Saving a West End Home: The Beginning

Note: This post continues our series on Saving a West End Home. Jan Klein thought about the run-down house next door again. She’d been thinking about it a lot since it was listed for sale. It was an attractive home, one with a considerable amount of architectural character, but it was in desperate need of a new owner who would be willing to take on the years of cumulative wear. As a long-time resident of

Saving a West End Home

Historic preservation is a labor of love, with individuals and small groups fighting to restore pieces of our collective past. Two families in Hartford’s West End, the Kleins and the Winkleys, have stepped up to personally commit their resources and talents to revitalize a historic home in their neighborhood. By the time they’re finished, the team will have transformed a poorly maintained and out-of-date structure into a brand new Shingle style home circa 1905. For

Keney Memorial Clock Tower

Just north of Downtown Hartford, behind a wrought iron fence, a red stone tower rises from a grassy field. It serves as a reminder of the Keney family’s presence in 19th century Hartford and stands guard over the busy six-way intersection that historically formed the northern gateway to the city center. The Keney Memorial Clock Tower was built in 1898 with funds from the will of Henry Keney. Although the structure appears as though it

Hartford Public Safety Complex

Work continues on the future Hartford Public Safety Complex on High Street. These pictures show the progress as of Saturday, June 27, 2009. The current schedule calls for the project to be complete in April 2011, and look something like this. The roof of the former Hartford Board of Education building has been removed as crews work to preserve the historic brick facade. Looking into the structure, the second floor railing and spindles are visible

Tiny Houses in Connecticut

I saw this structure while driving on Interstate 91. It’s most likely not a tiny house since the Jamaica Cottage Shop doesn’t claim to make them. But it did get me thinking about the idea again. A couple years ago I saw my first photo feature on so-called tiny houses. For those not familiar with the concept, a tiny house tries to pack all the essential features of a dwelling into a very small structure.