A Friend Of Hartford Parks

May 9, 2005

A quarter-century ago, Hartford's historic Bushnell Park was a worn walk-through. There were no benches, the lighting was bad and the pond didn't hold water. Two Courant reporters were among the many people mugged during the daytime.

As the crowds and events today attest, the park has changed dramatically for the better. Much of the credit goes to Sandy Parisky.

As planning director of the Downtown Council in 1981, Mr. Parisky and a band of good citizens set up the Bushnell Park Foundation to rejuvenate the park. He became its managing director.

He and the foundation went about their work methodically. They raised funds, commissioned a restoration master plan and then followed it. They restored the Hoadley Entrance, rebuilt the serpentine pond, restored the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, created the Pump House Gallery, built the band shell, installed underground sprinklers, reconnected paths, built the playground and planted more than 450 trees. They also protected the park from ill-advised street plans that would have taken some of its land away.

As the work proceeded, the great park - the first municipal park in the country designed, built and paid for by a vote of its citizens - came back to life, with events ranging from music and marathons to vintage baseball and tree tours. People returned - to enjoy the grass and sun, throw a Frisbee or sit on a bench and enjoy a jerk chicken sandwich.

One of the keys to Mr. Parisky's success was his insistence on quality materials: Connecticut brownstone for the Hoadley Entrance and top-notch park benches. When one city official saw the benches he said, "That's too good for Hartford." Mr. Parisky thought otherwise, and he was right.

With much of the major strategic work done - though the important re-creation of the scenic overlook on the north side of the Capitol is still in the pipeline - Mr. Parisky and his consulting group no longer will work with the Bushnell Park Foundation. He has taken on a new challenge, working with a group restoring the Olmsted-designed Pope Park.

Hartford's Bushnell and other parks are the city's glory. Thanks to Sandy Parisky and others, new generations of visitors now get to enjoy them.