Visiting Hartford, Connecticut in 1925


Let's time-travel back to 1925, and visit Hartford, Connecticut. And if you're wondering why I chose that time and place, it's because while I was browsing the Duke University Libraries Digital website, this image caught my eye, and it's beautiful. Duke identified the location as Hartford, but I'm always suspicious of information on the web. Was this really Hartford?

I've never been to Hartford, and if you live there, you may be saying, "What? That's Hartford?!" and I don't blame you - not a trace of what's in that photo exists today. And that may have you wondering how I know it's Hartford, and that's where the history detective stuff comes in.

I gave this assignment to my number one history detective (who prefers to remain anonymous) in spite of the fact that he has to connection to the place. He's just very, very good at figuring stuff out, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing the evidence that he found.



The first clue is Caldwell and Jones, which shows the address of 1084-1086 Main Street. He found an old advertising brochure on eBay for the place, and the address matched up. Yep, this was Hartford! But wait, it gets better!



This is a 1922 Sanborn map that shows exactly what buildings were where. And if you're still confused, wondering where those streets are, the real question is where they were. They're mostly all gone now. Here's a map of the area in the 1950s (below). See how Main Street used to intersect with Morgan, Windsor, and Village? The 1925 picture is looking north on Main towards Morgan.



M. Glazer Tires was right there in what used to be a very sharp corner. So this really was Hartford, Connecticut, no doubt about it.


As for the date, well, I figured that out myself - it's written on the photo. Looks like it was July 21st, 1925. Now let's take a look around.


I have to admit that my eyes were drawn to the cars, and the women. By the way, the lovely lady there crossing the street, who is showing a bit of ankle, appears to have three of them, and is blurry. This is because of the long-exposure photo, and that's why this photo has such gorgeous detail. Also, the nice people at Duke University scanned it in very high resolution, which I very much appreciate.

There's so much to see! I don't know anything about ladies' fashion, but the woman there on the far right really looks perfect for 1925. It's just my imagination, but to me the lady behind her is looking with disapproval at the dress, and probably the hat. The man standing by the curb by the sign that says 40 min Parking has what I call a "Buster Keaton hat". I guess they were made of straw?


And how about those electric trolleys? Can't you just hear the bells clanging? And the backs of those cars have spare tires, a term that we still use today. But back then they were just tires, not tires mounted on a wheel. I wonder what make and model those cars are? If you know, please tell me and I'll update the post!


The Duke site, by the way, is dedicated to the study of historic advertising (yes, people study advertising), so the billboard is the main focus. Looks like it was a bank, and they were apparently very proud of the new-looking building! If you have an account at Plaut's, let me know!


OK, one last look at the lovely fashionable '20s lady, and it's time to go. Thank you for visiting Hartford in 1925 with me!


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