History of Hartford

On July 6, 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire destroyed the big top at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the deadliest circus fire in the history of the United States. Starting in the late 1950s the suburbs of Hartford grew while the capital city began a long decline. This decline may have been accelerated by construction of highways (including I-84 & I-91, which intersect in downtown Hartford). Many residents moved out of the city and into the suburbs, and this trend continues. During the 1980s, Hartford experienced an economic boom of sorts and by the late 1980s, almost a dozen new skyscrapers were proposed to be built in the city's downtown. For various reasons, including the economic recession that followed in the early 1990s, many of these buildings were never built. By the beginning of the 21st century, many workers in Hartford lived more than 20 minutes drive from the city—though according to the Census Bureau, the city's average commute time of 22 minutes is a full three minutes less than the US average.

The Hartford Whalers from the NHL played in Hartford from 1975 to 1978 and again in 1980 to 1997 when they moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to become the Carolina Hurricanes. The team was popular in Hartford but was moved because of the small market that Hartford was