Editing Hartford, Connecticut (section)

==History==

{{Main|History of Hartford, Connecticut}}
{{For timeline}}

Various [[Native American tribes]] lived in or around Hartford, all [[Algonquian peoples]]. These included the [[Podunk people|Podunks]], mostly east of the Connecticut River; the Poquonocks north and west of Hartford; the Massacoes in the [[Simsbury, Connecticut|Simsbury]] area; the [[Tunxis]] tribe in [[West Hartford, Connecticut|West Hartford]] and [[Farmington, Connecticut|Farmington]]; the [[Wangunk]]s to the south; and the [[Saukiog]] in Hartford itself.<ref>Bacon, Nick. 2013. "Podunk after Pratt: Place and Placelessness in East Hartford, CT."  p. 46–64 in ''Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England's Forgotten Cities''. Xiangming Chen and Nick Bacon (eds). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.</ref>

===Colonial Hartford===

[[File:Hartford, Connecticut (NYPL b12349142-422931).jpg|thumb|Hartford, {{circa|1770s}}|left]]
The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch]] under [[Adriaen Block]], who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders from [[New Amsterdam]] returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post and fortify the area for the [[Dutch West India Company]]. The original site was located on the south bank of the [[Park River (Connecticut)|Park River]] in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called [[Fort Hoop]] or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the [[Pequot]] chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps a couple of families and a few dozen soldiers. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is known today as Dutch Point; the name of the Dutch fort "House of Hope" is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sterner|first=Daniel|title=A Guide to Historic Hartford, Connecticut|year=2012|publisher=The History Press|isbn=978-1-60949-635-7|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6QkVFi7l6UC&q=sheldon+charter+oak+neighborhood&pg=PA81|access-date=August 16, 2014}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=House of Hope |url=http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/a-tour-of-new-netherland/connecticut/house-of-hope/ |publisher=The New Netherland Institute |access-date=April 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150410075959/http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/a-tour-of-new-netherland/connecticut/house-of-hope |archive-date=April 10, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> A significant reason for establishment of the Dutch trading post was to better control the flow of [[wampum]], the de facto currency of New Netherland and portions of New England, to and from valuable Native American fur traders.<ref>Peterson, Mark. The City-State of Boston. Princeton University Press, 2019, page 48.</ref>

The Dutch outpost and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers who were stationed there did little to check the English migration, and the Dutch soon realized that they were vastly outnumbered. The House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. In 1650, [[Peter Stuyvesant]] met with English representatives to negotiate a permanent boundary between the Dutch and English colonies; the line that they agreed on was more than {{convert|50|mi|km}} west of the original settlement.

The English began to arrive in 1636, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Scaeva
 | title = Hartford in the Olden Time, Its First Thirty Years
 | publisher = F.A. Brown
 | edition = 1st
 | date = 1853
 | location = Hartford
 | pages = 25–36
 }}</ref> [[Puritan]] pastors [[Thomas Hooker]] and [[Samuel Stone]], along with Governor [[John Haynes (governor)|John Haynes]], led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown in the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] (now [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]) and started their settlement just north of the Dutch fort.<ref>Walsh, Andrew. "Hartford: A Global History." pp.&nbsp;21–45 in ''Confronting Urban Legacy: Rediscovering Hartford and New England's Forgotten Cities''. Xiangming Chen and Nick Bacon (eds.). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books</ref> The settlement was originally called Newtown, but it was changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stone's hometown of [[Hertford, England|Hertford]], England. Hooker also created the nearby town of [[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]] in 1633.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shuffelton|first=Frank |title=Thomas Hooker, 1586–1647 |year=1977|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-61327-7 |page=212 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=NZl9BgAAQBAJ&q=Suckiaug&pg=PA212 |access-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref> The etymology of ''Hartford'' is the [[ford (crossing)|ford]] where ''[[hart (deer)|harts]]'' cross, or "deer crossing."

