Misplaced Pages

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33-583: One of the centerpieces of Hartford's Riverfront Recapture project, it features a wide pedestrian promenade and access to the rest of the riverfront park area as well as to Constitution Plaza . The bridge makes up a section of the East Coast Greenway , a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) system of trails connecting Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida . In 1950, the Bulkeley Bridge upstream was very congested with traffic, primarily because it

66-499: A 99-year lease placing Connecticut's Old State House under new management. The lease puts the city-owned historic building under the control of the state Office of Legislative Management. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. Exhibits focus on the history of Hartford and important events in Connecticut history. Visitors can also tour the original legislative rooms. The Museum of Natural and Other Curiosities

99-632: A fallacy of the broken promises of mid-century, American urban renewal . Set on a gently sloping site, the raised plaza originated from the idea of setting it at the elevation of Hartford's once-vibrant Main Street and its numerous, but now long-gone department stores that sat a block west. The Main Street shopping district was to be connected to Constitution Plaza by overhead pedestrian bridges, down along both Temple and Kinsley Streets across Market Street, but for various reasons they were never built. (Kinsley Street no longer exists, having been absorbed into

132-763: A modernist clock tower, reflecting pools and fountains designed by landscape architect Masao Kinoshita . The entire plaza area sits atop a 1,600-car, multi-level parking garage. Viewed as a period design ensemble, it is a handsome if austere complex. A precursor to later megastructure and now more integrated mixed-use complexes, its construction was heralded as the future of urban design . However, considering recent trends that emphasize more traditional streetscapes, this self-contained urban environment seems outdated. It shares its design "brotherhood" of multiple-style buildings connected by large, above-grade pedestrian spaces with two similar but much larger renewal projects, Charles Center in downtown Baltimore , Maryland , and

165-421: A result, Constitution Plaza today sits several feet above the city's streetscape, disconnected and mostly devoid of pedestrian life except during workdays. This is also a primary reason that the plaza's original "retail court" was never successful. However, as later office tower development occurred on adjacent blocks, in particular to the east and south, additional pedestrian bridges were built to connect them to

198-476: A well-celebrated aesthetic and economic success, as it stabilized the initial decline of the downtown business district, and in combination with the later XL Center complex, sparked a modest downtown revival and office building boom that began in the mid-1970s. From the 1980s through the mid-2000s and through multiple ownerships, the mergers/demise and eventual vacating of most of the anchor corporate tenants, and Hartford 's sharp economic decline which took hold in

231-458: Is 20 feet high and constructed from Portland, Connecticut brownstone. The second and third stories are brick patterned in Flemish bond . The cornice is wooden. The State House has been modified somewhat since it was first built. As originally constructed, the building had neither balustrade or cupola , but the balustrade was added in the early 19th century for the protection of firemen, and

264-470: Is a large commercial mixed-use development in Downtown Hartford , Connecticut . It is located on the east side of the downtown area, near the Connecticut's Old State House. The plaza consists of two main plazas, which are connected by an elevated bridge. The northern plaza is reminiscent of an Italian piazza, with a 40-foot-tall granite clock tower and patterned brick paving. The southern plaza

297-434: Is dominated by a central fountain. Constitution Plaza was built for $ 42 million and completed in stages from 1961 to 1964. Its planning and construction were spearheaded by a committee of local corporate leaders and business interests, beginning in the late 1950s. After running into financial turmoil in its early stages, the project was eventually taken-over and completed by Hartford-based Travelers Insurance Company . It

330-471: Is located on the third floor of the Old State House. The museum features a recreation of Joseph Steward's original 1798 collection of natural history displays and curiosities. Over the years, several eyewitnesses (mostly staff members) have claimed to experience paranormal activity inside the building. In 2009, the Old State House was investigated by the investigators of TAPS on episode 524 of

363-459: Is now vacant. At first, it contained such upmarket specialty stores as Brentano's bookstore, Peck & Peck , and a branch of W & J Sloane furniture. Also built was a 12-story, 300-room hotel that originally opened as Hotel America in April 1964. The hotel was later operated for almost twenty years as an upscale Sonesta Hotel property, then finally as a Clarion hotel before closing in

