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 Transportation access — trolleys, avenues, and interstates — has clearly defined the development pattern of West Hartford neighborhoods that we see today. It’s clear, too, that these neighborhoods have matured gracefully with time, retaining much of the appeal they had when they were created.
West Hartford’s evolution is primarily the result of the robust economic growth of Hartford during the post-war eras. High-tech industry and insurance both prospered in the city, creating demand for new housing on its fringes. Around the turn of the century, trolley lines opened nearby land to the initial stages of suburban development. In the 50s, the avenues — Albany, Asylum and Farmington — also became important auto arteries. In the mid 60s, major highways north and south (I-91) and east and west (I-84) made West Hartford a more accessible option for families of more modest incomes.
Some of the high-tech industry born in old Hartford factories flowed westward as well. More efficient one-story buildings were constructed as highways, rather than railways, became the preferred means to ship goods. New Park Avenue, New Britain Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and Newington Road, all south of West Hartford Center and near I-84, were part of this trend, as was the housing built in this southeast part of town.
In the first wave of development, mansions built by Hartford’s captains of industry lined Prospect Avenue’s ridge, affording a view of the burgeoning city they were helping to create. The Prospect Avenue neighborhood that was emerging on both sides of the Hartford/West Hartford line — north of Farmington Avenue and around Elizabeth Park — saw the construction of substantial brick Colonials, Tudors and custom designs that reflected the success of the professionals who owned them. Between Asylum and Albany Avenues on the Hartford side, Scarborough, Kenyon, Girard and Woodside Circle attracted fashionable residences as did, on the West Hartford side, Sycamore, Belknap, Steele, Asylum and Albany Avenues. In West Hartford this kind of development continued north on Bloomfield Avenue toward the University of Hartford, and northwest in what is called the Hartford Golf Club area.
Elizabeth Park lies on land that was once the estate of Charles H. Pond, who bequeathed it to the City of Hartford. Designed in 1896 by acclaimed architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Sons (also designers of the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls, NY; the Midway Plaisance for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago; the U.S. Capitol Building; the Biltmore Estate and, of course, NYC’s Central Park to name a few), the park is named for Pond’s wife Elizabeth. The park was originally located entirely in Hartford but today it straddles the city/town border and is maintained by the City of Hartford and volunteers from the Friends of Elizabeth Park.
The park is famous for its rose gardens (designed and planted by its first superintendent, Theodore Wirth) where the blooms of 15,000 bushes representing more than 900 varieties attract visitors from around the country as well as couples looking for the perfect setting for their wedding day photos. It is also home to a wonderful restaurant, the Pond House Café that sits in a serene setting next to the large duck pond. To set the record straight, the Pond House is named after the Pond family, not the duck and goldfish habitat.
As road and related improvements were made farther west on Albany Avenue, land became available for subdivisions of new-style ranches, compact Colonials, and splits that, by the late 60s, surrounded Bishops Corner, the commercial nexus of this stage in West Hartford’s development spurt. The Crown Super Market, a kosher food landmark, moved from its original Albany Avenue location in Hartford to Bishops Corner to remain close to the Jewish population that was establishing a religious and residential community here.
Similarly, a segment of the Hartford’s north-end Irish community established a new 60s and 70s neighborhood west of North Main Street. Northwest Catholic High School and St. Timothy’s Church and elementary school were created as the central institutions here. A few years later, open land just south on North Main Street became the site of Hall High School, which formerly was located in the Center. More new subdivisions along a variety of pleasant streets grew up around it.
From Bishops Corner, Albany Avenue becomes the Albany Turnpike (Route 44), widens, and then stretches west connecting West Hartford, Avon and Simsbury. Impressive homes perched along the western hilltops overlook Hartford, West Hartford and the Farmington Valley. 
North and South Main Streets intersect Farmington Avenue as it runs west out of Hartford. North Main Street runs north to Bishops Corner then along Route 218 into Bloomfield and connects to I-91. Across Farmington Avenue, South Main Street completes the intersection and travels south to Rt. I-84. This geographical midpoint of the town, known simply as West Hartford Center, has for many years been the town’s principal retail district, the seat of town government and site of many community events.