As the Puritan minister in Hartford, Thomas Hooker wielded a great deal of power; in 1638, he delivered a sermon that inspired the writing of the [[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut]], which provided a framework for Connecticut's separation for [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] and the formation of a civil government. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the legal basis for Connecticut Colony until the [[History of the Connecticut Constitution|1662 royal charter]] granted to Connecticut by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Nancy Finlay|url=https://connecticuthistory.org/thomas-hooker-connecticuts-founding-father/|title=Thomas Hooker: Connecticut's Founding Father|date=September 22, 2020|website=ConnecticutHistory.org}}</ref>

The original settlement area contained the site of the [[Charter Oak]], an old white oak tree in which colonists hid [[Connecticut Constitutional History#The Connecticut Charter of 1662|Connecticut's Royal Charter of 1662]] to protect it from confiscation by an English governor-general. The state adopted the oak tree as the emblem on the Connecticut state quarter. The Charter Oak Monument is located at the corner of Charter Oak Place, a historic street, and Charter Oak Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Charter Oak Fell – Today in History: August 21|url=http://connecticuthistory.org/the-charter-oak-fell/|website=connecticuthistory.org|publisher=Connecticut Humanities|access-date=August 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728110520/http://connecticuthistory.org/the-charter-oak-fell/|archive-date=July 28, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===19th century===

[[File:OldHartfordMap.jpg|thumb|1877 map of Hartford|220x220px|left]]

====Political turmoil====

[[File:State Street Looking East, Hartford, CT.jpg|thumb|220x220px|State Street in 1914|left]]

On December 15, 1814, delegates from the five [[New England]] states ([[Maine]] was still part of [[Massachusetts]] at that time) gathered at the [[Hartford Convention]] to discuss New England's possible [[secession]] from the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Hartford-Convention|title=Hartford Convention {{!}} United States history|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507231518/https://www.britannica.com/event/Hartford-Convention|archive-date=May 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> During the early 19th century, the Hartford area was a center of [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] activity, and the most famous abolitionist family was the Beechers. The Reverend [[Lyman Beecher]] was an important Congregational minister known for his anti-slavery sermons.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/lyman-beecher.html|title=God in America – People – Lyman Beecher|work=God in America|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429164855/http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/people/lyman-beecher.html|archive-date=April 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Lyman_Beecher|title=Lyman Beecher – Ohio History Central|website=ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506054110/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Lyman_Beecher|archive-date=May 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> His daughter [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]] wrote ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''; her brother [[Henry Ward Beecher]] was a noted clergyman who vehemently opposed slavery and supported the temperance movement and women's suffrage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harriet_B._Stowe|title=Harriet B. Stowe – Ohio History Central|website=ohiohistorycentral.org|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516151333/http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harriet_B._Stowe|archive-date=May 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/hbs/|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170525015804/https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/hbs/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 25, 2017|title=Harriet Beecher Stowe's Life|website=harrietbeecherstowecenter.org|access-date=April 30, 2017}}</ref> The Stowes' sister [[Isabella Beecher Hooker]] was a leading member of the [[feminism|women's rights movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/isabella-beecher-hooker/|title=Education & Resources – National Women's History Museum – NWHM|website=nwhm.org|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108015237/https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/isabella-beecher-hooker/|archive-date=November 8, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:PostcardBulkeleyBridgeHartfordCT19061916.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Bulkeley Bridge, {{circa|1906}}–1916|left]]

In 1860, Hartford was the site of the first "[[Wide Awakes]]", abolitionist supporters of [[Abraham Lincoln]]. These supporters organized torch-light parades that were both political and social events, often including fireworks and music, in celebration of Lincoln's visit to the city. This type of event caught on and eventually became a staple of mid-to-late 19th-century campaigning.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hartford Wide-Awakes – Today in History: July 26 |url=https://connecticuthistory.org/hartford-wide-awakes-today-in-history/ |website=Connecticuthistory.org |access-date=April 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501231223/http://connecticuthistory.org/hartford-wide-awakes-today-in-history/ |archive-date=May 1, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Hartford was a major manufacturing city from the 19th century until the mid-20th century. During the Industrial Revolution into the mid-20th century, the Connecticut River Valley cities produced many major precision manufacturing innovations. Among these was Hartford's pioneer bicycle and automobile maker [[Pope Manufacturing Company|Pope]].<ref>Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925'' (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.37.</ref> Many factories have been closed or relocated, or have reduced operations, as in nearly all former Northern manufacturing cities.

