Ladies and gentlemen for your viewing pleasure - the Buttugly Building

[beerbeer]

Getting rid of that building would make the site more desirable because the new owners or developers would not have to incur the cost of demolishing it.

For the folks that want to save this monstrosity, if this is such a great building, why has it been abandoned for two decades?

[Bill Mocarsky]

Getting rid of that building would make the site more desirable because the new owners or developers would not have to incur the cost of demolishing it.

For the folks that want to save this monstrosity, if this is such a great building, why has it been abandoned for two decades?

[jcrc]

If I miss the bus, I often park across the street from this building. It's not hurting anyone and causes no problems. There is absolutely no reason to demolish this building. If anything it should be mothballed, if its possible after this much time.

If this building wasn't there, people would probably get vertigo from traveling through so many parking lots in the area. It's also a landmark. Without it, after you leave downtown you'll feel like you're going into outerspace.

[HartfordTycoon]

Mothball? Probably? Landmark?

Look, if I have a huge zit on my face, I am not going to try to save it by mothballing it. My thinking is without such a landmark zit that looks like a third eye, girls probably would think I am cute, and I'll probably score more.

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

It probably costs more to tear it down than the revenue that would be generated from making it a parking lot. No doubt there is asbestos in there, so they let it sit. Besides, there is plenty of other prime real estate sitting undeveloped in Hartford lacking any private investment interest.

[Luca Brasi]

If I miss the bus, I often park across the street from this building. It's not hurting anyone and causes no problems. There is absolutely no reason to demolish this building. If anything it should be mothballed, if its possible after this much time.

[drc72]

Mothball? Probably? Landmark?

Look, if I have a huge zit on my face, I am not going to try to save it by mothballing it. My thinking is without such a landmark zit that looks like a third eye, girls probably would think I am cute, and I'll probably score more.

[mikel]

Mothball? Probably? Landmark?

Look, if I have a huge zit on my face, I am not going to try to save it by mothballing it. My thinking is without such a landmark zit that looks like a third eye, girls probably would think I am cute, and I'll probably score more.

[MadVlad]

I meant landmark in the literal sense.

"b : an anatomical structure used as a point of orientation in locating other structures"

Without it, we can tell people "turn after the third parking lot" when giving directions...

Walking down Trumbull, I head towards the building, and can see my destination. Without it, I'm headed into the horizon. It serves a purpose, as unimportant as that seem to some.

I also think the building could be salvagable, if there's ever any development around there..

[mikel]

So, in theory, you use the building to find your car. Seems like there could better ways to do that than save a derelict, non-descript, not-architecturally significant building...

[MadVlad]

Think a bit harder. There's little reasons for things that aren't exactly obvious, such as saving one building in a sea of parking.

[JimSawhill]

I would say it partly has to do with the location. It is isolated. Look at all the surrounding lots that are not even developed.

A little off topic: Is the corner of Main and Asylum a prime site? It has been left undeveloped for nearly two decades.

[JimSawhill]

I meant landmark in the literal sense.

"b : an anatomical structure used as a point of orientation in locating other structures"

Without it, we can tell people "turn after the third parking lot" when giving directions...

Walking down Trumbull, I head towards the building, and can see my destination. Without it, I'm headed into the horizon. It serves a purpose, as unimportant as that seem to some.

I also think the building could be salvagable, if there's ever any development around there..

[mikel]

mikel;

I don't have to worry about where my SUV is!! It is a unique SUV that I have -- a NAVISTAR CTX, bigger then a Hummer. Ain't FREEDOM nice!!!???

JimS

[JimSawhill]

How do retarded people find themselves using the internet? Do you have a guide or something that does the typing and navigation?

[Theophrastus Bombastus]

-

[MadVlad]

We made the papers! See Paragraph 5.

Landmark Eyesores

February 12, 2007

Some eyesores in Hartford are so prominent - and long lasting - that people are drawn more to the blight than to the expanse of new construction around them. Plans to restore or replace these ruins are ever in the works but slow to come to fruition. It's long past time they did.

Perhaps the worst example is the vacant Capitol West office building on Myrtle Street near the Asylum Street exit off I-84. Its shocking, broken-eye-socket windows cause rubbernecking delays on the highway and exit. The shell of a building is a terrible welcome sign for Hartford.

A subsidiary of the Morgan Reed Group bought the building years ago and then went bankrupt. Brooklyn, N.Y., developer Joshua Guttman bought the property in 2004 at a bankruptcy auction with plans to turn it into a market-rate apartment building, only to discover that it required extensive asbestos removal. Mr. Guttman's attorney, Coleman Levy, says the developer has one more floor to clean out, clearing the way for a spring groundbreaking. We will hold our breath, but not for long.

A second major eyesore, the H.B. Davis building at the intersection of Main and Trumbull streets, is owned by a company headed by Robert Danial, who also runs the Morgan Reed Group. Morgan Reed has a knack for purchasing vacant Hartford properties that stay that way for years.

This property is so desolate that locals renamed it the Butt-Ugly Building. Four months ago, a reputable Hartford builder, Joseph Citino, was negotiating to buy the property from Mr. Danial to tear it down and put a condominium complex in its place. So far, no progress has been reported.

Another landmark eyesore is the crumbling city-owned Lyric Theater on rapidly improving Park Street. Plans call for the nonprofit Broad-Park Development Corp. to resurrect the site as a public library and sorely needed regional cultural center.

Securing financing, however, has been difficult. Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office is just now discussing the possibility of providing about $10 million in bond money for the project. Cross your fingers. The Lyric is worth saving.

Hartford will look much better when these wrecks are upgraded or replaced.