uconn99

Currently Delta flys to Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, while US Airways flys to Phoenix. Those are the longest non stop flights out of Hartford right now. Before 9/11 there were flights to San Francisco and Denver that never got reinstated after the economic fallout. Back in the early 90's there was talk of KLM and Air Jamaica coming into BDL, but things never made it off the drawing board. Problem BDL has is the proximity to Logan and JFK/EWR. However as BDL's passenger numbers continue to rise and the greater need for international travel occurs, I could see BDL getting at least one flight to a major European hub.

Wow, that makes the building look a lot nicer. It seems as though it looks different from the orginal plans, I really like how it looks now with the windows.

A lot has to blame on the 1938 Hurricane. During that storm numerous bridges were washed out along the Hartford-Providence line. Towns like Windham, Chaplin, and Killingly all lost passenger service after this. I don't know how many rail fans we have in here, but Willimantic used to be one of the largest centers of rail activity in New England and the Northeast. At one point you could hope on a train to Hartford, Providence, New Haven, New London/Norwich, and Boston. The old rail line which ran from Hartford to Willimantic is now a nature walk. Most if not all the bridges were made smaller for pedestrians. In the 70's there was talk of rebuilding the line from Willimantic to Hartford, and then once again in the 90's there was talk but nothing happened. The Hartford area could support some kind of Regional train service. It did in the past, however that was when the car was less of a need. If done right, there could be service like mentioned before from Hartford to Willimantic on the old lines. The only thing needed to be rebuilt would be the bridges, the most expensive part. A line from Willimantic to New London is still in use, but there hasn't been passenger service there for decades, the last being Amtrak's Montrealer which ended service to Windham in the mid 90's.

When the Hilton was renovated I wish they would have done something with the outside of the building. The lobby entrance looks nice now, but that tower still looks old and is kind of a eyesore in my oppinion.

Willimantic, Connecticut Frog Bridge (Sorry for the bad shots, I was in a moving car)

Hartford, Connecticut

Is it me or does the building have too much familar with the city place design. It looked nice in renderings, and I am sure there is yet to be alot done to the final exterior, but it looks close to design of city place with the exterior finish. Anyways, nice pictures. Where did you take the last two from? I do not recognize those spots.

What other board are you talking about? I would love to support Hartford in more than one board. In fact, there is a great Whalers site that has a message board which needs some more love. I posted the site under the Hartford sports topic. Check it out! MadVlad- I hope you don't mind I stole your avatar.

My name is Eric, grew up 25 miles east of Hartford in Windham. From growing up in a place like Windham, I can relate to what Hartford is going through. Windham/Willimantic to many is a town people would never think visit or live in. Like Hartford it is has gone through its share of bad times. Not too long ago Willimantic, along with Hartford were 2 of the great cities in New England. I hope to one day change that in Willimantic and hope in the years to come Hartford can once again be a place to go on a weeknight or weekend and not have such a bad rep it does now. Many don't know what is in Hartford, and if they knew they would be regulars. There is so much potential downtown. I am currently in Tempe, Arizona going to school. I love Arizona and Phoenix area, but in the end I will end up back in Connecticut. There is no substitute for the 4 seasons and the ocean which we don't have here in Phoenix.

I don't know if any of you have noticed that there is a live camera overlooking the new Hartford 21 development. THere are 4 cameras in total. http://www.northland.com Also, does anyone know if there is a web page with info about Hartford 21 other than the ceda site and northlands. I am interested in how much condos are going to go for, and possibly will be in the market to buy one. Post any new photos you may have of Hartford here too. I am going to be back in Connecticut next week and plan on taking hundreds of photos throughout the city.