====Rise of a major manufacturing center====

[[File:Colt Armory (1857).jpg|220x220px|thumb|Colt's Armory from an 1857 engraving viewed from the east]] [[File:Hartfort CT Post Office and Customhouse, 1903.jpg|thumb|Old Post Office and Custom House next to the Old State House (left) in 1903. The building was completed in 1882 and demolished in 1934.|220x220px]] [[File:Underwood Typewriter factory 1911.png|thumbnail|left|Underwood Typewriter factory in Hartford, {{circa|1911}}–1912]]Around 1850, Hartford native Samuel Colt perfected the precision manufacturing process that enabled the mass production of thousands of his revolvers with interchangeable parts. A variety of industries adopted and adapted these techniques over the next several decades, and Hartford became the center of production for a wide array of products, including: [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]], [[Richard Gatling]], and [[John Browning]] firearms; Weed [[sewing machines]]; Columbia bicycles; Pope automobiles; and leading typewriter manufacturers [[Royal Typewriter Company]] and [[Underwood Typewriter Company]] which together made Hartford the “Typewriter Capitol of the World” during the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hintz|first1=Eric|title=Samuel Colt&nbsp;... and Sewing Machines?|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2012/06/samuel-coltand-sewing-machines-part-1.html|access-date=June 8, 2015|work=O, Say Can You See Blog|publisher=National Museum of American History|date=June 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608195811/http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2012/06/samuel-coltand-sewing-machines-part-1.html|archive-date=June 8, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems|Pratt & Whitney Company]] was founded in Hartford in 1860 by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney. They built a substantial factory in which the company manufactured a wide range of machine tools, including tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1925, the company expanded into aircraft engine design at its Hartford factory.

[[File:Connecticut - Hartford - NARA - 23936447 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Pratt & Whitney Factory, 1940]]

Just three years after Colt's first factory opened, the [[Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company]] set up shop in 1852 at a nearby site along the now-buried [[Park River (Connecticut)|Park River]], located in the present-day neighborhood of [[Frog Hollow, Hartford, Connecticut|Frog Hollow]]. Their factory heralded the beginning of the area's transformation from marshy farmland into a major industrial zone. The road leading from town to the factory was called Rifle Lane; the name was later changed to College Street and then Capitol Avenue.<ref name="Flayderman 2007 193–196">{{cite book|last=Flayderman|first=Norm|title=Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=THeWYkwoLSUC&pg=PA195|year=2007|publisher=F+W Media, Inc|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-0-89689-455-6|pages=193–196|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102051906/https://books.google.com/books?id=THeWYkwoLSUC&pg=PA195|archive-date=January 2, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A century earlier, mills had located along the Park River because of the water power, but by the 1850s water power was approaching obsolescence. Sharps located there specifically to take advantage of the railroad line that had been constructed alongside the river in 1838.

The Sharps Rifle Company failed in 1870, and the Weed Sewing Machine Company took over its factory. The invention of a new type of sewing machine led to a new application of mass production after the principles of interchangeability were applied to clocks and guns. The Weed Company played a major role in making Hartford one of three machine tool centers in New England and even outranked the [[Colt Armory]] in nearby Coltsville in size.<ref name="Flayderman 2007 193–196"/> Weed eventually became the birthplace of both the bicycle and automobile industries in Hartford.

