Old Pictures of Hartford

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Old State House, 1937. Main Street and Central Row:
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1877 map of Hartford. Medieval street layout, European levels of density. The Park River flows right through downtown:
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Vintage postcard, 1906 - 1916. Front Street neighborhood, Bulkeley Bridge:
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Photographs from the Library of Congress.
State Capitol, 1909:
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Downtown Hartford from the top of the Capitol Building, 1909. Density, space defined by buildings. A city:
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Same view, 1913:
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Bushnell Park, 1909. Park River before being buried:
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Downtown Hartford, 1909. No parking lots:
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Hartford, 1902. 360 degree aerial panorama:
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Photographs by William G. Dudley; dates and some description taken from the CT Historical Society.
Front Street, 1920s. The entire neighborhood would be destroyed in the early 60s for the infamous Constitution Plaza, a development even worse than the new West End because it is 100% office and one floor above street level. Over forty years later, it's still a problem (though far from the biggest):
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Asylum St., 1920s. The Bond Hotel in its heyday, streets still unpaved. Today it is a Homewood Suites (sigh):
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Corner of Trumbull and Asylum, 1920s. This building still stands. The Trumbull streetwall is still relatively intact, making it one of Hartford's best streets (along with Pratt and parts of Main Street):
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Construction of the G. Fox Department Store, 1917. Building is now reused as Capitol Community College:
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Corner of Park Street and Bartholomew Ave., 1920. Hartford Rubber Works under construction:
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The cafeteria of Hartford Rubber Works:
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Zion St. construction, 1920. Draft horses still widely used:
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Main Street, 1920. Interior of H.S. Weeks Cigar Store:
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Main Street, 1920. Sale at Sage Allen's, at one time the largest independent store in CT:
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Main Street. The Cheney Building when it was home to the Brown Thompson Department Store:
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Busier than Brown Thompson's used to be a saying in Hartford. Here the store is advertising a Fire, Smoke, and Water sale:
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Park Street and Greenwich, 1920s. A fleet of delivery trucks:
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Mowing the lawn outside the Capitol Building, 1920s:
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22 State Street, 1920s. Honiss's Oyster House:
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The next bunch are from Emporis.
The original Aetna Life Insurance Building, built in 1870. The city is the birthplace (and still the home of) many insurance giants: Travelers, Aetna, Phoenix, The Hartford, CT Mutual. Insurance wealth built the city but the same companies would be responsible for much of the destruction wrought on the city from the 60s through the late 90s:
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View from the Southwest, 1892-1896:
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After the 1913 reconstruction. Three floors added, mansard roof gone:
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Demolished for parking, then a useless plaza:
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Viewing South along Main Street, 1913. The Hartford-Aetna National Bank building is the tallest in the photo; it is now Hartford's most embarrassing parking lot. The buildings in the immediate foreground (look at that mansard!) have been demolished for the Bank of America Tower, a mediocre piece of 60s architecture:
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Another view from Main Street, this time to the Southeast, 1913. Here the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company Building is front and center. Nearly every building in this photo is now gone:
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Main and Pearl, 1907. CT Mutual Life Insurance Company Building:
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Built in 1872, the building underwent a renovation in 1899 which added a floor to the six story structure. Before its renovation the building was even more resplendent, a towered Second Empire palace:
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Pearl Street, 1929. Another demolished Pearl Street building, the Judd Building on the far right:
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Pearl Street, 1906. The original Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Building. 100 Pearl Street (it's shiny) now stands in its place:
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Jewell Street, 1906. The Hartford Fire Insurance Company Building, built in 1870. Demolished in 1930 for 55 on the Park (probably a fair trade):
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Another image of the Hartford Fire Insurance Building, early 1900s:
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State Street, 1906. The 1899 building is the only surviving pre-war building along Central Row. Its architect Ernest Flagg would go on to design the tallest building in the world, the now demolished Beaux-Arts Singer Building in Downtown Manhattan:
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Another view of Central Row. The Connecticut Courant Building, circa 1900. Demolished for office buildings in the eightees:
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Main Street, 1970. One American Airlines Plaza, now being reused as apartments. The deco detailing has been restored as well:
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High and Asylum looking West, 1900. The Garde Hotel, built in 1876 and now demolished:
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From above Bushnell Park, 1909. The Garde Hotel and surrounding buildings:
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Main and Asylum, 1906. The Catlin Building - built in 1897, it must have been considered throwaway architecture because it was demolished in 1912 for the The Hartford - Aetna National Bank Building. Look at that Asylum streetwall extending into the distance! All gone now - and for surface parking:
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Main and Temple, 1906. The Ballerstein Building, directly abutting the Sage Allen Dept. Store. Buildings then had character; here a diminutive clocktower, bay windows, and arches grace the ornamented facade. What is so hard about creating decent architecture like this? Today's mutilation of the block is terrible to look at. Don't developers have the pride to not construct dreck?
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From the Charles W. Cushman archives.
"Connecticut's State Capitol dome gets fresh coat of paint." Sept. 24, 1941:
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"Travelers Insur. Bldg. tower." Sept. 24, 1941. The two men are standing on the Hoadley Memorial Bridge at the end of Mulberry Street, now completely erased by I.M. Pei's Bushnell Tower and Plaza. To the left is the cupola of the Heublein Hotel, now a surface parking lot:
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Before the Bulkeley Bridge there was the old CT River Bridge, here shown in the late 1800s. This covered bridge burned down in 1895:
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Another vintage postcard with speedboats on the CT (how about this as a recaptured riverfront). Hartford was once a very wealthy city:
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Bushnell Park, late 1800s:
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Trinity College, 1909. View of the "Long Walk." Iconic chapel would be added in the 30s:
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Pope Manufacturing Company, 1909:
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Ann and Asylum, 1907. Hartford Life Insurance Company Building, now a surface parking lot (of course):
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Main Street, 1920. Two views. The Traveler's Building is my favorite New England skyscraper and one of the many architectural gems still standing in Hartford. Unfortunately, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole:
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Awesome post. Thank god we are getting some CT love on this forum. Welcome.
 
