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 By the time they’re finished, the team will have transformed a poorly maintained and out-of-date structure into a brand new Shingle style home circa 1905.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

Proud Parents

They sure do grow up quickly! It seems like just yesterday we were preparing to raise our very own little ones. Carefully preparing the bed, gathering the necessary accesories, and mixing the right amount of food. And now, just look at them, we couldn’t be prouder. This has been our best tomato crop ever – by a large margin. The small plants pictured in our late-May post have grown to the size of small shrubs

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

Creative Writing in Hartford

While riding my bike past The Beacon Light and Supply Company’s Walnut Street facility on the day it didn’t rain, I noticed their fantastic sign with the vintage-modern lettering. But the official sign is not nearly as interesting as the mural that Quirk Middle School students have drawn on the lower portion of the wall. Very creative – a modern version of the painted ads that used to be common on the side of city