Q: Where is the Alfred E. Burr Memorial Mall? (Hint: It's in downtown.) And who was Alfred E. Burr?

A: It's located between City Hall and the Wadsworth Atheneum and best known as the home of Alexander Calder's big, orange sculpture, "Stegosaurus." Alfred E. Burr was the publisher of the Hartford Times. When he died in 1906, his will left in trust $50,000 for "a fountain for horses and men...erected in a public way." But the money wasn't available until 1923; by then, horses had all but disappeared from city streets. It wasn't until the 1960s - when the fund stood at $1.5 million - that the courts decided a mall would satisfy the terms of the will. (Source: "Structures and Styles: Guided Tours of Hartford Architecture," by Gregory E. Andrews and David F. Ransom)

Q: By 1920, the mansions on Washington Street were giving way to automobile businesses, particularly dealerships and repair shops. What prompted this trend?

A: The popularity of the street as a route for the new contraptions. Peter C. Baldwin writes in "Domesticating the Street: The Reform of Public Space in Hartford, 1850-1930" that early guidebooks for motorists recommended Washington Street as a good north-south connector within Hartford and as part of an alternate route to New Haven and Meriden. "A long, wide street without trolleys may have been an impressive setting for mansions," Baldwin notes, but "it was also attractive to automobile traffic." Inevitably, auto-related businesses located there to catch the eye of potential customers.

Q: Who was the first Puerto Rican elected to the City Council?

A: Antonio Gonzalez, in 1979. He was not, however, the first Puerto Rican to serve on the council. That distinction went to Mildred Torres. She had been appointed earlier that year, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Barbara Kennelly, who had just won election as secretary of the state. (Source: "Identity & Power: Puerto Rican Politics and the Challenge of Ethnicity," by Jose E. Cruz.)

Q: Front and center in the photograph below are the two founders of what turned out to be Hartford's most important manufacturing concern. Who are they? Hint: The photo was taken in 1896, outside the company headquarters at 1 Flower Street.

A: Francis Pratt (left) and Amos Whitney, founders of the Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Company.

Thanks to David Stelly, general manager of Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems Inc., for providing the photo. He states that Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems, located in Bloomfield, is the only surviving part of the original Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool Company, which started in 1860. You might be wondering: Then what about that big company in East Hartford that builds airplane engines? Here's the connection:

In 1925, Pratt & Whitney loaned $250,000 to Frederick Rentschler so he could begin manufacturing aircraft engines. It also loaned him the company name and building space on Capitol Avenue. Four years later, after his venture became a success, Rentschler ended his association with Pratt & Whitney Machine Tool and formed United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, the predecessor of today's United Technologies. But he was allowed to continue using the Pratt & Whitney name.

Visit the website of Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems for more company history and photographs: http://www.prattandwhitney.com/history.htm

The UTC website also has a timeline: http://www.pratt-whitney.com/timeline_1920.htm

Q: The state's planned execution of Michael Ross has focused attention on the last criminal executed in Connecticut: Joseph "Mad Dog" Taborsky, who was killed on May 17, 1960. During the winter of 1956-1957, he and a partner went on a robbery spree that left six people dead. The last killing occurred during a Hartford robbery on January 26, 1957. Name the location.

A: Rosenthal's Drug Store on Maple Avenue, near Congress Street. Taborsky shot owner John M. Rosenthal, 69, twice in the chest and left to die behind his prescription counter.

Q: What street, once a vital one in downtown Hartford, is being restored as part of the rehabilitation of the former Sage-Allen department store?

A: Temple Street. It once ran between the Sage-Allen building and the Brown Thomson building, from Main Street to Market Street. A connecting building between the two stores -- remember the Richardson Mall? -- essentially eliminated the street in the 1970s, though a street sign remained at what used to be the corner of Market and Temple. Already, though, that building has been torn down, though the street is not open yet.

Originally, Temple Street continued after Market Street, down to Front Street. According to "History of Hartford Streets," by F. Perry Close, that segment was discontinued in April 1961, to make way for the urban renewal projects that wiped out the Front Street neighborhood.

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