Hartford is the capital of the State of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 121,578, but a July 1, 2005 Census estimate put the city's population at 124,397[1]. It is the third largest city in the state, after Bridgeport and New Haven.[1] Greater Hartford is also the largest metro area in Connecticut and 44th in the country (2004 census estimate) with a population of 1,184,241.
Sometimes referred to as the 'insurance capital of the world,' Hartford houses many of the world's insurance company headquarters, and insurance is one of the region's major industries. (The State of Connecticut is sometimes still known as 'the land of steady habits.') The region has a relatively low population of adults between the ages of 18 and 25, although Hartford itself has a relatively young population. Hartford's West End is home to Elizabeth Park, the oldest and largest municipal rose garden in the country.
GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.5 km˛ (18.0 mi˛). 44.8 km˛ (17.3 mi˛) of it is land and 1.7 km˛ (0.7 mi˛) of it (3.67%) is water.
Hartford is bordered by the towns of West Hartford, Newington, Wethersfield, East Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor, and Windsor.
The Connecticut River separates Hartford from the city's eastern suburbs.
The Park River originally divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was a major part of Bushnell Park. The river was nearly completely enclosed by flood control projects in the 1940s.[2] The former course of the river can still be seen in some of the roadways that were built in its place, such as Jewell St. and the Conlin-Whitehead Highway.[3]
DemographicsAs of the census˛ of 2000, there were 121,578 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,711.8/km˛ (7,025.5/mi˛). There were 50,644 housing units at an average density of 1,129.6/km˛ (2,926.5/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was 17.72% White, 38.05% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 26.51% from other races, and 5.44% from two or more races. 40.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino, chiefly of Puerto Rican origin.
There were 44,986 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 29.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,820, and the median income for a family was $27,051. Males had a median income of $28,444 versus $26,131 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,428. About 28.2% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.0% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.
After World War II, many residents of Puerto Rico moved to Hartford and today Puerto Rican flags can be found on cars and buildings all over the city.
In 2000, 32.56% of Hartford residents claimed Puerto Rican heritage. This was the second largest concentration of Puerto Ricans on the US mainland, behind only Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Hartford in 1969, when he was 12 years old.
NeighborhoodsHartford's neighborhoods are a diverse and historic lot. Downtown Hartford is the location of the central business district. Parkville is named for the confluence of the north and the south branches of the Park River. Frog Hollow is home to Pope park. Asylum Hill is the location of the headquarters of several insurance companies. The West End is home to the Mark Twain House and the Governor's residence. Sheldon/Charter Oak is the location of the historic Charter Oak monument and the former Colt factory. The North End is home to Keney Park. The South End is home to the city's 'Little Italy'. The South Green is host to Hartford Hospital. The South Meadows is the site of Hartford-Brainard Airport and Hartford's industrial park. The North Meadows has several car dealerships and is the location of the Dodge Music Center.
Economy
Greater Hartford is an international center of the insurance industry, with companies such as CIGNA, Aetna, and The Hartford based in the city. The area is also home to Colt Firearms and large corporations like United Technologies (the corporate parent of Pratt & Whitney, Otis Elevator, Sikorsky Aircraft, Carrier Corporation, Hamilton Sundstrand, UTC Fire & Security and UTC Fuel Cells).
Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Hartford was a major manufacturing and publishing city; but, as in many other Western industrial cities, many factories have been closed, relocated, or reduced. Hartford has long been important to insurance companies and still is occasionally called the 'insurance capital of the world,' though recent insurance mergers have hurt Hartford. MetLife and Lincoln Financial have cut their Hartford workforces and MassMutual has relocated its Hartford operations to Enfield, Connecticut to be closer to its headquarters in Springfield, Massachusetts. Recently, though, Hartford has shown that it is still a viable business location. St. Paul Travelers has announced it will bring 600 jobs to the area (500 of them in downtown Hartford); Aetna is moving more than 3,500 employees to the city from Middletown, Connecticut.
Education Colleges and universitiesHartford is home to several institutions such as Trinity College in the city's Frog Hollow neighborhood, the Hartford Conservatory (in the Asylum Hill neighborhood), The Institute of Living, Capital Community College (located downtown), the University of Connecticut School of Business (also downtown), Hartford Seminary (in the West End), the University of Connecticut School of Law (also in the West End) and Rensselaer at Hartford (a branch campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). In neighboring West Hartford, there is The Hartt School, a performing arts conservatory attached to the University of Hartford, The Hartford Art School, also attached to the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford campus, and Saint Joseph College.
