When visiting the greater Hartford area West Hartford Center and Blueback Square are a must see. It is a wonderful place to stroll with friends and family. There are interesting shops, fabulous restaurants, the best Happy Hours, a movie theater, and town library with an amazing children's library on the lower level. I raised my family in this town.
Samuel L Jackson uses that phrase in the movie "Jackie Brown"-which i recommend if u can handle the violence and obscenity: West Hartford Center is our little piece of treelined-street heaven. EXCELLENT shops, interesting variety, 2 outstanding (1/2 off on bottled wine on Mondays) restaurants = Grant's (best outdoor seating) & Bricco, the BEST bison burger & dare i say French fries at The Elbow Room, great Japanese beef sliders at Max Hamburger, great coffee and crepes at Sophia's (where I occ get a great double decaff espresso in a small cup filled to the top with regular coffee), and all very negotiable distance wise. Paid parking runs longer than you think, so read the meters. WELCOME. I live here
I would imagine most every nationality cuisine is represented in the area which occupies a large block and a square. Restaurants tend toward high end expensive but are usually worth it.
The greatest part about this place is that you can park your car and walk from place to place. In fact, it's worth braving the rush hour traffic through hartford EVERY day just to live here :)
I love Barnes & Noble. This is the best B&N in the area for travel books. I get a lot of travel books here. There is not a lot of children books here. There is a parking garage on New street. If you are a B&N member you get a discount. Be warned on thursday nights there are loud concerts.LibraryThis place is great. There is an extensive children's book collection. This is great.
The Center and the adjacent Square area is a suburban gem. In addition to the plentiful variety of retail stores the Center/Square area features a very large number of restaurants. These run the gamut from very casual such as Cosi's and Chipolte Grill to restaurants which are among the best in the Greater Hartford area. From spring through fall many feature very pleasant outdoor dining. Free outdoor concerts are available on a regular basis. On-street parking can be a problem but the area has two outdoor lots and two multi-story garages. Visiting this area is a must.
The Center & The Square are filled with renowned restaurants and cute boutiques. There is a movie theater, plenty of outdoor seating at the restaurants and public areas, a large library and free music entertainment in BlueBack square on Wednesday evenings. On the weekends and Thursday nights, the restaurants are filled with families, business meetings, and couples all enjoying the great atmosphere of the area. Throughout the year there are events for people of all ages– antique car shows, famer's markets, winter holiday stroll, Halloween stroll, West Hartford days (a carnival and crafts show) and much more. Parking is easy and convenient on the street and in numerous parking lots.
great shopping, great people and atmosphere. With 2 teenagers it is so nice to know that there is somewhere safe for them to go to meet friends.
we didn't have any of these fancy stores. We had a bowling alley, a record store, a diner, a movie theater, a couple of banks a hardware store and some mom and pop clothing places. Well, the banks multiplies, everything else closed but the hardware store, and the mom and pop places were slowly replaced by higher end clothing and apparel. Food became fancier. Still, it is a destination for people who like to walk around and look at stuff, and as far as a walking city goes... you really can't beat West Hartford Center.
There is a great number of quality stores in a small area. an easy walk to the center, if your desired store is not in Blue Black square. Enjoy sitting ourside in the good weather here.