Culture in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford in the 1870s was the most prosperous city in the US and full of artists and writers.  This is what attracted both Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Harriet Beecher Stowe to live there.  Both their houses, next to each other, are attractions in the town.  Both tours were absolutely fascinating and the Clemens house particularly impressive.  Sadly, no photography is allowed inside either.  

Clemens spent 17 years in this house, writing most of his major novels there.  Stowe was older than Clemens but the two did live some years there at the same time and they admired each other’s writing.  The visit was a great highlight for me as I am a great admirer of both authors.  Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin remains in my opinion the superlative novel condemning slavery.  It was serialised in a newspaper before being published as a book.  Its publication in 1851 led to the first mass marketing exercise in this country with all sorts of "Tom" gimmicks being sold.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn too, in its own way, spoke eloquently against the injustice of slavery.

The State Capitol building is a white marble edifice with Gothic details and a gold-leaf dome.  Because of the variety of architectural styles it represents, it has been dubbed ”the most beautiful ugly building in the world”.

Our third attempt to get a little bit of culture in Hartford unfortunately came to nothing. Katherine Hepburn was a Hartford resident and there was a special exhibition of her stage clothes titled Dressed for Stage and Screen at the Connecticut Historical Society for three weeks in her home town.  Unfortunately the museum was closed on Mondays and that is when we were there.  So, sadly, we missed it.