http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Heather/Where%20We%20Live%2008-01-2013.mp3
You might’ve noticed a slideshow at the Hartford Courant website comparing what used to be on various downtown street corners, and what’s there now. It shows some pretty stark contrasts. Multiple, narrow stone structures were demolished to make way for, in some cases, enormous buildings that take up half a city block... and in others, maybe no buildings at all.
Every city changes over time. But Hartford’s downtown seems to be slowly disappearing.
Today, we’ll talk with the author of Vanished Downtown Hartford about historic buildings that was once were, and what has taken their place. Not everything is worth preserving. How do we decide what to keep, and what to erase from the landscape? We’ll talk also with a preservationist, an architect, and a developer about the decisions they weigh when it comes to saving buildings or starting from scratch.
We’re broadcasting live from our pop-up storefront in downtown Hartford, on Trumbull Street, in Hartford 21 next the XL Center entrance, part of the iConnect project.