Thanks to a reader tip, we were alerted to some art work that we would not have seen otherwise, at least not up close.

 

 

 


But to get to this, we had to wade through some weeds, construction zones, and pedestrian-aggressive infrastructure in the Downtown North area along Market Street. On foot, you become very aware that not all intersections have pedestrian crossing signals installed, which is not always necessary, but becomes a lot more so when in the area of Interstate exit ramps.

 

Given the high volume of foot traffic here during rush hour, this is something that should have been addressed long ago, but has not. Maybe the completion of the Candlewood Suites hotel on Market and Pequot Street will give the push needed to get this area in shape.  This hotel project, by the way, pre-dates the Downtown North-Yard Goats plans.

 

 

 

 

The “sculpture garden” that was located at Bushnell Plaza and was so often closed to the public has been relocated to the plaza that’s behind the Elks Lodge and Front Street Lofts. The UConn Hartford construction is visible behind the apartment building.

 

The Gold Street realignment work is ongoing, but is now more than just a trashed lawn covered with construction vehicles. We’re hopeful about the outcome of all this, but for the time being, all this downtown construction is a pain if you are trying to go anywhere on foot. Our tried-and-true quick route from Bushnell Park to Riverfront has been interrupted by this construction project, along with the Travelers’ plaza work that has closed Atheneum Square North. The UConn Hartford construction also messes this up in the short term.

It helps to remember that in a year, all this should be massively improved. Maybe others in the area will feel inspired by Travelers’ decision to significantly lower its barricades (looking at you, Bushnell Plaza).


 

The construction is everywhere, though. The work along Bushnell Park drags on. Some of the streetscape improvements are not sure if they have hatched or not. The low fencing around tree pit gardens looks unfinished in a number of places. Take a peek at that next time you are walking along the outside of the park.

 

 

 

 

Quite a few trees were planted in the park over the last year, which eventually might let us call it even for how many were removed — mostly along the periphery, where the overbuilt sidewalks were installed.

 

 

 

The Old State House has temporarily closed. This is not the first time the museum has been threatened with closure. The picture below was taken a few days before the temporary closure was instated.

Meanwhile, in the South Meadows, the MIRA Trash Museum permanently closed its doors.

 

It has been a few years now, but the improvements to Phoenix Plaza (what the average person is going to call Constitution Plaza) have made a huge difference and such mid-course corrections should be applauded. People made many, many mistakes when it came to developing and re-developing Hartford, but we do not need to live with those mistakes if we can fix them. What’s done is not done.