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396-415: Is still locally debated nearly six decades after it occurred. (The name "Front Street" which so well-gilded through decades of its lamented demise, was resurrected as the official project name for a large mixed-use development to be built adjacent to the new Connecticut Convention Center complex, although this project has experienced numerous delays and has lost a number of sponsoring developer partners over

429-644: The Connecticut River to East Hartford . Constitution Plaza is an example of mid-twentieth-century commercial design, created as a series of projects under the overall coordination of Hartford architect Charles DuBose , which has sustained minimal alterations since it was designed. Its three largest office towers showcase various styles of glass-and-spandrel panel systems, with the glass surfaces recently replaced on both One and One Hundred Constitution Plaza with more reflective and energy-efficient systems. However, it's been noted these new window surfaces lack

462-537: The Prudential Center (Boston) complex in Boston , Massachusetts , although these two developments have been significantly altered (The Prudential Center was mostly converted to an enclosed mall in the early 1990s) and have also experienced varying degrees of economic and planning success. Often viewed as a classic example of the fallibility of urban renewal, Constitution Plaza was for many of its early years

495-620: The Sci Fi Channel program Ghost Hunters . The episode aired on December 9, 2009. Following the investigation, TAPS announced that they captured audio of strange sounds inside the building. Something that sounded like a doorknob being opened was recorded in the Senate Room while no one was in it, and audio of what sounded like a woman sighing was captured in the Steward Museum room when no female team members were present in

528-651: The Taste of Hartford food festival. Old State House (Hartford) The Old State House (completed 1796) in Hartford, Connecticut is generally believed to have been designed by noted American architect Charles Bulfinch as his first public building. The State House is currently managed by the Office of Legislative Management of the Connecticut General Assembly . The exterior building and

561-595: The Travelers Insurance Company 's own WTIC-AM-FM-TV until they sold their broadcasting division to different owners in March 1974. The four story, square structure sat partially below plaza level and was noted for its cantilevered, waffle-like roof parapet. It also featured a roof garden in the center of the forth level which was for its executive offices. The Broadcast House site has been vacant for over 13 years. A freestanding pavilion structure on

594-656: The Senate have been restored to its original Federal style ; the Representative's chamber is Victorian , and the halls and courtroom are Colonial Revival . The Hartford State House is, in appearance, very similar to the Town Hall of Liverpool, England, built in the mid-18th century and perhaps depicted in one of Bulfinch's architecture books. However, all materials came from the United States. Its first story

627-412: The character of the original dark glass and spandrel colors that gave the towers a sophisticated and more backdrop feel to the featured plaza and landscaping. Its major buildings are: Of particular note is the blue-green glass, two-sided Phoenix Life Insurance Company Building . Referred to locally as "the boat building", especially when viewed at its two bowed "corners", it is the largest and last of

660-612: The cupola was constructed in 1827 with its bell and John Stanwood 's statue of Justice. An original (1796) stone spiral staircase behind the northern arch, designed by Asher Benjamin , led to the second and third floors; it no longer exists. In 1814, the Hartford Convention was held there. In 1839, the start of the Amistad trial was held there. The building had been in danger of closing in 2008 due to financial constraints. State and Hartford officials have recently signed

693-509: The early 1990s, it has called into question the Plaza's long-term viability without significant re-investment and maintenance. Constitution Plaza was the site of many annual public events, such as the popular Festival of Lights during the holiday season (which has since been relocated in a scaled-down form to nearby Bushnell Park ), and a number of concerts and sing-alongs. In its earlier years, it hosted several outdoor Easter Sunday services and

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726-531: The hazardous, congestion-prone connections to and from I-91 Northbound, as these ramps had been made redundant by the toll-free Charter Oak Bridge replacement span. In 2001, a walkway was completed to link the path across Columbus Boulevard to Constitution Plaza . This article about a bridge in Connecticut is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Constitution Plaza 41°45′58″N 72°40′12″W  /  41.766°N 72.670°W  / 41.766; -72.670 Constitution Plaza

