Best Places To Visit In Summer In Hartford Near Me

4worldlovers: Whether you’re a Twainiac, lifelong bibliophile, or jewelry connoisseur; Browse & shop exclusive finds and a lovely variety of gifts for everyone of all ages at The Mark Twain House & Museum Store. Games, interesting reads, notebooks, unique apparel…We have it all! Proceeds from the store support the upkeep and restoration of Twain’s historic home and its programs.

The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author’s Hartford, Connecticut, home, where the author and his family lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote his most important works during the years he lived there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. In addition to providing tours of Twain’s restored home, a National Historic Landmark, the institution offers activities and educational programs that illuminate Twain’s literary legacy and provide information about his life and times.

First presented in 2016, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award honors a work of fiction from the previous calendar that speaks with an “American Voice” about American experiences.

The award carries a $25,000 cash prize underwritten by bestselling author and trustee of the Mark Twain House and Museum, David Baldacci.

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

"The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."

From this house, Mark Twain changed the way the world sees America and the way Americans see themselves. We continue the conversation he began.

4worldlovers:
Please note we never close for private events during our posted public hours.

It’s a sweet surprise to find a vintage 1914 carousel standing in Bushnell Park. There, by the shadow of skyscrapers and a giant Turkey Oak, a 24-sided pavilion houses 48 hand-carved wooden horses and two lovers’ chariots that swirl around a booming Wurlitzer band organ.

The Knox Foundation brought the carousel to Hartford from Canton, Ohio, in 1974. Jack Dollard, director of the Foundation at the time, and an architect in the city, thought the horses would symbolize Hartford’s restoration.

The New England Carousel Museum in Bristol restored the horses to reflect the same fury that Russian immigrants Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein first carved into their faces in 1914. Mass production and changing tastes led to the demise of hand carving and now collectors, buying up single horses, have dismantled hundreds of carousels. As a result, this carousel is only one of three Stein and Goldstein carousels left in existence.

They, like many carousel craftsmen, started in Russia as carvers of women’s combs. They came to the United States in the late 1800s to carve carousel horses for Coney Island, which, at the height of the craze, had some two-dozen carousels operating. Stein and Goldstein horses are distinguished by their flamboyance, their big teeth, bulging eyes, by the huge and colorful cabbage roses which festoon their bodies and their real horse hair tails.

Eventually, they built a reputation as “artistic carousel manufacturers” and they built carousels when there were at least 3,000 in the United States, when riders on the outside row dipped their index fingers for brass rings and a ride was considered a dare because 15 mph was faster than anything. The invention of the roller coaster gave carousels a more romantic reputation–and fewer riders.

Every year thousands of riders take the dare and go for the thrill of riding on Hartford’s magnificent and historic Stein and Goldstein carousel.

4worldlovers: Great River Park features a 350-seat amphitheater, public boat launch, and pedestrian access to the Charter Oak, Founders, and Bulkeley Bridges. Great River Park is open from sunrise to sunset.

Charcoal grills: These are the only grills allowed to be used in the parks – no personal grills are allowed.


Driving from points North: Take I-91 South to exit 30, merging onto I-84 East. Take exit 53. Keep right. Park entrance is on right.


Driving from points South: Take I-91 North. Take exit 29 to merge onto CT-15 North. Take exit 90, merging onto CT-2 West. Take East River Drive exit (Exit 4). Turn left onto East River Drive extension. Park entrance is on left.


Driving from points East: Take I-84 West to exit 57. Continue onto CT-15 South. Take East River Drive exit (Exit 90). Turn left onto East River Drive Extension. Park entrance is on left.