Plan of Hartford, showing the Hartford Civic Center
DraftsmanProbably drawn by
Harry J. Danos and Associates
(American, founded 1969)
Datebefore 1975
MediumDrawing; black ink and marker on wove paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 19 1/2 x 36 1/8in. (49.5 x 91.8cm)
Sheet (height x width): 24 1/8 x 36 1/8in. (61.3 x 91.8cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2012.312.226
DescriptionMap of the streets and buildings comprising downtown Hartford, Connecticut, with the Civic Center in the middle. The interstate highways that run through the city are shown but are not labeled. North of the Civic Center are two unnamed buildings sketched in pencil. Union Station is denoted with railroad tracks and is referred to as "Transportation." Many of the streets are labeled: Church, Asylum, Ann, Trumbull, Main, Pratt and Market. The three blocks between Trumbull and Main Streets are labeled "Commercial," and the area just east of Market Street is labeled "Plaza" and "Office." Arrows with one, two, or three bars are shown pointing in the four cardinal directions, with two arrows pointing east.
Label TextHartford city planners believed that the construction of a civic center with a sports arena and exhibition spaces was essential to the future economic well-being of the community and an important step towards the solution of its urban problems. This diagram, probably drawn by a member of the firm of Harry J. Danos and Associates, relates the projected civic center to Hartford's highways and railroads which would channel spectators to the site. The assumption was that people would be coming from out-of-town to attend sports events and expos, bringing new life to downtown Hartford, which was suffering from competition from suburban shopping centers as well as from a growing perception of the inner city as a dangerous place.
NotesCartographic Note: No scaleStatus
Not on view
