The science party

I went to the party for the Connecticut Science Center last night. It was pretty fun until the live auction started, then it was just non-stop screaming and people running for their cars. Props to auctioneer Scott Haney who acknowledged his “gay for pay” status in Hartford, although no one got the porn reference except my friend Bubbles who thought it was hilarious.

Most of the exhibits are still under construction so I didn’t get to play around as much I as I would have liked. It was fun running around the building though. I was hoping more attendees would have dressed to the science-y theme (my shiny silver pants were fabulous), but everyone was uniformly wearing suburban blandness from Talbots and Ann Taylor. The food was pretty good and the free booze was great. The river views are spectacular and they should have another party on July 4 so we can all watch the fireworks from one of their outdoor terraces.

I didn’t take any photos, but got a quick video with Darth Vader. The Science Center folks were all wearing costumes and performers were stationed throughout the building.

Costumed Star Wars characters seem to be following me around these days.

Ben Franklin with the kite getting over with the key

I’m thinking about going to the pre-opening party, “Out of this World,” at the CT Science Center in Hartford tomorrow night. No idea what to wear. I hope everyone is futuristic and fabulous rather than “geek chic,” which is too played out from the babillion 80s-themed parties thrown in the last few years.

Bushnell Plaza Reinvention Needed

Stephen Persing, who is about to leave the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art at the end of the week after years of service as both a curatorial aide and assistant in the director’s office, wrote an op-ed piece, A Space Just Waiting to Be Shared, in the Hartford Courant questioning the future plans for Bushnell Plaza.

Bushnell Plaza (on Main Street at the Bushnell Towers apartments) has long laid dormant, encased in an unfriendly track of concrete. The area was recently dug up to repair structural leaks that effected the parking lot underneath.

Persing, rightly, asks developers to think about future usage of the space and its impact on city life before putting it back together:

Let’s imagine the tower ringed in green, from Bushnell Park to the west to the sliver of land with Carl Andre’s Stone Field Sculpture to the north, with the plaza to match. A formal garden of potted shrubs and plants, drawing inspiration from Pei’s tower, could bring sophistication to emptiness.

As Stone Field Sculpture draws on the geologic history of the area, planters could showcase native plants. Perhaps there could be a maze, with a modern gazebo in the middle. A sculpture garden was suggested years ago, in collaboration with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, which is right across the street. Other ideas include a farmers market, an outdoor cafe or a place for street theater, like Harvard Square in Cambridge. Small tables and chairs for sitting out and reading the newspaper on a summer evening would help bring the tower dwellers down to earth.

It’s the kind of simple, positive future one would hope the owners had envisioned, but thanks to Persing for pointing it out. And for coining my new favorite sentiment: “There is no excuse for urban nothingness.”

Photo courtesy Urban Compass

Hartford Blight: It’s Official

As first discussed (with pictures!) in Hartford Blight, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez took his plans to combat the “blanks” on our urban landscape beyond conversation with Dennis House on WFSB to an editorial in the Hartford Courant today. 

I don’t have anything snarky to add beyond humming a few bars of Naked Eyes’ “You made me… promises, promises (bah bah bum buh buh), you knew you couldn’t keep…”

Joe Black’s Out

Joe Black’s Restaurant & Bar on Pratt Street in downtown Hartford has closed its doors.

There was just not enough regular bar and food money coming in to compensate for the initial expenses of restoring the bank to its current state. In the future, the spot will be used for a rental space for weddings and private events.

Thanks to Scary Bunny #4 for the tip last night.

Hartford Blight

WFSB’s Dennis House did an interesting interview with Mayor Eddie Perez last Sunday, March 2, on urban blight in Hartford. I like House. He lives downtown (or used to), married well, and genuinely seems to care about Hartford while he waits to get a gig in a bigger market.

Eddie told House that he had City Council approval to take $50M of “his” capital fund (money, he said, that was normally used for schools and libraries) and reallocate it towards resolving blight in three target areas downtown and one in each of the Franklin Avenue, North Hartford and Frog Hollow neighborhoods. Through use of eminent domain and his war chest, he predicted he’d be able to wrestle under used property from negligent owners and hand them over to developers.

House and Eddie then reviewed plans for dilapidated and empty property (including major parking lots) in the downtown area.

Here are some of the interview highlights, but go watch the full thing since I had to set my universal translator to “WHAT-THE-HELL-IS-HE-MUMBLING” in order to understand Eddie.

Capitol West BuildingPerez says that the building’s owner is very cooperative and even replaced the broken windows. He wants “worker’s housing” owing to the “pent up demand for entry level worker housing in downtown near the insurance companies and union station.” It looks like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace Hospital.

111 Pearl StreetIt’s been empty for 20 years, but a local firm was selected to develop. Perez would like to see a mixture of retail and housing (he didn’t sound too sure about what the plan was) and expects it to move forward in 6-8 months. I’m thinking Barney’s Warehouse or a (Way) Off-Saks outlet.

Maharishi Hotel on Constitution PlazaI always liken Constitution Plaza to the one-day movie set for Logan’s Run 2: Get Out of Town Before the Crystal in Your Hand Starts Blinking. Think about the big boom it would add to the downtown economy. Anyway, this is one of Perez’s target areas. He will retake it by the Force of Eminent Domain (FoED) if it comes to that. Which would be cool to watch.

