Center Church Stained Glass

We don't get inside churches all too often. Yet last week, during one of those classic warm, pleasant New England February afternoons, we walked by the Center Church to find the doors wide open for those who wished to see the inside. With the February sun shining brightly, we couldn't pass by the chance to see the stained glass and decided to risk it and check it out. It turned out to be a very worthwhile trip as the Center Church has some great stained glass. If you get a chance to visit on a sunny day it's highly recommended. Above is Thomas Hooker, father to all Hartfordites. More after the jump.

That's Totally Radical Dude

It's been a while since we featured a Hartford Houses Of Worship post. We saw that there are many Hartford Houses Of Worship that are really cool to look at from the outside, but staying in touch with our New England purtitanical roots, the great majority of them are very plain and ordinary looking. It also is very rare that it's the name of a House Of Worship that catches our attention, but his sign really stood out. Found in a generic office building on Farmington Ave, this seemed like an appropriate post the day after hardcore Christian Michelle Bachmann dropped out of the Presidential race.

The Russian Orthodox Church

It's been a while since we had a new post on The Hartford Houses Of Worship. Instead today we revisit our favorite church in Hartford, the Russian Orthodox Church. Tucked deep into the South End and not all that much larger than the multi-families that surround it, the Russian Orthodox Church is easily missed. The first time we came across it we were just cruising around the South End in a residential area and were stunned to suddenly see a trio of gold domes poking out above the trees. It's not the biggest nor the oldest house of worship Hartford, buy it may be the most unique.

Hartford Houses Of Worship: Charter Oak Ave Area

Our Hartford Houses Of Worship series continues with some places we found while exploring the Charter Oak Ave area around downtown.   Easily the most noticeable in the area is The Church Of Good Shepherd which is set back off of Wyllys St.  While we have long admired this church while driving past it, be have to admit to not even knowing the name.  We had always heard it referred to as "the big Polish church."  While we have no idea the ethnicity of the parishioners, we did see a Polish National Home just up the road if that counts for anything.

More Hartford Houses Of Worship

We continue our series on Hartford Houses Of Worship with this hodgepodge collection of Houses scattered pretty much all over the city except the South End, which reminds us that we haven't got out to the there enough lately.  This brilliant mural is on the side of the North End Church of Christ on Albany Ave and is a welcome colorful addition to the cityscape.

One of our real disappointments in Hartford is the lack of good graffiti. We feel like all cities, especially somewhat downtrodden cities, should have a lot of exciting, vibrant graffiti. For whatever reason Hartford seems to be lacking in that respect. Maybe we are just looking in the wrong places.  Either way this is a welcome addition.

Hartford Houses Of Worship: North End

The North End is an area of Hartford that gets a bad rap, and in many respects that reputation is deserved.  While it is a very poor area with a fair share of crime some out of town readers and Sad City residents might be surprised to learn that we do on occasion walk the streets of the Hartford neighborhood and to date we have yet to be shot but we will keep you posted if that changes.  While exploring the North End and stuffing our faces with Jamaican beef patties, we took some more pictures of Hartford houses of worship.  The above house is located on the corner of Albany and Woodland across the street from an abandoned lot we profiled last summer.

More Hartford Houses Of Worship

We continue looking at Hartford Houses Of Worship today. We start with what might be our personal favorite, the Russian Orthodox Church located in the South End.  This one is hard to find as it is tucked away in a residential side street and the church itself isn't all that much taller than the houses around it.  Obviously the highlight is the golden domes on top evoking, the Kremlin,  and the Colt Factory. Those about the same age as us will remember when when the USSR was once our greatest rival scaring us with nuclear weapons and giving us other mysterious high-powered weapons like Pavel Bure.

Hartford Houses Of Worship: West End Behemoths

Hartford is home to some very large churches.  The stretch of Farmington and Asylum Ave running between downtown and the West End is home to some of the city's largest churches.   This particular church dominates the area skyline, it's steeple is visible from quite a distance.  Along with The Hartford building. easily the most recognizable structure in the area.

Hartford Houses Of Worship: Albany Ave

What day better than the day after Easter to debut Sad City's latest Hartford project, the Hartford Houses of Worship.  Places of worship come in all shapes and sizes and probably more so in an old New England city where some churches date back a hundred plus years.  Hartford is no exception, having what we would guess is a couple hundred houses of worship coming in all shapes and sizes. For our first edition we took a selection of houses of worship photographed on a sunny afternoon stroll down Albany Ave. This is in no way comprehensive, as there are just too many to expect to get them all.

Sad City Visits A Revival Meeting

Sad City visited a revival meeting at the King's Chapel Church of God on the corner of Albany and Woodland on a Sunday evening. We were amazed by the power of the speakers voice and lungs as he barely even slowed down to take a breath. The lighting didn't allow for great video but we recorded a good audio story that's about 5 minutes long but worth the effort. Perhaps the girl in the story can use our handy pay phone search to locate a phone to call with.