Hartford's North End - A Chill Trip through Capen-Clark

Hartford's North End, a cool spot between Main and Enfield Streets, feels like a party secret, but it's been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. This district was as lively as the Wild West, with Spring Grove Cemetery, founded in 1845, dividing the older Clay-Arsenal district from the booming North End. After the Civil War, residential development kicked off, and Capen Street got paved from 1867 to 1873, resulting in some fancy Italianate homes and Second Empire mansions.

Owing to economic troubles in the 1870s, it led to the end of that era and the commencement of infill development, giving rise to Queen Anne Victorians when Hartford's streetcar network expanded. Capen Street, snaking east-west between Main and Enfield Streets, creates a pretty boundary with Spring Grove Cemetery to the south. The buildings here range from 1-1/2 to three stories, serving up a mixed bag of housing types, such as single-family homes, two-family houses, triple-deckers, and apartment blocks.

Non-residential buildings include a community center in an old school complex and a church. So, slip on your shoes and cruise through this time capsule to let Hartford's North End's history sweep you away!

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons