Speaking

Historical Hartford Series

I have premiered a series of presentations at the Elmwood Senior Center in West Hartford that focus on the historic buildings of Hartford, Connecticut, so many of which are lost to us today. These Power Point talks feature numerous images, enlivened with anecdotes about Hartford places and personalities, to show how the city’s streetscapes have been transformed over time. Some of the talks focus on specific streets and neighborhoods, while others look at examples of a certain types of buildings. I have also presented many of these Historic Hartford topics at the South Windsor Senior Center and at Brookdale Chatfield Senior Living in West Hartford. Please contact me if you are interested in booking any of these presentations. There are many additional topics that I am currently developing!

Topics of Past Presentations of Historical Hartford

Highlights of Asylum Street, Elmwood Senior Center, January 23, 2019
A Walk Through Hartford’s Old East Side: Front Street, State Street and Commerce Street, Elmwood Senior Center, February 21, 2019
Nook Farm: The Hartford Neighborhood of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, Elmwood Senior Center, March 27, 2019
The Growth and Destruction of Hartford Public High School, Elmwood Senior Center, June 26, 2019
Theaters of Hartford, Elmwood Senior Center, July 24, 2019
Grand Houses of Hartford, Elmwood Senior Center, August 21, 2019
Hartford’s Bushnell Plaza, Elmwood Senior Center, September 25, 2019
Hartford’s Historic Insurance Company Buildings, Elmwood Senior Center, October 30, 2019
Three Historic Hartford Thoroughfares: Market Street, Pearl Street and Capitol Avenue, Elmwood Senior Center, November 20, 2019
Hartford’s Wasdsworth Antheneum and Historic Prospect Street, Elmwood Senior Center, January 29, 2020
Hartford’s Grand Hotels, Elmwood Senior Center, February 26, 2020
Hartford’s Department Stores, West Hartford Senior Centers, presented virtually on Zoom, October 8, 2020
Hartford’s Lost Colonial Houses, West Hartford Senior Centers, presented virtually on Zoom, November 12, 2020
Hartford’s Historic Churches and Synagogues, West Hartford Senior Centers, presented virtually on Zoom, December 10. 2020

Great Buildings of Hartford Course

I taught several multi-week continuing education courses for West Hartford LifeLearn (Summer 2016, Summer 2018, Fall 2018 and Summer 2019). Like my Historical Hartford presentations, the “Great Buildings of Hartford” course covers downtown Hartford’s changing historic streetscapes, with a focus on lost buildings and how successive waves of construction, demolition and alteration have led to the city’s current built environment..

Other Book Talks, Tours and Presentations about Hartford

State House Square 360 Walking Tour for Connecticut’s Old State House, June 10, 2023
Wethersfield Senior Center, September 21, 2018
Babcock Library, Ashford CT, May 12, 2017
Ellington Historical Society, September 22, 2016
The Hartford Club, 2015
Nook Farm Book Talk at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center/Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford September 3, 2014
Burlington Public Library, March 12, 2014
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford, November 14, 2013
Enfield Public Library, October 2013
West Hartford Public Library, October 3, 2013
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford, October 4, 2012
Nook Farm Book Talk, Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford, September 20, 2012