Friends of Sigourney Square Park
Chairperson: Maxine Nugent
Contact info: Maxine's email
Committee meeting: Committee meets monthly on the second Monday of the month at 12:00 pm. via Zoom . Due to scheduling conflicts meeting day may change, check back for specific dates, email Maxine for up to date meeting info.
Contact info: Maxine's email
Committee meeting: Committee meets monthly on the second Monday of the month at 12:00 pm. via Zoom . Due to scheduling conflicts meeting day may change, check back for specific dates, email Maxine for up to date meeting info.
Sigourney Square Park
Sigourney Square Park is at the heart of the Asylum Hill neighborhood: it is located in between Ashley and Sargeant Streets and along Sigourney Street, and it lends its name to the Sigourney Square Historic District. The district contains one of the largest, intact collections of Victorian homes in Hartford, and the park gives an almost bucolic feeling to these homes.
The park is the last remaining open space of what was the Hartford Town Farm. In the 19th century, Hartford’s luminaries would send the poor and indigent to the Town Farm in order to make something of themselves. By the 1890s, however, this large expanse of undeveloped land proved too tempting, and the City began selling off parcels to developers. Fortunately, they had the foresight to preserve one square block as Sigourney Square Park, and this park remains one of the most attractive spots in the neighborhood.
The Friends of Sigourney Square Park (FoSSP) formed in 2011 to promote the park as an integral part of the neighborhood. The park was about to undergo a $700,000 capital improvement plan, and the Friends helped to guide that process and to ensure that it would preserve the park as an active recreational area for all of the residents of the neighborhood.
The park is the last remaining open space of what was the Hartford Town Farm. In the 19th century, Hartford’s luminaries would send the poor and indigent to the Town Farm in order to make something of themselves. By the 1890s, however, this large expanse of undeveloped land proved too tempting, and the City began selling off parcels to developers. Fortunately, they had the foresight to preserve one square block as Sigourney Square Park, and this park remains one of the most attractive spots in the neighborhood.
The Friends of Sigourney Square Park (FoSSP) formed in 2011 to promote the park as an integral part of the neighborhood. The park was about to undergo a $700,000 capital improvement plan, and the Friends helped to guide that process and to ensure that it would preserve the park as an active recreational area for all of the residents of the neighborhood.
The key goals of the FoSSP include:
- Building on the momentum from the Grand Opening in June, and Family Fun Day in August to host regular events in the Park
- Ensuring the park remains a vital part of the community
- Developing programming for the park that includes all of the residents of Asylum Hill
- Increasing the visibility of the park for passersby and commuters including the new banners compliments of The Hartford
- Partnering with other Friends of Parks groups around Hartford to share best practices and to integrate Sigourney Square Park more fully into the City’s parks and recreation system