The industrial history of Parkville in Hartford

Parkville is a neighborhood on the West Side of Hartford, Connecticut, nestled between I-84 and the West Hartford Town line. Centered on Park Street, it stretches from the Railroad Overpass near Pope Park to the West Hartford boundary, and from Capitol Avenue to I-84. Once a rural area, it transformed into a bustling industrial center starting in 1873 when Michael Kane established a brickyard off New Park Avenue, heralding a period of rapid growth.

The Kane Brickyard quickly became one of the leading brick-makers in the state, providing materials for projects such as Trinity College, the Travelers Tower, the Hartford Times Building, the state library and the Connecticut State Capitol building. Factories such as the Pope Manufacturing Company, Underwood Typewriter Company, Royal Typewriter Company, the Gray Pay Telephone Company, and Hartford Rubber Works sprang up, earning Hartford the nickname 'Typewriter Capital of the World'. Immigrants from various countries, including Irish, French-Canadian, Scandinavian, and German, flocked to work in these factories.

Housing development followed the population growth, with houses built between 1890 and 1917 making up the bulk of Parkville's existing housing stock. However, the post World War II era and the construction of Interstate 84 disrupted the neighborhood, causing many families to migrate to the suburbs. The Portuguese community later made Parkville their home, and today, the neighborhood is home to a large population of Brazilians, Puerto Ricans, Caribbean, and American Blacks.

Real Art Ways, founded in 1975, brings art and creativity to the neighborhood, with contemporary exhibits, live performances, and community involvement. The Hartford Preservation Alliance, which works to preserve Hartford's architecture, is also based here, in the former Underwood Typewriter building on Arbor Street.

Parkville station is one of four in Hartford on the CTfastrak bus rapid transit line, connecting Downtown to New Britain.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons