Respecting the Past, Breaking New Ground (Spring 2005)

The Southside of Hartford is making way for the city's new Community Sports Complex. Created by a project partnership between SINA and Trinity College, the Complex may be the first urban community athletic facility of its kind in the country that connects neighborhood families with the resources of a liberal arts college. Indeed, the project signifies a dream fulfilled for the Southside community.

"We are thrilled to see this vision coming true," expressed Edie Lacey, Chairperson of Frog Hollow South Neighborhood Revital-ization Zone. "The idea for the complex came from a lot of communication between the neighborhood and the institu­tions. We had a common goal and we are working together to make it a reality," she said.

While advancement of the project is the overall objective, leaders have given special attention to preserving history in the process. When it was discovered that one of the buildings scheduled for demolition might be one of Hartford's oldest still-standing structures, Trinity College agreed to delay demolition to permit dismantling of the house. Trinity also invested staff time and made equipment available to assist the dismantling and storage project, which was organized and supervised by Steve Bielitz of the Glastonbury Restoration Co. and Bill Gould of Architectural Preservation.

"Trinity is committed to preserving history while creating much needed recreational space for children and adults in the city of Hartford. We were happy to work with the Hartford Preservation Alliance, Bill Gould and Steve Bielitz to preserve the integrity of the structure," Trinity College's Director of Community & Institu­tional Relations Jackie Mandyck expressed.

The building, which was located at 1805 Broad Street, just south of the corner of New Britain Avenue, dates to about 1740, and is described in Hartford Architecture, Volume Two: South Neighborhoods as "one of the few reminders of [Hartford's] colonial, rural past." It is believed that the house was originally located elsewhere in Hartford and subsequently moved, leav­ing behind its original central chimney. Decades of alterations changed both its exterior and interior appearance; but the dismantling of the house revealed its original timbering and frame.