luv the color post card! drove thru Hartford yesterday that skyline always impress for for a city it's size sort of like Boston.I rate it 2nd best New England skyline! like I said drove thru so not great pix's!
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Thanks! This was wonderful. P.S. The architecture of Trinity College and its neighborhood is very pleasant.
 
Awesome post. Thank god we are getting some CT love on this forum. Welcome.
Thanks, I'll try to keep this thread updated as I come across more images.

luv the color post card! drove thru Hartford yesterday that skyline always impress for for a city it's size sort of like Boston.I rate it 2nd best New England skyline! like I said drove thru so not great pix's!
There's certainly a love-hate relationship with the skyline. It is very nice and as of now is one of the best things the city has going for it. But it came at the expense of all that truly made the city great.

I'm sure you'll appreciate this. This is a late 80s Hartford Courant photo of the city with all its then current proposals:
HartfordCourant3.jpg


The building on the left would have stood where the The Hartford-Aetna National Bank building once did. The one in the center would have been the tallest in New England. With the additions it might have been the best skyline in New England, but had they been built the city would still be plagued with the same problems it faces today: lack of urban continuity, lack of retail/amenities, and lack of people.

Thanks! This was wonderful. P.S. The architecture of Trinity College and its neighborhood is very pleasant.

Trinity College (2000 people) would have the best Gothic architecture in the state if it weren't for Yale. To the Southwest of the college there is the Southwest neighborhood: working class, diverse, and (imo) lovely. To the East and Northeast lies the Frog Hollow neighborhood, one of the toughest in the city and state.
 
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Great set. My Dad's family is from Hartford. They used to run Charles G Lincoln Co. They mostly sold Coffee (Turks Head and Ottoman were the brand names... I know, not exactly PC) and industrial kitchen supplies. My Grandfather sold out in the early 60s after getting tired of constantly being mugged in downtown Hartford. I was just at his funneral a few years ago at Asylum Ave. Congregational. It's amazing to think that all the parking lots on that street used to be great old buildings.

Hartford is so weird. Dead smack between Boston and New York. Home to huge, wealthy corporations. Yet a total dump.

Your father's story is very common in suburban CT.

You won't get mugged downtown anymore, but the city is a shell of what it was during your father's time. A dump though? In some (important) respects I'd agree but certainly not architecturally, culturally, or in economic importance.
 
Thanks, I'll try to keep this thread updated as I come across more images.


There's certainly a love-hate relationship with the skyline. It is very nice and as of now is one of the best things the city has going for it. But it came at the expense of all that truly made the city great.

I'm sure you'll appreciate this. This is a late 80s Hartford Courant photo of the city with all its then current proposals:
HartfordCourant3.jpg


The building on the left would have stood where the The Hartford-Aetna National Bank building once did. The one in the center would have been the tallest in New England. With the additions it might have been the best skyline in New England, but had they been built the city would still be plagued with the same problems it faces today: lack of urban continuity, lack of retail/amenities, and lack of people.



