Blue Onion Letterbox LbNA #12290
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Nov 21, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | East Hartford |
| County: | Hartford |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | MayEve  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | butterfly |
| Last found: | Mar 21, 2008 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFaaaaFFFaam |
| Last edited: | Nov 21, 2004 |
NOTE: This box was taken away by the flood! It will be replaced. Stay tuned.
BLUE ONION LETTERBOX
SAMUEL COLT: On a ship bound for India, 16 year-old Samuel Colt carved a model of a single-barrelled pistol with automatically revolving chambers. The legends vary, but some say it was while on deck watching the ship's wheel that he came up with the idea. By the time he was 22, Colt had patented a working revolver in France, England and the United States. In 1836 he started manufacturing them in an assembly-line factory in Connecticut and in 1855 he set about constructing a massive production plant in his hometown of Hartford. This site was to become the world’s largest armory. Colt soon proved himself as a master industrialist as well as the world’s finest producer of handguns. Additionally, Colt became the largest supplier of handguns for the Civil War. Samuel Colt, however, did not live to truly enjoy the rewards of his genius. He died on January 10, 1862, 11 years before the Company he founded, came up with it’s most famous creation, the Peacemaker. His death, of natural causes, came in the 49th year of his age having never fired a gun at another person.
BLUE ONION: On top of the Armory, Colt raised an elaborate, onion-shaped blue dome, supported by columns and crowned by a golden sphere on which perched a rampant colt holding a broken spear. The colt itself was made of bronze and cast in the Armory. All over New England it was customary to adorn factories with cupolas and weathervanes, but Colt's dome was such an eccentric, ostentatious landmark that it gave rise to endless speculation and rumor about its origin. One story had the dome shipped to Hartford as the gift of a Turkish sultan grateful for guns be received during the Crimean War. Another, closer to the truth, said Colt was inspired by the Byzantine churches he saw in Russia to imitate their architecture. The real reason seems to be, simply, showmanship. Colt wanted the Blue Onion seen and admired by everyone, and at the same time attract the attention and wonderment of steamboat passengers on the Connecticut River.
DIRECTIONS TO GREAT RIVER PARK:
From I 84 W, take exit 54 (East Hartford) towards downtown Hartford, then exit 3. At end of ramp turn left onto Darlin street and another left onto East River Drive. Follow for less then a mile to the park entrance on your right.
From I 84 E, take exit 53 (East Harrtford) and follow signs for East River Drive. Right off the ramp onto East River Drive and follow for about 3/4 of a mile to the park entrance on your right.
CLUES: Enter Great River Park and head south on the paved path. You will almost immediately come to a fork where you will bear left towards the amphitheater. (From any seat in this amphitheater, you will have an outstanding view of the Blue Onion directly across the Connecticut River.) Just as you are about to enter the amphitheater you will come to a cement bench on your right. Stop here. Look under a rock behind the cement bench in the corner closest to the river to find the Blue Onion. As always, please be discreet and rehide well. Thanks! MayEve511@yahoo.com
BLUE ONION LETTERBOX
SAMUEL COLT: On a ship bound for India, 16 year-old Samuel Colt carved a model of a single-barrelled pistol with automatically revolving chambers. The legends vary, but some say it was while on deck watching the ship's wheel that he came up with the idea. By the time he was 22, Colt had patented a working revolver in France, England and the United States. In 1836 he started manufacturing them in an assembly-line factory in Connecticut and in 1855 he set about constructing a massive production plant in his hometown of Hartford. This site was to become the world’s largest armory. Colt soon proved himself as a master industrialist as well as the world’s finest producer of handguns. Additionally, Colt became the largest supplier of handguns for the Civil War. Samuel Colt, however, did not live to truly enjoy the rewards of his genius. He died on January 10, 1862, 11 years before the Company he founded, came up with it’s most famous creation, the Peacemaker. His death, of natural causes, came in the 49th year of his age having never fired a gun at another person.
BLUE ONION: On top of the Armory, Colt raised an elaborate, onion-shaped blue dome, supported by columns and crowned by a golden sphere on which perched a rampant colt holding a broken spear. The colt itself was made of bronze and cast in the Armory. All over New England it was customary to adorn factories with cupolas and weathervanes, but Colt's dome was such an eccentric, ostentatious landmark that it gave rise to endless speculation and rumor about its origin. One story had the dome shipped to Hartford as the gift of a Turkish sultan grateful for guns be received during the Crimean War. Another, closer to the truth, said Colt was inspired by the Byzantine churches he saw in Russia to imitate their architecture. The real reason seems to be, simply, showmanship. Colt wanted the Blue Onion seen and admired by everyone, and at the same time attract the attention and wonderment of steamboat passengers on the Connecticut River.
DIRECTIONS TO GREAT RIVER PARK:
From I 84 W, take exit 54 (East Hartford) towards downtown Hartford, then exit 3. At end of ramp turn left onto Darlin street and another left onto East River Drive. Follow for less then a mile to the park entrance on your right.
From I 84 E, take exit 53 (East Harrtford) and follow signs for East River Drive. Right off the ramp onto East River Drive and follow for about 3/4 of a mile to the park entrance on your right.
CLUES: Enter Great River Park and head south on the paved path. You will almost immediately come to a fork where you will bear left towards the amphitheater. (From any seat in this amphitheater, you will have an outstanding view of the Blue Onion directly across the Connecticut River.) Just as you are about to enter the amphitheater you will come to a cement bench on your right. Stop here. Look under a rock behind the cement bench in the corner closest to the river to find the Blue Onion. As always, please be discreet and rehide well. Thanks! MayEve511@yahoo.com