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Since I'll hopefully be in Hartford visiting soon, where were those photos taken from?

- Garris

Providence, RI

Both are from the East Hartford side of the river, the first one may be the top of Founders Plaza, the second is probably from the far side of one of the dykes by the Riverfront apartments....

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I was walking around downtown today and I noticed they had started to put in the sunroom/atrium/(i don't really know?) glass and it looks really nice. Here's a pic.

IMG_4196.jpg

Also cool was the fact that the Connecticut river was flooded like 10 feet over its banks because of the week of hell (rain).

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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.

Thats what I thought too, but I looked at the original renderings and the windows are there. The renderings just always showed the North/South facades and the windows are on the East/West facades.

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Looks great. Thanks for braving the elements in order to get the pics LItoCT. I am also pleased with the outcome of the glass so far, because I've been watching it go up via the webcam on Northland's site, and the glass doesn't look all that good from their perspective.

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Oct. 30th - From Reservoir #6 (entrance on rt. 44 on Avon Mountain).

Hartfordskylinefromreservoir6Oct200.jpg

Interesting to note that from this vantage point, the trees block buildings up to 200ft in height. A good example are the two SNET buildings directly to the right of the Travelers Tower. They are each about 215ft tall, and only their roofs are showing.

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Thanks Tycoon. You're right, the impact of the building on the skyline is substantial. Funny thing is, it didn't look all that tall until it topped out IMO. Look at how it towers over the 365ft Fleet Bank building just behind it, and comes close to the rooftop of Goodwin Square (my guess is Goodwin Square's roof is around 485ft). On Sunday I'm hoping to go downtown and get some close-ups.

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I've always admired the Hartford skyline, and Hartford 21 is a welcome addition, as any residential tower would be. The view coming from East Hartford on 291 is the best, especially when crossing the Connecticut River at sunset.

That said, I think the skyline gives passers-by a false sense of density. There aren't as many low-rise buildings as one would think; in Hartford it's either skyscraper or surface parking. That said, the city should push for the development of a four-storey townhouse neighboorhood near the State Capitol on that enormous parking lot, IMO, to offer greater diversity of residential supply.

High rise building may be part of the answer to creating 24hr activity downtown, but I believe larger townhomes are needed to round out the vision.

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^ That is actually the plan for that neighborhood. Developer Phil Schonberger controls that property and I remember a couple years ago the Courant doing a story on his vision for a townhouse filled neighborhood. West St was going to be flanked by two high rises on Bushnell Park creating a kind of gateway to the neighborhood. Capitol Ave was going to be the main thoroughfare with retail at ground level. The architecture was going to tie in with the existing brownstones and Victorian buildings on the east end of Capitol and Buckingham Streets. The story even included a rendering by Smith Edwards Architects. Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about this project since.

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Right, I remember reading that a while back, and there was mention of it over the summer as well, but nothing specific as to the progress of the project.

It's a great plan for the area, and I hope it doesn't fall by the wayside.

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Right, I remember reading that a while back, and there was mention of it over the summer as well, but nothing specific as to the progress of the project.

It's a great plan for the area, and I hope it doesn't fall by the wayside.

I would like to think it's still in the works. That plan is such a massive undertaking that developers will need to be very comfortable that Hartford has arrived before getting to work on something that large. I do know that that is the City Hall endorsed plan for the area though.

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This is a necessary amenity in downtown Hartford, but with a population of about 800 as of the last census, I don't think it could be sustained until several of the projects have been completed. Eventually, I'm sure a Whole Foods will be there.

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