City of Hartford
"View in Bushnell Park, Hartford, Conn." Building at right is capitol.
City of Hartford
"View in Bushnell Park, Hartford, Conn." Building at right is capitol.
The map of Hartford below comes from New England: A Handbook for Travelers, published by James R. Osgood and Co. in 1880. North is toward the right. This enlargement shows Front St., Market St., and Pleasant St., where Abraham and Anna resided at various times between 1891 and 1904. Morgan St. leads to bridge over Connecticut River. Front and Pleasant intersect to the north of Morgan.
Pictures of Front St. from a later era are posted at the site of Trinity College.
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Geer's Hartford Directory 1891-92 (at left) shows Abraham residing at
236 Front St. Geer's Street Guide (1891) (at right) shows this address
was between Morgan and Pleasant Streets; that Front St. had the benefit
of (W)ater Pipes, (E)lectric Lights, (G)as Lines, and (S)ewer Lines; was
wholly or partly (M)acadamized; and was located in wards 5 and 6.
Morgan St. Bridge was a covered wooden bridge which burned in 1895, and was replaced first by a temporary wooden bridge (washed away in a flood in less than a year), then a temporary iron bridge, and then a stone bridge completed in 1908. For views of the bridge showing these changes click here. The stone bridge is still in use, and is now called the Bulkeley Bridge. The stone bridge serves as a photographic landmark for the old immigrant district, sometimes called the "North End."
This stereoview, looking west, shows the covered bridge before it burned in 1895.
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"View from Dome of Capitol - Looking NE"
Enlargement shows this photo may be pre-1908, as the visible portion of the bridge on the right looks somewhat like the temporary iron bridge. Pattern of stars on flag doesn't correspond to any shown at www.usflag.org. Undivided back of postcard is consistent with 1901-1907 timeframe; see the site at yeoldepostcardshoppe for a history of postcard formats.
This view is similar to parts of panoramic views available at the Library of Congress website (go to site, search for "Hartford Panoramic," and choose Item 2, 6 or 8.)
"New Stone Bridge at Hartford, Conn. - (Bird's-eye view, looking north.) Showing in detail, on the left, the Western Approach; including the new Freight Yards, the open Railroad Tunnel, the new Boulevard to State Street, the Promenade to Riverside Park, and the proposed general treatment of the river front....Corner stone laid April 16, 1904." Copyright 1904, by Geo. E. Wright
Note the "new Freight Yards" to the north of Morgan St.
Map from Geer's Hartford Directory (1918) (north at right) shows Front St. breaking at Morgan St., and Freight Station in area where Jaffers had resided at 236 Front St. Map also shows North St., where Jaffers lived in 1892 and 1905-07.
For a 1941 photograph of the freight yard at the website of Library
of Congress, go to site, search for "Hartford freight" and choose Item
1
Postcard mailed 1908, showing new stone bridge and view towards west.
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Building at left of Postcard 5 topped by pyramid with flag is probably Brown, Thompson Department Store. (The above drawing is from an advertisement for Brown, Thompson in the 1905 Owl Annual, Hartford Public High School.) |
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"Bridge connecting East Hartford with Hartford. The buildings in foreground are being torn down to make a more picturesque approach to city." |
These are my favorite photos from this series, because they capture to some extent the flavor of a neighborhood, whose destruction was predicted by the handwritten message.
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