Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in West Hartford (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Elizabeth Park, The Children's Museum, and Noah Webster House. Also, be sure to include Gallaudet Memorial in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in West Hartford (Connecticut).
Table of Contents
Elizabeth Park
Non-profit organization in West Hartford, Connecticut. Elizabeth Park is a city park located in Hartford and West Hartford, Connecticut. It covers 102 acres and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The site was previously owned by financier Charles M. Pond of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and Hartford National Bank, and a treasurer of Connecticut (1870–71). In 1894 he bequeathed his estate to the City of Hartford with the stipulation that it be named for his deceased wife, Elizabeth. The city took possession in 1897 and engaged the famed Olmsted and Son for landscaping.
In 1904 the park's first superintendent, Theodore Wirth, created its renowned Rose Garden (2.5 acres or 1.0 ha). It is the oldest municipal rose garden in the United States, currently containing about 15,000 bushes of 800 rose varieties. In the 1970s the city decided it could no longer afford the garden, and initially proposed plowing it under, until volunteers banded together and came to the rescue.
In 1977 volunteers banded together with Vic Jarm (Park Superintendent at the time) to form the Friends of Elizabeth Park and save the Rose Garden. Their first mission was to raise $10,000 to replace many of the rose bushes that died from lack of care. Since then the Friends of Elizabeth Park have assisted the City of Hartford in maintaining the Rose Garden as well as the other horticultural gardens in the park and have raised funds for the restoration of the historic greenhouses and the Elizabeth Pond Memorial in 1997, also known as the Pond House Cafe. Most of the financial support for the park through the efforts of the FEP comes from individuals, the Ethel Donaghue Trust and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Today the park encompasses many garden areas, pathways, century-old Lord and Burnham greenhouses, lawns, bowling greens, tennis courts, a picnic grove, and a scenic pond. The border between Hartford and West Hartford has moved since the park was established, with the odd result that one of Hartford's largest parks is now located primarily within the Town of West Hartford.[1]
Address: 1561 Asylum Ave, 06106 West Hartford
The Children's Museum
Museum in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Children's Museum is the oldest and largest museum for children in Connecticut, United States. The museum was founded in 1927 as the Children's Museum of Hartford, and was known until 2006 as The Science Center of Connecticut. The Museum is geared towards young children, and is committed to "Igniting Curiosity through Science and Nature". It is the fifth oldest of all Children's Museums in the US, and serves over 200,000 people each year.
Located at 950 Trout Brook Dr. in West Hartford, the Children's Museum offers interactive exhibits, New England's second largest planetarium, over a hundred live animals, a life-sized replica of a sperm whale (Connecticut's State animal) that visitors can walk inside, and science and nature classes for children. It also includes the Children's Museum Preschool, one of the nation's oldest preschools, and of very few that feature a science and nature curriculum.[2]
Address: 950 Trout Brook Dr, 06119 West Hartford
Noah Webster House
Museum in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Noah Webster House is a historic house museum located at 227 South Main Street, West Hartford, Connecticut. It was the home of American lexicographer Noah Webster, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[3]
Address: 227 S Main St, 06107-3430 West Hartford
Gallaudet Memorial
The Thomas Gallaudet Memorial is a sculpture by Daniel Chester French located on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., United States. The statue depicts Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet siting in a chair and Alice Cogswell standing at his side.[4]
Congregation Beth Israel
Synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut. Congregation Beth Israel is a synagogue located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The synagogue is one of the two oldest Jewish congregations in Connecticut and one of the largest Reform Jewish congregations in New England, with about 900 member families and about 2,000 individual members.
Its 1933 building, Temple Beth Israel, was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Beth Israel serves as a center for worship, education, and social programs.[5]
Address: 701 Farmington Ave, 06119 West Hartford
St. John's Episcopal Church
Episcopal church in West Hartford, Connecticut. St. John's is an Episcopal Church located at 679 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford, Connecticut near the Hartford, Connecticut, city line. The parish was founded in 1841 as St. John's Episcopal Church in Hartford. The church's present building, designed by famed architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, opened in 1909. It is noted for its reredos designed by Mr. Goodhue and executed by prominent sculptor Lee Lawrie; its organ, Opus 2761 by Austin Organs, Inc. with 64 ranks and 3721 pipes; and its thirty-six stained glass windows by designers/manufacturers such as the Harry Eldredge Goodhue Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Wilbur H. Burnham Studios of Boston, Massachusetts, and London, England's James Powell and Sons.[6]
Address: 679 Farmington Ave, 06119-1811 West Hartford
Revolutionary War Campsite
The Revolutionary War Campsite is a historic archaeological site in West Hartford, Connecticut. It was the site of a 1778 encampment of Continental Army soldiers during the American Revolutionary War. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[7]
Old Center Burying Yard
Cemetery in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Old Center Burying Yard or Center Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 30 N. Main Street in West Hartford, Connecticut. Established in 1719, it was the town's first cemetery, and its only burying ground for about seventy years. Many of West Hartford's prominent early settlers are buried here, including Noah Webster Sr. and his wife Mercy. The oldest portion of the cemetery remained in regular use until 1868, with the last documented burial in its newer section in 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[8]
Fernridge Park
Park, Relax in park, Playground
Address: 567 Fern St, 06107 West Hartford
Allyn Steele House
Building in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Allyn Steele House is a historic house at 114 North Main Street in West Hartford, Connecticut. Built in 1775, it is one of West Hartford's few surviving 18th-century buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[9]
West Hill Historic District
The West Hill Historic District is a prestigious residential subdivision of the town of West Hartford, Connecticut. Originally the site of the estate of Cornelius J. Vanderbilt, son of transportation magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, it was developed as a planned subdivision of upper-class residences in the 1920s. It was established as a local historic district in 1988, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[10]
Elisha Seymour Jr. House
Building. The Elisha Seymour Jr. House is a historic house at 410-412 Park Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. Built about 1770, it is one of the town's few surviving pre-independence brick buildings. it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[11]
Benjamin Colton House
The Benjamin Colton House is a historic house at 25 Sedgwick Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. Probably built about 1770, it is one of the town's few surviving 18th-century houses. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 10, 1986.[12]
Stanley-Woodruff-Allen House
Building. The Stanley-Woodruff-Allen House is a historic house at 37 Buena Vista Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. Built about 1752, it is one of West Hartford's oldest surviving buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It is now part of the suite of buildings of the West Hartford Art League.[13]
Mount St. Joseph Academy
School in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Mount St. Joseph Academy is a historic former school building at 1 Hamilton Heights Drive in West Hartford, Connecticut. It is a four- and five-story brick and stone structure with Colonial Revival styling, designed by Hartford architect John J. Dwyer and built in 1905-08. It was operated by the Sisters of Mercy as a Roman Catholic school for girls, reaching a maximum enrollment of 565 in 1958. The school closed due to declining enrollment in 1978. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1983. In 1996 the building was renovated for use as an assisted living facility, which presently is operated as Atria Hamilton Heights[14]