Elmwood, West Hartford
Elmwood is a neighborhood in West Hartford, Connecticut that encompasses the area south of Interstate 84 and east of South Main Street, extending to the borders of neighboring Newington and Hartford. It is primarily a middle-class and working-class enclave composed mostly of postwar single-family homes and duplexes. Elmwood's main thoroughfares include New Britain Avenue, Newington Road and New Park Avenue. The commercial side of New Britain Avenue is known as Elmwood Center, an area composed of local businesses, services, and ethnic restaurants. Newington Road and New Park Avenue are formerly areas where the manufacturing sector thrived in previous decades and have experienced steady revitalizations in recent years. Elmwood is the sight of the former Talcott Middle School, which has since been renovated into luxury condominiums. It is also home to Beachland Park and the southernmost point of the town's Trout Brook Trail. Once home to a substantial Irish and Italian American community, Elmwood today is home to many Portuguese, Hispanics, and Asian Americans, the latter being particularly well-established in the neighborhood's Shield Street Plaza which is home to many Asian restaurants, markets and businesses.
Elmwood is a stop on CTfastrack near the intersection of New Britain Avenue and New Park Avenue. It is also an upcoming stop for the New Haven-Springfield rail line, currently in progress.