Trinity College (2000 people) would have the best Gothic architecture in the state if it weren't for Yale. To the Southwest of the college there is the Southwest neighborhood: working class, diverse, and (imo) lovely. To the East and Northeast lies the Frog Hollow neighborhood, one of the toughest in the city and state.
I wish they built these buildings then maybe Boston would have had to gone taller! I remember them being really nice!
 
Hartford is a sad reminder that small-mid sized cities have all suffered this country's worst levels of urban destruction. With the exception of the Old State House, downtown Hartford might as well be Toledo or Terre Haute.
 
Your father's story is very common in suburban CT.

You won't get mugged downtown anymore, but the city is a shell of what it was during your father's time. A dump though? In some (important) respects I'd agree but certainly not architecturally, culturally, or in economic importance.

My father grew up in idyllic West Hartford. But after he and the other 'kids' moved out, my grandfather actually moved into a place in downtown Hartford. He's been there for years, and has loved it. Can't say I take too many leisurely strolls around town during my visits, though.
 
Hartford is a sad reminder that small-mid sized cities have all suffered this country's worst levels of urban destruction. With the exception of the Old State House, downtown Hartford might as well be Toledo or Terre Haute.

Not quite. Most of downtown's individual gems remain; it's just that the urban fabric has been destroyed.

Some of what remains.

From Chez Julius on Flikr. The Travelers Insurance Building and the Wadsworth Atheneum. Built in 1919 and at 534 ft., the Travelers was the tallest in New England until the Pru in Boston. I liken it a bit to the Custom House: prewar and iconic, though the lighting on the Travelers indulges its decidedly lighthouse aesthetic. The Wadsworth is the nation's oldest public art museum, built in 1842:
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Situated on its perch atop the Bushnell Park, the Connecticut Capitol Building provides the best views of the city. Architecturally, it is perhaps the most exuberant and resplendent in the country:
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Exterior detailing, the Charter Oak tree and busts of famous residents:
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Looking upward:
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Did H.H. Richardson do work in Terra Haute? Here is the Cheney Building, once a departments store and now a Residence Inn (it deserves better):
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At one time, every great city had to have an arch. Here's Hartford's, the Soldier's and Sailor's Memorial Arch. The Bond Hotel is still around too (as a Homewood Suites) and is visible through the opening:
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There are more, including several modern examples, but the point is that Hartford is not lacking in icons. As I said before, the problem is that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
 
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I think Hartford looks great from an urban perspective. but no one ever says good things about the city.

white flight
dirty neighborhoods
crime
low population
daytime city
etc

and then I hear west hartford is very nice

what's the deal
 
Most of downtown's individual gems remain; it's just that the urban fabric has been destroyed.
Victimized by the modern planning tendency to see the city as a collection of outstanding monuments with the background buildings removed. Keep the good stuff and replace the rest with parking lots. Of course the city dies of discontinuity.

I was a guest in the Savannah planning director's office. "We're not tearing down anything anymore," he intoned proudly. Clearly framed by the view from his window, the wrecking ball was swinging. "What about that?" I inquired, nodding towards the scene. "Oh, that!" he remarked dismissively, "those buildings aren't anything important!"

.
 
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I think Hartford looks great from an urban perspective. but no one ever says good things about the city.

white flight
dirty neighborhoods
crime
low population
daytime city
etc

and then I hear west hartford is very nice

what's the deal

Those bad things you hear about Hartford are generally true but most all suburbanites lack any idea as to the cause or solutions to the problems.

Suburbanites' biggest problems with Hartford in order:

1. Perceived crime
2. Perceived lack of parking
3. Minorities

Fear is the dominant mentality.

West Hartford is an affluent suburb next to Hartford. West Hartford Center is a relatively small urban enclave with some nice restaurants and stores. It recently added a large mixed use "lifestyle center" on the edge of its downtown. "Blue Back Square" gets a few things right, namely a mixture of residential, office, and retail along with a movie theater, yet suffers from some serious errors in that it is inward facing, out of scale, and sterile. It's also a bit funny (yet much more depressing) to see people excited about a Cheesecake Factory and express indignation at having to pay for parking.

Victimized by the modern planning tendency to see the city as a collection of outstanding monuments with the background buildings removed. Keep the good stuff and replace the rest with parking lots. Of course the city dies of discontinuity.

