Lewis Street is probably not one of the top ten Hartford blocks on my list, but though it's not in my personal favorites, it's loved by many people in the city, and I saw that it had something special the first time it was pointed out to me.
What is that makes the short street between Pearl and Gold so notable? In a 2012 Hartford Courant article about the purchase of the historic building at 36 Lewis Street, Kenneth R. Gosselin wrote, "Lewis Street provides one of the last glimpses of how the city's downtown appeared in the mid-1800s before skyscrapers eventually came to dominate the skyline." That about sums it up.
Once you start paying attention to all things Hartford, you read a lot about how beautiful the city once was. (Usually thanks to Mark Twain.) Of course, parts of it are still quite beautiful, but it can be difficult to imagine how the city looked in the days when it made 19th century travelers swoon. Lewis Street, despite the taller buildings that now lurk beyond it, offers a glimpse of that past.
For more photos of Lewis Street, please visit www.thesizeofconnecticut.com.
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