The Center lost some of its traditional retail base in the 80s as malls and plazas sprouted on the town’s fringes. But the Center reinvented itself in the mid-90s. Building upon its unique assets — small-scale architecture, pedestrian amenities and convenient parking — it attracted some of the Hartford region’s most celebrated new restaurants and upscale clothiers. And that process helped retain well-established jewelers and other specialty shops that fit nicely into the rejuvenated mix. Over the past decade the Center has been dubbed the “region’s downtown” by local media.
Traveling west out of the Center, Farmington Avenue crosses Mountain Road, a major north-south artery, and becomes the main connection to the town of Farmington.
East of the Center, beyond the town green, Blue Back Square added an impressive new dimension to the emerging “downtown,” bringing 230,000 square feet of trendy retail, 60,000 square feet of offices, a major healthcare facility, a large grocer, 120 luxury condos and a movie theater to the town’s core business district. Completed in 2007, it’s “new urban contextual design” blends well with the town’s traditional architecture.
Blue Back and the Center are linked to I-84 by South Main Street. South Main moves directly from the Center and Trout Brook Drive extends directly from Blue Back Square; both thoroughfares take you to Park Road and Elmwood.
Extending for 12 blocks west of the Hartford city line, Park Road retains much of its old-city-commercial-strip character with ethnic food outlets, down-to-earth eateries and longtime family businesses with taverns and salons sprinkled in between — without any noticeable intrusion by chain operations. There is still housing above some stores and the neighborhood features many solid two- and three-family homes.
Just west you pass through Elmwood Center, a stalwart community that ties in Quaker Lane South, New Park Avenue and S. Main Street to New Britain Avenue and Westfarms Mall. Tidy single and two-family homes dominate this part of West Hartford, which developed because of its proximity to I-84 and the high-tech industry that followed it.
Food and art awaken tired downtowns. Elmwood’s reaffirmed its town-within-a-town identity with a burst of refurbishment and redevelopment that’s put a smile on the face of its main commercial strip, New Britain Avenue. The main attraction is food, not fancy food — you can’t find a meal over $20, and many spots will fill you up for under $10. A classic 60s clubby pub with 16 dinner specials tonight; a hip new bistro, trim and relaxed; Chinese; Japanese; Vietnamese; real bakeries; Italian ice; pizza and grinders; tapas; NC (nutritionally correct) take home; Indian; a tasty deli/coffee shop and fresh pet food to go.
They’re accompanied by an art supply super store, a storefront Fred Astaire studio that educates students and entertains passersby, a jazz haunt that specializes in Chinese and Japanese food, karate, Pilates places, CVS, Walgreen’s, a bank, a convenience store and an unobtrusive gas station.
It links the area to New Park Avenue to the east and to the Corbin’s Corner / Westfarms section of town located in the opposite direction. The New Park Avenue area is evolving into a center for specialized home products and design services.
West, across South Main, Conard High School and Rockledge Country Club — a nifty 18-hole facility owned by the town and open to the public — dominate the landscape. Conard was built in the late 1950s to accommodate the population growth spurred by the business development along I-84.
West of Conard and Rockledge, well-groomed neighborhoods surround excellent elementary schools. Above Ridgewood Road, the Wood Pond and Woodridge Lake areas, once seasonal places, have grown to become stylish waterfront addresses. Nearby, impressive town-owned swimming and skating facilities are complemented by Buena Vista Golf Course, a sweet 9-hole, par-32 setup that totals less than 2,000 yards.
On the town’s southwest fringe, situated mostly in Farmington but always identified with West Hartford, Westfarms Mall is the granddaddy of regional retail centers. Its location next to I-84, as well as its connection to the town’s main internal arteries gives it ready access to regional and local markets of enthusiastic shoppers. Built in 1974, it comprises more than 1.3 million square feet and 160 stores where escalators and, of course, air conditioning make for no-sweat shopping.
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