Industrialist [[Albert Augustus Pope|Albert Pope]] was inspired by a British-made, high-wheeled bicycle (called a velocipede) that he saw at the [[Centennial Exposition|1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition]], and he bought patent rights for bicycle production in the United States. He wanted to contract out his first order, however, so he approached George Fairfield of Weed Sewing Machine Company, who produced Pope's first run of bicycles in 1878.<ref>{{cite web|title=Invention hot spot: Beginnings of mass production in 19th-century Hartford, Connecticut |url=http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/poi-hartford.aspx |website=invention.smithsonian.org |publisher=Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, Smithsonian Institution |access-date=August 15, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083138/http://invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/poi-hartford.aspx |archive-date=August 19, 2014 }}</ref> Bicycles proved to be a huge commercial success, and production expanded in the Weed factory, with Weed making every part but the tires. Demand for bicycles overshadowed the failing sewing machine market by 1890, so Pope bought the Weed factory, took over as its president, and renamed it the [[Pope Manufacturing Company]]. The bicycle boom was short-lived, peaking near the turn of the century when more and more consumers craved individual automobile travel, and Pope's company suffered financially from over-production amidst falling demand.

In an effort to save his business, Pope opened a motor carriage department and turned out electric carriages, beginning with the "Mark III" in 1897. His venture might have made Hartford the capital of the automobile industry were it not for the ascendancy of Henry Ford and a series of pitfalls and patent struggles that outlived Pope himself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goddard|first1=Stephen B.|title=Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machines: The Life and Times of a Bicycle Tycoon Turned Automotive Pioneer|date=December 30, 2008|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4089-4|pages=176–182}}</ref>

In 1876, Hartford Machine Screw was granted a charter "for the purpose of manufacturing screws, hardware and machinery of every variety." The basis for its incorporation was the invention of the first single-spindle automatic screw machine. For its next four years, the new firm occupied one of Weed's buildings, milling thousands of screws daily on over 50 machines. Its president was George Fairfield, who ran Weed, and its superintendent was Christopher Spencer, one of Connecticut's most versatile inventors. Soon Hartford Machine Screw outgrew its quarters and built a new factory adjacent to Weed, where it remained until 1948.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/12/nyregion/116-year-old-company-thrives-on-innovation.html|title=116-Year-Old Company Thrives on Innovation|last=Hamilton|first=Robert A.|date=April 12, 1992|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 30, 2017|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526054145/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/12/nyregion/116-year-old-company-thrives-on-innovation.html|archive-date=May 26, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

===20th century===

[[File:Constitution Plaza - Hartford, CT - DSC04945.jpg|thumb|221x221px|[[Constitution Plaza]]'s clock tower]]
On the week of April 12, 1909, the [[Connecticut River]] reached a record flood stage of {{convert|24.5|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} above the low-water mark, flooding the city of Hartford and doing great damage.<ref>{{cite news|title= Record-Breaking Flood at Hartford, Conn.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h-ADAAAAMBAJ&q=%22popular+mechanics%22+1907&pg=PA10|work= [[Popular Mechanics]]|date= June 1909|publisher = Hearst Magazines|access-date= February 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721190357/http://books.google.com/books?id=h-ADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10&dq=%22popular+mechanics%22+1907&lr=&as_brr=1#PPA516,M1|archive-date= July 21, 2011|url-status= live}}</ref> On July 6, 1944, Hartford was the scene of one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. Claiming the lives of 168 persons, mostly children and their mothers, and injuring several hundred more. It occurred at a matinee performance of the [[Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus]] on Barbour Street in the city's north end and became known as the [[Hartford Circus Fire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://connecticuthistory.org/hartford-circus-fire-the-tents-on-fire-who-knew/|title=Hartford Circus Fire: "The Tent's on Fire!" – Who Knew? {{!}} ConnecticutHistory.org|website=connecticuthistory.org|date=July 6, 2013|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707175401/https://connecticuthistory.org/hartford-circus-fire-the-tents-on-fire-who-knew/|archive-date=July 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Connecticut - Hartford - NARA - 23936425 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Connecticut River Flood, 1930]]
[[File:Connecticut - Hartford - NARA - 23936427 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Connecticut River Flood, 1930]]

