Chronicling Change: Richard Welling, Urban Renewal, and Historic Preservation in Hartford, 1960-1990.

Richard Welling (1926-2009) has been called Hartford’s “artist-historian.”  For more than four decades, he recorded the changing face of the city, as whole neighborhoods were torn down to make way for interstate highways, skyscrapers, and parking garages.  Welling’s drawings document the demolition of historic landmarks such as the old Y.M.C.A. and the construction of modern icons, such as the Phoenix Building on Constitution Plaza, and have been used to illustrate both sides of the debate between city planners and preservationists.   Nancy Finlay, Curator of Graphics, will discuss Welling’s drawings of demolition and construction during this critical period in Hartford’s history.

Registration link: http://library.hartford.edu/presidentscollege/