759-424: The last several years.) Situated at the eastern side of Hartford's downtown area, near Connecticut's landmark Old State House , this complex of office towers, commercial buildings, parking garages, and luxury apartments covers three city blocks, and is connected by a series of elevated pedestrian plazas and bridges. Constitution Plaza is considered by some as a "great-but-unfinished planning idea", and by others as

792-417: The main Plaza level. Most successful was the culmination of a 25-year effort through the much-regarded Riverfront Recapture initiative. Fulfilling a long-held planning goal, Constitution Plaza is now connected to the river's edge via a new (also elevated) pedestrian space that crosses over (a vastly reconfigured) Interstate 91 to a large waterfront amphitheater and walkways up-and-down river, and then across

825-551: The mid-1990s. The property was then owned by an investment group tied to religious order, several recent renovation attempts have been thwarted, due in large part to the high asking sale price for the property. After sitting empty for nearly a decade, the building reopened as luxury apartments known as Spectra in 2015. Tying all these buildings together are well-detailed, large pedestrian spaces and overstreet bridges that showcase stylish walkways and paved areas, planter beds with professionally maintained landscaping, large potted trees,

858-411: The pavilion, along with parts of One Constitution Plaza, were acquired by Trinity College as part of its downtown Hartford "Trinity Innovation Hub." Other structures include a U-shaped (former) retail court at its northern end, which was altered in the mid 1980s with a new five-level office complex 'piggybacked' on its eastern side that once housed Travelers Insurance Company 's Training Center, which

891-433: The plaza level was programmed to be a restaurant, but was used as office space for most of its history. This quirk was due to city fire codes that did not allow for issuance of an occupancy permit, since the structure did not exit directly onto an actual street. The building later housed a television studio for The Gayle King Show, a popular Italian restaurant and television studios for a fledging golf network. In February 2020

924-546: The plaza's original tenants and is regarded as the signature building of Constitution Plaza, and considered one of Connecticut's finest modern architectural treasures. For many years, its claim to trivia has been that it is the only "two-sided building" in the world. In addition to that, the Connecticut Science Center & Conference Center is adjacent to Constitution Plaza with Adrien's landing and walkway to East Hartford, Connecticut. A significant loss

957-430: The site for the "State House Square" office and mixed-use complex) A proposed arena and convention center was to be sited east of the Plaza across Columbus Boulevard and adjacent to I-91, but these facilities were also eliminated from the original plan and later moved a block west of Main Street in the mid 1970s, which became the original Hartford Civic Center and was rebuilt in the mid 2000s as today's XL Center . As

990-406: Was put under the designation of CT 2 . Tolls were removed about the time the bridge was connected to I-91 and I-84 . In the late 1980s the bridge was considered for rebuilding to accompany a riverfront plaza being planned in the area. This led the state to rebuild the bridge in 1994 to add lanes, a large sidewalk, and path connections to East Hartford and Hartford. This rebuilding also eliminated

1023-476: Was the demolition of the landmark 'Broadcast House' building which sat the SE corner of the Plaza at State and Commerce Street, and was the first building completed at Constitution Plaza in 1961. Vacated in 2007 and demolished in 2009, it was the long-time home of local CBS affiliate station, WFSB-TV who moved to a new building in the suburb of Rocky Hill in mid-2007. 'Broadcast House' was originally constructed for

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1056-568: Was the first substantial urban redevelopment project in Hartford and replaced a run-down, working class , ethnic neighborhood known as Front Street. Subject to periodic flooding (before the construction of riverfront dikes and Interstate 91 ) and in serious physical decline, this neighborhood was nostalgically known for its large Italian-American population and its eclectic collection of local restaurants, businesses and shops. The merit of its wholesale demolition to accommodate Constitution Plaza

1089-757: Was the only bridge that led to downtown Hartford, so it was planned to build a bridge just downstream, called the State Street Bridge. In 1955 they renamed this planned bridge as the Founders Bridge. In the same year, the Greater Hartford Bridge Authority was created to help with this bridge's planning, along with the Putnam Bridge and the Bissell Bridge . The bridge opened on December 27, 1957, and

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