410 Asylum StreetThis is where I like to go when I’m lonely to party with pretend friends. Kind of like that scene in Home Alone, but more A-lonlier. Perez wants affordable housing. State’s on board. Should move forward next year.

Main/Trumbull StreetPerez said former councilman Bob Painter coined the “Butt Ugly Building” moniker for the site. Scary Bunny #4 says the GHAC’s Ken Kahn said it first. Either way, Perez will use his FoED to retake the land after highly paid advisers figure out what to do with it.

Former YMCALuxury condos next year, bitches.

Asylum & Main Parking Lot“It is providing parking downtown, which is very much needed.”

In The City There’s a Thousand Things I Want to Say to You

Courtesy of Scary Bunny #37:

I was walking in Bushnell Park with a lady friend this weekend and we saw an older woman sitting alone on a park bench. She was reading some sort of Danielle Steele novel. Being bored and generally nosey, we approached her and asked her what she was doing. She said she was waiting for a wedding. Aside from a couple of hobos drinking 40’s in the shade, there was no one else in the entire park. It was empty.

The older woman went on to explain that she was a Justice Of The Peace and was waiting there because a couple had called her up and asked that she marry them that afternoon in the park.

I found a wedding with no witnesses in a city park on Saturday afternoon somewhat romantic. When you boil it down, that’s what a wedding is supposed to be–a nice simple stripped down event without all of the horrible and socially awkward trappings of your standard wedding ceremony/reception. No wasteful catering bill. No unwanted relatives. No religious nonsense. Just you, your spouse-to-be and some chain-smoking old woman basking in the sunshine of your love and the idle homeless drinking in the distance.

My lady friend was also intrigued by the concept of getting married in the park–specifically us getting married in the park. She asked the old woman if she would marry us if the other couple didn’t show up. The idea seemed really cool to me. I informally asked my lady friend to marry me. And by informally, I mean, “Let’s get married. Hey Justice of the Peace Lady, can you marry us?”

I had a weird, excited feeling in the pit of my stomach–kind of like when you drink a bunch of hard alcohol and then do jumping jacks. At that moment, I was closer to getting married than ever before. I once bought an engagement ring for an ex-girlfriend, but I got second-thoughts real quick and gave up that idea soon afterward. This time, on a Saturday in the park, I had quick pep talk with myself:

“What the hell, I might as well do it. She’s attractive, intelligent, fun and I can spend more than 24 hours in her presence without wanting to punch her in the face. I call that a keeper. Sure, I’ve only known her for about six weeks and I met her on the Internet, but hey, what’s the worst that can happen? We get divorced? Big freaking deal. I don’t have anything, so it’s not like I can lose out in a divorce settlement. What’s she going to do? Take my X-Box? I’ve lost a lot worse in break-ups before. As long as I keep wearing a rubber for the first year or two and we don’t have any kids, I can’t see any serious repercussions to this. This could be very cool. Maybe us getting married right here right now would be the way to crack the eternal happiness code. Maybe the commitment and permanent nature of the process would help me work past the typical three month rut I run into with the girls I date. Maybe being married will force us to immediately open up to each other and really get to know each other. One of the biggest reasons people break up over time is because you change as a person over time. If I get married to a complete stranger, she won’t really be changing, I’ll just be getting to know her better. Maybe marriage is just like swimming in the ocean. The water’s cold, so you might as well dive right in. This is a good idea.”

The Justice of the Peace Lady seemed taken aback by our eagerness. She wasn’t sure if we were joking or serious. I don’t think we knew the answer either. She shook her head and said that she couldn’t marry us because we needed to have a marriage license. Uh-oh. Total deal-breaker. There are three things I hate in life above all else: 1.) Waiting in lines 2.) Filling out paperwork and 3.) Filling out paper work and waiting in lines at government offices.

My lady friend and I quickly wished the woman a nice day and continued to walk through the park. As we made our way to Jewell Street, we saw this older Puerto Rican couple walking together. She was a big, heavy-set lady who looked 55, but turned out to be 74. He was a frail, little 85. They had been married for 52 years and had three great-grandchildren. I bet they got married in a city park.

O Terra Mia!

Just noticed that there’s a new Italian restaurant in the works on Pratt Street. It looks very nice inside–lots of polished woodwork and exposed red beams.

Now we really need to close the street off. But also flood it and get some gondola rides going.

Pride

We went out of town earlier in the month and completely missed our chance to recap the CT Pride Festival 2006, September 9-11.

We’ll leave you with one parting shot of a partygoer from City Hall’s big dance party releasing his technicolor rainbow all over a corner of the Wadsworth Atheneum.

Sorry for the pic quality. It was dark and we were stumbling too.

New England’s Poorest City

Graffiti on sidewalk across the street from Hartford’s Bushnell Tower apartments, at the Carl Andre rock garden.

It’s kind of hard to spot given all the fresh glass shards from broken car windows all over the place, but it looks like the same great stencil style as the stuff down near the Arch Street Tavern and Convention Center.