After [[World War II]], many residents of Puerto Rico moved to Hartford.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trincoll.edu/UrbanGlobal/CUGS/Faculty/research/Documents/A%20Decade%20of%20Change%20Puerto%20Rican%20Politics%20in%20Hartford,%20Connecticut,%201969-1979.pdf|title=A Decade of Change: Putero Rican Politics in Hartford Connecticut|last=Cruz|first=Jose|website=trincoll.edu|access-date=April 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316144833/http://www.trincoll.edu/UrbanGlobal/CUGS/Faculty/research/Documents/A%20Decade%20of%20Change%20Puerto%20Rican%20Politics%20in%20Hartford,%20Connecticut,%201969-1979.pdf|archive-date=March 16, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in the late 1950s, the suburbs ringing Hartford began to grow and flourish and the capital city began a long decline. Insurance giant Connecticut General (now [[CIGNA]]) moved to a new, modern campus in the suburb of [[Bloomfield, Connecticut|Bloomfield]]. [[Constitution Plaza]] had been hailed as a model of urban renewal, but it gradually became a concrete office park.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 4, 2014|title=Constitution Plaza in Hartford – A History of its Development|url=https://chs.org/2014/11/constitution-plaza-hartford-history/|access-date=February 16, 2022|website=Connecticut Historical Society|language=en|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414192201/https://chs.org/2014/11/constitution-plaza-hartford-history/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Once-flourishing department stores shut down, such as Brown Thomson, [[Sage-Allen]], and [[G. Fox & Co.]], as suburban malls grew in popularity, such as [[Westfarms]] and [[The Shoppes at Buckland Hills|Buckland Hills]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://chs.org/2014/12/history-of-hartford-connecticut/|title=The 'Four Builds' – The History of Hartford, Connecticut – Connecticut Historical Society|date=December 16, 2014|work=Connecticut Historical Society|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117143710/https://chs.org/2014/12/history-of-hartford-connecticut/|archive-date=January 17, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1997, the city lost its professional hockey franchise, with the [[Hartford Whalers]] moving to Raleigh, North Carolina—despite an increase in season ticket sales and an offer from the state for a new arena.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Archives|first=T. H. W.|date=May 6, 2021|title=Brass Bonanza Silenced: The Demise of the Hartford Whalers|url=https://thehockeywriters.com/brass-bonanza-silenced-the-demise-of-the-hartford-whalers/|access-date=February 16, 2022|website=The Hockey Writers|language=en-us}}</ref> In 2005, a developer from Newton, Massachusetts tried unsuccessfully to bring an NHL team back to Hartford and house them in a new, publicly funded stadium.<ref>[https://www.espn.com/nhl/news/story?id=2274541 "Developer proposes new arena in Hartford"]  [[Associated Press|AP]] report on [[ESPN.com]] (December 29, 2005)</ref>

Hartford experienced problems as the population shrank 11 percent during the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Katz|first=Bruce|date=April 8, 2001|title=Escape From Connecticut's Cities|url=https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/escape-from-connecticuts-cities/|access-date=February 17, 2022|website=Brookings|language=en-US}}</ref> Only [[Flint, Michigan]]; [[Gary, Indiana]]; [[St. Louis, Missouri]]; and [[Baltimore]], Maryland experienced larger population losses during the decade. However, the population has increased since the 2000 Census.<ref name=2008pop>The estimated population as of 2008 is 124,062 – an increase of 2,484 from the 2000 Census. [https://archive.today/20200212050924/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US0937000&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=Hartford,+CT&_cityTown=Hartford,+CT&_state=&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null:null&_keyword=&_industry= US Census: Population Finder: hartford city, CT]</ref>

In 1987, [[Carrie Saxon Perry]] was elected mayor of Hartford, becoming the first female African-American mayor of a major American city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hartford.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2448|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320055043/http://www.hartford.gov/news/PR020111_Black%20History%20Month.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Hartford.Gov – Department of Families, Children, Youth and Recreation|archive-date=March 20, 2012|website=hartford.gov}}</ref> Riverfront Plaza was opened in 1999, connecting the riverfront and the downtown area for the first time since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.riverfront.org/about-us/our-history|title=Our History {{!}} Riverfront Recapture|website=Riverfront.org|access-date=October 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011214533/http://www.riverfront.org/about-us/our-history|archive-date=October 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

