Situated in Hartford, the Parkside Historic District, recognized by both local and national honchos, has hit a snag with the entrance of developer German Yakubov. The sticking points? His redevelopment projects-like the twin homes at 4204-06 Parkside Avenue, built in 1895 and crafted by Henry E. Flower, a local legend. These properties are recognized as 'significant' in the National Register of Historic Places District (since 1984) and the Hartford Register of Historic Places district (since 2009).
Frustrations have been bubbling among the locals, who worry about the community's future and the demolition of our historic buildings. The twin homes at 4204-06 Parkside Avenue are just one example of numerous development projects increasing in the area, with Haverford Square constructing multiple buildings.
Nine surviving buildings, a collection of high-style Queen Anne architecture, stand as one of Hartford's finest concentrations. They share a uniformity of placement and scale, with similar setbacks and massing, and all 2-1/2 stories set on brownstone foundations. Six boast brick exteriors, while the other three are frame structures finished in clapboards and shingles. All boast asymmetrical massing, with projecting gables and bays typical of the Queen Anne period.
Notable among them is the c. 1900 home of builder William Scoville at 190 Wethersfield Avenue, which has an octagonal tower at one corner. Scoville, a local genius, is credited with building this house and two others in the row, though it's unclear if he had a hand in the other houses in the district. Other architects involved in building houses in the district are Frederick Comstock (one) and Brooks Lincoln (three), but it's unclear how many houses or which specific buildings they are linked to.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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