I was a guest in the Savannah planning director's office. "We're not tearing down anything anymore," he intoned proudly. Clearly framed by the view from his window, the wrecking ball was swinging. "What about that?" I inquired, nodding towards the scene. "Oh, that!" he remarked dismissively, "those buildings aren't anything important!"

Racism has played a huge role in the development of the city. The WASP elite (aka "Bishops" of business) tried to turn the city into a playpen for rich whites. The city's wealth allowed it to pursue policies of discrimination; modernist ideas of space and urbanity ensured that all that energy would be exercised in all the wrong directions. New Haven is a similar story, though Hartford had no Yale as a last redoubt.

This New York Times article is great for a quick history of how the city got into the mess it's in:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E0D8103CF935A1575BC0A9649C8B63

Some (seriously) good things have happened since then, but just a few days ago it was announced that the state is giving $20 million in incentives for a developer to build a $10 million strip mall on downtown's largest empty lot. We are also still operating under the assumption that knocking down blighted buildings (with no redevelopment plan) constitutes progress.

After college I am moving to Boston or New York.
 
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From the Library of Congress:
Wethersfield Ave., 1907. Armsmear, the home of Samuel Colt. The grounds once contained glass-domed conservatories (shown here still standing) and genteel gardens. The city has since replaced them with a relatively banal (and unused) park:
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Colt's wealth was built on his weapons, and his weapons were built a stone's throw away from his resplendent home. Here is the Colt Factory in the early 1900s - rebuilt after being partially burned and bearing its iconic dome:
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The death of the family's heir Caldwell Colt prompted his mother to launch into a philanthropic frenzy. Among the commissions was the Caldwell Colt Memorial Building, which stands today minus its mast. "The memorial is suffused with nautical references, from the portholes that pierce its roof to the ship's bridge that originally ran along the ridgepole and supported a mast-shaped iron spire that carried a cross aloft 110 feet above the ground. Carved in the stone are replicas of ancient ships' prows - warships, yachts, and commercial vessels - complemented by anchors, rigging, capstans, quadrants, and yacht signals."
- William Hosley
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The memorial acts as a parish house for the adjacent Church of the Good Shepherd, which was donated by Elizabeth Colt after the death of her husband. I can't find an old picture of it, so here it is in the present:
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For more good photos of Hartford (in black and white) I've also found this collection. Unfortunately, I can't post this person's images:
http://picasaweb.google.com/CidraPR/Hartford#4975594151600848914
 
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Here's a great find. From Asylum Avenue, four pictures of the Hindenburg on its final journey - May 6, 1937.
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Hartford Blight

Morris St., post-war. A stone's throw away from Armsmear. View to the west toward the Hartford Hospital parking garage. The end of Morris St. has now been cut off by rowhouse development, the right-most building is now renovated, and the building in the center has been destroyed for surface parking.
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Another view. Blight yes, but planners and city officials still haven't figured out that tearing down such structures do not actually improve locations unless there is redevelopment. As I type this they're continuing to make the same mistakes - destroying the city to save it.
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An entrance.
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Congress St., building demolished for a park.
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45 Dean St. Demolished for parking. Street has made somewhat of a comeback - too bad more of it wasn't saved.
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50 Dean Street. Building also demolished.
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286 Sigourney St. Now a parking lot.
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Another view. Small losses here and there - no big deal, right?
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The latest to soon be torn down - the "Butt Ugly Building" directly north of downtown. Is the city better served by an empty lot?

From ragesoss on Flickr.
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Americans just don't like cities it seems. Having driven through and stayed in CT many many times I always saw this plainly. CT cities have an advantage over, say, Midwestern cities in that the entire state is within the Northeast Corridor. They could really do wonders to bring these cities back by looking at it's neighbors Boston, NY, and even Providence. The problem is they powers that be don't seem to want to.
 
^It doesn't help that the entire southwestern part of the state us essentially Suburban NYC. These suburbanites are likely in CT because they want to be out of the city. The majority of them have the money so the urban areas, particularly in that part of the state are really where the poor in CT are allowed (or can afford) to live. The people with money are all in the 'burbs and are content to be there.

*Edit* Hartford is ranked in the top 30 (27th) most crime-ridden cities (over 75,000) in the U.S. Nearby Springfield is number 40. Not good. here is the complete list (Boston ranks an even 100) http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/CityCrime2008_Rank_Rev.pdf
 
Holly crap are those old stone pillars in the river the reamins of the old connecticut bridge? I've always asked people what that used to be and no one has ever gave me a straight answer.
 

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