, even though within a week someone was griping about it (via 311) being an “eyesore”
  39. DIY DPW: When a neighbor with a plow attached to his truck fixes the side street snow situation because who knows when the City will get to it
  40. There is always something new to see if you open yourself up to slowing down and noticing things.
  41. Want a sledding hill? Check out Keney, Pope, Goodwin, Colt, Bushnell, and Elizabeth Parks.Squirrel on a park bench
  42. Snow doesn’t shut everything down, try as it might
  43. The Hartford Jewish Film Festival, which usually has some of its screenings in Hartford proper, is virtual this year. . . so you don’t need to hop on a bus to the suburbs this time around. Mossad and Shiva Baby sound amazing, by the way.
  44. Using the baseball stadium, which is accessible by public transit, as a site for mass Covid vaccinations. This shows respect for members of the community who do not have personal vehicles and should not be expected to climb into others’ cars during a pandemic.
  45. Good graffiti. It might not be abundant, but we’ve got it.
  46. While this is not a ghost town, Hartford’s past is present with ghost signs. Look at the brick buildings, especially on major corridors, and you’ll begin to see faded paint. Among my favorites is the one advertising burlesque.
  47. Knowing the crossing guards, even when you do not have school-aged children.
  48. Having the bartender/barista guess your drink correctly
  49. Neighbors who surprise you with food for you and/or for your pet. Yes, this actually happens in real life. In recent memory, separate neighbors have sprung cheesecake and hot-out-of-the-oven apple pie on me, with no apparent occasion.
  50. Too small to hold a grudge against a friend or an ex*
  51. Too small to let go of a grudge against an official

*This was a reader-submitted item and is up for debate. Case in point: that time I watched the couple that broke up almost a year prior continue to throw each others’ clothing all over the road before getting into a physical brawl in the street at 6 AM. Maybe this one is not universal quite yet.