Primary and secondary educationHartford is served by Hartford Public Schools [1].
Hartford Public High School, the nation's second oldest high school, also finds its home in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford.
The Greater Hartford area is also home to many well-known private and parochial schools, including the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor; Watkinson School in Hartford's West End; Kingswood-Oxford School, Northwest Catholic High School, Renbrook School and the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford; Avon Old Farms School in Avon; Westminster School, The Masters School, and Ethel Walker School in Simsbury; Miss Porter's School in Farmington, and East Catholic High School in Manchester.
Culture Points of interestIn the last few years, Hartford has generated renewed interest with both local and national developers who are investing heavily in the city through a variety of projects, all of which are in different stages. These investments include everything from commercial and residential projects such as Hartford 21 to a new science center, an extensive system of riverfront trails and parks, neighborhood improvements to Park Street and Parkville, the renovation of the historic Colt building to National Park standards, and significant development in the central business district.
In 1997, the city lost its professional hockey franchise, the Hartford Whalers, but efforts are being made to bring an NHL team back to the city. City officials and developers are talking about the possibility of a new city stadium to house this team.
Currently there are more than 1 billion dollars worth of private and publicly funded projects happening throughout the city's 17 neighborhoods and also in neighboring East Hartford and other suburbs. The overlying theme for development in the city was to create more activity downtown and reconnect Constitution Plaza to the waterfront, which was cut off when Interstate 91 was constructed. A majority of the development happening in the city is downtown, but improvements are now starting to be felt in all of the city's neighborhoods.
Some of the major projects include:
Adriaen's Landing: The state- and privately-funded project is situated on the banks of the Connecticut River along Columbus Boulevard, and connects to Constitution Plaza. The project includes the 540,000 square foot Connecticut Convention Center, which opened in June 2005 and is the largest meeting space between New York City and Boston. Attached to the convention center is the 22-story, 409 room Marriott Hartford Hotel-Downtown which opened in August 2005. Being constructed next to the convention center and hotel is the 140,000 square foot Connecticut Science Center. The final component of the project is 'Front Street', which sits across from the convention center and is the retail, entertainment and residential component of the entire project. Publicly funded parts of the project will include transportation improvements (see below). There have been significant delays in the Front Street project, with the first developer being removed from the project because of lack of progress. The city has choses a new developer, but work is yet to begin on the retail and residential component of Front Street. The city and state may soon take action again to get the project moving. There has been talk of bringing an ESPN Zone to the Front Street retail space, which would make sense considering that ESPN is headquartered in nearby Bristol. On the back side of Front Street, the historic Beaux-Arts Hartford Times Building is being converted into the home of administrative offices for the Wadsworth Atheneum. In 2004 THA ZOO Records, a Connecticut hip hop record label, produced The First Annual Hartford Hip Hop festival, which also took place at the Adriaen's Landing. The event drew over 5,000 hip hop enthusiasts from throughout New England to the Hartford waterfront.
Hartford 21: Recently completed, on the site of the Hartford Civic Center Mall, the project includes a 36 story residential tower—the tallest residential tower between New York City and Boston. Attached to the tower is 90,000 square feet of office space and 45,000 square feet of retail space, all of which is contained in a connected complex. The Greater Hartford YMCA has opened in the complex and will soon be closing its Jewell Street site which will be knocked down for another project. Recently the developer announced that a local grocery store will be opening up in the building which will finally give downtown residents a place to buy groceries. The Hartford Civic Center Arena remains open and hosts the AHL Hartford Wolfpack and the UConn men's and women's basketball teams, as well as shows and concerts.
Capital Community College at the G. Fox Department Store: The 913,000 square foot former home of the G. Fox & Company Department Store on Main Street recently underwent a complete renovation and is now the new home of Capital Community College as well as offices for the State of Connecticut and ground level retail space.
Connecticut Culinary Institute: The school recently relocated their main campus to the former Hastings Hotel and Conference Center which is next to the headquarters of Aetna in the city's Asylum Hill neighborhood which is just west of downtown. The school also has a branch campus in Suffield, Connecticut. The Hastings Hotel & Conference Center closed abruptly in 2004 but had served as the hotel that former president Bill Clinton stayed at when he was in the city.
