Greater Hartford Guide For New Residents & Visitors SPRING 2018 5 General Information and Important Town Phone Numbers and Websites 7 Hartford History and Information 8 Hartford Nightlife 10 Dining in Greater Hartford 12 Major Hartford Events & Festivals 14 Greater Hartford Recreation 16 Craft Brewery and Distillery Trail 17 Hartford Attractions 18 Hartford Yard Goats and Dunkin Donuts Stadium 20 Riverfront Recapture 23 Front Street Returns 24 DASH Downtown Hartford Free Shuttle Map 26 Unique Pratt Street 27 Walking Hartford 29 The Historic Arch Street Tavern 33 Hartford Park System 35 Shopping Centers 36 Bradley and Brainard Airports 37 Getting Around (Air / Rail / Road) Greater Hartford Guide is published by 38 Surrounding Towns: Bloomfield & East Hartford Hartford Publications 39 Surrounding Towns: Newington 563 Franklin Avenue, Hartford, CT 06114 Tel: (860) 296-6128 Fax: (866) 875-3785 40 Surrounding Towns: West Hartford e-mail: [email protected] 41 Surrounding Towns: Wethersfield & Windsor Co-Publishers Mike McGarry & Jon Harden 43 Greater Hartford Higher Education The publisher does not assume responsibility for errors, omissions and changes in advertising or editorial material. 44 Hotels and Motels Advertising rates are available upon request. Entire con- tents are copyrighted and no portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means without specific written 46 Update on Coltsville, Hartford’s new National Park permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Copyright 2018 To purchase additional copies of the Greater Hartford Guide, call Hartford Publications at 860-296-6128 or email [email protected]. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 3 Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, is the center of a thriving network of diverse and distinctive suburbs. The city is located at the junction of two major highways, I-84 and I-91, providing easy access to the surrounding towns. HANDY SOURCES OF INFORMATION (Area Code 860 unless otherwise noted) “The Blue Book” State of Connecticut MetroHartford Alliance: 31 Pratt Greater Hartford Social Services: 211 Register and Manual: Available from Street, Hartford, 860-525-4451, or 1-800-505-2000 (Emergency 911). the Secretary of State’s office, 14 Trin- www.metrohartford.com. Housing, health needs, referrals. ity Street, Hartford or online: www.sots.ct.gov. Contains a wealth of City of Hartford: For information on al- Greater Hartford Arts Council: information about federal, state and most any City Department, call the info 860-525-8629, www.letsgoarts.org. local government. line at 311 or call the general number at Regional arts coordinators and funders. 860-757-9500. Or go online to Connecticut Business and Industry hartford.gov Go to hartford.com for info on dining, Association: Call 860-244-1900 for info. shopping, events and more. IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS (Area Code 860 unless otherwise noted) STATE OF CONNECTICUT ORGANIZATIONS PARKING General Number..........................................................622-2200 MetroHartford Alliance................................................525-4451 Hartford Parking Authority (hartfordparking.com).......757-0720 Attorney General.........................................................808-5318 CRCOG.......................................................................522-2217 Children & Families (DCF) ...........................................550-6300 Capital Reg. Education Council....................................247-2732 Commission on Aging ................................................240-5200 Capital Workforce Partners .........................................522-1111 HOSPITALS Comm. on Culture & Tourism......................................256-2800 Connecticut Humanities Cncl. .....................................685-2260 Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center ......................714-4000 Consumer Protection...........................................800-842-2649 Htfd. Consort. for Higher Ed........................................702-3802 Hartford Hospital ........................................................545-5000 Education Department ................................................713-6543 Cap. Region Conf. of Churches ......................................247-0017 Connecticut Children’s Medical Center................................545-9000 Environmental Protection Dept. ...................................424-3000 Knox Parks Foundation ...............................................951-7694 Institute Of Living ................................................800-673-2411 Governor’s Office .......................................................566-4840 Connecticut VA Healthcare System .............................666-6951 JUDICIAL BRANCH Civil Court ..................................................................548-2700 UTILITIES Criminal Court ............................................................566-1630 Electricity, Eversource.................................................286-5000 CHILDREN/YOUTH Supreme/Appellate Court............................................757-2200 Gas, CTG Resources ..................................................727-3000 Child Abuse Hotline......................................................800-842-2288 Labor Department, Information ...................................263-6000 Telephone Information..........................................................411 Child Support Center....................................................800-228-KIDS Latino & Puerto Rican Affairs......................................240-8330 Call Before You Dig ..............................................................811 DCF Adoption Information............................................800-842-6347 League of Women Voters .........................................203-288-7996 Water, MDC ................................................................278-7850 HUSKY Healthcare for Uninsured Children ................877-CT-HUSKY Motor Vehicle Department...........................................263-5700 National Center for Missing Children............................800-843-5678 PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT Nat. Runaway Switchbrd...............................................800-RUNAWAY Emergency (After Hours)..........................................509-8000 HEALTH INFORMATION Main Office ..............................................................509-8000 Public Works, Commissioner ......................................713-5100 AIDS Project Htfd. Hotline ...........................................247-2437 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT VENUES Revenue Services.......................................................297-5962 Alzheimer’s Association ......................................800-272-3900 Social Services, General Info ......................................424-4908 American Cancer Society ....................................800-492-7161 Infinity Hall, Hartford............................................................560-7757 Transportation Department......................................................... American Diabetes Assn......................................800-842-6323 Rentschler Stadium, East Hartford ......................................610-4700 594-2000 Cancer Care .......................................................800-813-HOPE Xfinity Theater, Hartford.......................................................548-7370 Cancer Infor Servic..............................................800-4CANCER XL Center, Hartford .............................................................249-6333 4 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 5 artford is the capital of Connecti- around the globe, each of which has left its ing center attracted Mark Twain, who cut and is often called “The Insur- mark on the city. Nineteenth-century Hart- moved in next door to Hartford native Har- ance Capital of the World,” since ford was also one of the most forward- riet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Hit is home to many major insurance corpo- thinking cities in America in terms of Cabin. Both homes have been restored and rations, such as Aetna, Travelers and The culture. are among the city’s most prominent at- Hartford Insurance group. Although its The Wadsworth Atheneum is the coun- tractions (see pages 9 - 13). Just down the population has decreased since reaching a try’s oldest public art museum; Bushnell street from the Stowe House lived a little peak of approximately 164,000 in the early Park is the country’s first publicly-funded tomboy who would go on to become one 1960s, Hartford remains the region’s of the greatest actresses Hollywood has largest city and its cultural and employ- ever produced, Katherine Hepburn, who is ment center. Hartford was founded in 1636 buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, another of by Reverend Thomas Hooker, whose ser- Hartford’s magnificent attractions. Today, mon on liberty became the basis for Con- Hartford is a richly diverse urban center. necticut’s Fundamental Orders, adopted in The city’s many festivals and events reflect 1639 and considered by some to be the its population composed of African-Amer- first written Constitution in the Western icans, Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, Brazilians, tradition. For its first 200 years, Hartford Italians, Bosnians, Peruvians, Indians, was a relatively minor river port and trad- Guyanese, Mexicans, Burmese, Albanians, ing center. That all began to change when Chinese,