===21st century===

A significant number of cultural events and performances take place every year at Mortensen Plaza (Riverfront Recapture Organization) by the banks of the Connecticut River.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=FELSON|first=LEONARD|title=Rediscover the Connecticut River: Picture a waterfront promenade and new riverside trails to explore. Cross those bridges. Grab an oar. Learn more about the lore.|url=https://www.courant.com/hartford-magazine/hc-hm-connecticut-river-rediscover-20200329-20200320-hof27pcvlrdgjpfespvibrvm3i-story.html|access-date=February 21, 2022|website=courant.com|date=March 20, 2020 }}</ref> These events are held outdoors and include live music, festivals, dance, arts and crafts.<ref name=":5" /> Hartford also has a vibrant theater scene with major Broadway productions at the Bushnell Theater as well as performances at the [[Hartford Stage]] and [[TheaterWorks (Hartford)|TheaterWorks]] (City Arts).<ref>{{Citation|last=Osborn|first=M. Elizabeth|title=Hartford Stage|date=2010|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199754724.001.0001/acref-9780199754724-e-1175|work=The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre|publisher=Continuum|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199754724.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-975472-4|access-date=February 21, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-trinity-hip-hop-festival-in-hartford-0409-20150403-story.html|title=Four Days Of Hip Hop at Trinity International Fest|last=Hamad|first=Michael|website=Courant.com|access-date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215003011/http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-trinity-hip-hop-festival-in-hartford-0409-20150403-story.html|archive-date=December 15, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2017, Hartford considered filing [[Chapter 9, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 9 bankruptcy]]. After years of contending with a shrinking population base and high pension obligations,<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last1=Rojas|first1=Rick|last2=Walsh|first2=Mary Williams|date=August 15, 2017|title=Hartford, With Its Finances in Disarray, Veers Toward Bankruptcy|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/nyregion/hartford-with-its-finances-in-disarray-veers-toward-bankruptcy.html|access-date=February 21, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a $65 million budget gap was projected for the year of 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Condon|first=Tom|date=June 9, 2017|title=For Hartford, bankruptcy not an easy way out|url=http://ctmirror.org/2017/06/09/for-hartford-bankruptcy-not-an-easy-way-out/|access-date=February 21, 2022|website=CT Mirror|language=en-US}}</ref> The city had cut budget of public services and gotten union concessions however these measures did not balance the budget.<ref name=":6" /> A state bailout later that year kept the city from filing for bankruptcy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-bankruptcy-lawyer-20170706-story.html|title=Hartford Hires Bankruptcy Lawyer As City Officials Weigh Options|last=Carlesso|first=Jenna|website=Courant.com|access-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709081911/http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-bankruptcy-lawyer-20170706-story.html|archive-date=July 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Law-Firm-to-Help-Hartford-Evaluate-Restructuring-Efforts-Greenberg-Traurig-LLP-432939023.html|title=Law Firm to Help Hartford Evaluate Restructuring Efforts|work=NBC Connecticut|access-date=July 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709081907/http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Law-Firm-to-Help-Hartford-Evaluate-Restructuring-Efforts-Greenberg-Traurig-LLP-432939023.html|archive-date=July 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-malloy-defends-hartford-bailout-20180413-story.html|title=Gov. Malloy Defends Long-Term Hartford Bailout|last=Keating|first=Christopher|website=Courant.com|access-date=October 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010215627/http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-malloy-defends-hartford-bailout-20180413-story.html|archive-date=October 10, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Downtown Hartford is busy during the day with commuters, but tends to be quiet in the evenings and weekends. However, more residential and retail development in recent years has begun changing the pattern.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Mike |last2=Healy |first2=Jack |last3=Rojas |first3=Rick |last4=Sandoval |first4=Edgar |last5=Bosman |first5=Julie |last6=Fawcett |first6=Eliza |last7=Cochrane |first7=Emily |last8=Robertson |first8=Campbell |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Meet Me Downtown |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/26/us/us-cities-downtown-chicago-seattle.html |access-date=October 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>