Rentschler Field: Though in neighboring East Hartford, the stadium for UConn football was part of the revitalization plan for Hartford and was built on some of the lands donated by United Technologies. The bulk of the land donated will be used for technology, entertainment, lodging and retail development.
Transportation and parking improvements: Some roads were turned into pedestrian walkways to reduce gridlock, while other roads were widened or made one-way. Some intersections were also improved to better handle traffic. A large parking garage was built downtown to ease parking problems. A series of shuttle routes was created, known originally as the 'Downtown Circulator Project' and now run by the Greater Hartford Transit District.
New condos and apartments:
The city is served by the daily Hartford Courant newspaper, which is the country's oldest continuously published newspaper, founded in 1764. A weekly newspaper, the Hartford Advocate, also serves Hartford and the surrounding area, as does the The Hartford Guardian (a city-wide, quarterly conservative newsmagazine), The Hartford Undercurrent (an independent, monthly paper that accepts open submissions) and the Hartford Business Journal ('Greater Hartford's Business Weekly').
The Hartford region is also served by several magazines. Marketing Resource Consultants, based in Hartford, publishes Hartford Magazine, a monthly glossy lifestyle magazine serving Greater Hartford; Connecticut Business, a glossy monthly serving all of Connecticut; and Home Living CT, a glossy home and garden magazine published five times a year and distributed statewide.
Several television and radio stations based in Hartford cover the entire state. These stations serve the Hartford/New Haven market, which is the 28th largest market in the U.S.
Transportation AirportsBradley International Airport, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, is twenty minutes north of Hartford and serves Hartford and Springfield.
Other airports serving the Hartford area include:
Interstate bus service is provided by Bonanza Bus, Greyhound Bus and by Peter Pan Bus Lines. Additionally, there are buses for connections to smaller cities in the state. The bus station is at the train station at One Union Place in Downtown Hartford.
HighwaysDuring the 1960s and 1970s, Hartford was something of a poster child for highway construction, and has several highways surrounding the downtown area. Still more projects were canceled, both within the city and the suburbs like the proposed I-291 beltway, due to community opposition.
I-84 runs from Danbury, on the New York border, to Union on the Massachusetts border. I-91 starts in New Haven off I-95 and continues all the way up to Canada along the Connecticut River. The two highways intersect in downtown Hartford. Their interchange remained incomplete, anticipating the extension of the Conland-Whitehead Highway to connect the two near the capitol building. This created a traffic tie-up that was unsnarled in the 1990s.
Hartford suffers from notoriously heavy traffic as a result of its suburban population, which is proportionally much larger than that of any other nearby city. As a result, thousands of people clog area highways at the start of the workday. I-84 experiences traffic from Farmington through Hartford and into East Hartford and Manchester during the rush hour. Outside of Hartford, there are delays going westbound east of the Connecticut River and delays going eastbound west of the city, while in Hartford there is traffic in both directions. I-91 has significant delays, usually south of the city in Wethersfield and Rocky Hill and north of the city in Windsor and Bloomfield.
Besides the two major interstates, the Route 2 expressway runs from Norwich in the southeastern part of the state up to East Hartford where it then intersects with I-84. There are delays through Glastonbury and East Hartford in the morning hours.
Known as the Berlin Turnpike, Routes 5 and 15 run south of the city. Before I-91, the roadway carried people from Hartford to New Haven. Along the Berlin Turnpike is an array of department stores, restaurants, and offices in Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield. In Wethersfield, it becomes a highway-grade roadway that intersects with I-91 and I-84. Past Berlin, Route 15 becomes the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Meriden, and later, the Merritt Parkway which runs parallel to I-95 to the New York border.
West of Hartford, Route 44 runs from West Hartford up into the hills of Litchfield County and eventually into New York. East of Hartford, Route 44 runs to Putnam and into Rhode Island.
RailroadHartford's dependence on the railroad has decreased since the automobile. However, the Hartford train station at One Union Place still operates. Amtrak provides service from Hartford to Springfield, New Haven, New York, Boston, Providence, and Washington DC. The station is also a major bus station serving numerous bus companies as Hartford is a mid-way point between the popular New York to Boston route.
Currently there are preliminary plans to create a New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line with stations in communities close to I-91.
Public transportConnecticut Transit is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. CTTRANSIT operates local and commuter bus service within the city and the surrounding area. Taxi service is available from the train station at 1 Union Place or by calling one to any location in the area.
Famous Hartford residentsBecause of Hartford's diverse population the city has numerous sister cities. They include:
