Rolling Through Enfield, CT

From Dave Brigham:

As a young man, I went to Enfield, Connecticut, to see punk rock bands at the old Enfield Roller World. I saw Black Flag, Naked Raygun, TSOL, St. Vitus and a few bands I can't recall. You can read about bands that played at the former roller skating rink here and here, and learn about the history of the rink here

Here's what Black Flag was up to in that era, the mid''80s:

As a middle-aged man, I checked out Enfield's Thompsonville neighborhood to make photos, and to see the area where one of my lifelong friends lived as a young kid. I only walked through a small section in the northern part of the neighborhood, in what is or was known as Frenchtown. I assume this is because in the late 19th or early 20th century there was an influx of French-Canadian immigrants who worked in the mill there.

I wish I had more time to explore the town; maybe sometime in the near future.

My first stop was the former Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills, which was "once one of the largest manufacturers of carpeting in the United States," according to Wikipedia.

"The Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Company had its origins in a carpet manufacturing business established in Thompsonville by Orrin Thompson in 1828," Wikipedia continues. "Through the 19th century and into the early 20th century, it grew to become the nation's single biggest maker of carpet products. Built in part by mergers with other makers, it produced virtually every style of carpeting imaginable, and was thus able to achieve a dominant position in the industry. Demand for the company's products began to decline in the Great Depression, and the company reduced operations through the 1950s, finally closing production here entirely in the mid-1960s."

Located hard by a set of railroad tracks overlooking the Connecticut River, the old mill complex years ago was converted to an apartment development called Bigelow Commons. I've checked out numerous former mills that have been turned into condos or apartments or office/lab space. Bigelow Commons is the first one I've seen with very attractive outdoor pool.

This Patch article and accompanying photos contrast the post-urban renewal landscape of today, with empty lots and some abandoned buildings, with the more thriving area that existed in the 1950s.

Just north of the old carpet factory, at the corner of Alden Avenue and Church Street, is a lovely brick building that opened on July 1, 1923: the Polish National Home.

"The building was financed by the sale of shares in the club, at $5 per share, with buyers becoming voting members," according to this Patch article. "The building, featuring huge arch windows, chandeliers and a real opera stage, was used for many events, particularly live music from polka bands."

On the ground floor today are Smoke BBQ and Pierogi Queen, sister restaurants. There are also two banquet halls, one in the basement and one on the second floor, for which I believe those eateries provide catering.

Directly across Church Street is another nice old brick building, this one, like so many like it that I've seen in various cities over the years, occupied by a church: Ministries of Love & Hope, which calls itself a "full gospel deliverance church."

At the corner of College and Church streets is a former school that my friend told me to check out, as he had attended here when he was in kindergarten and first grade.

Currently (or perhaps formerly, hard to tell) home to the Thompsonville Enterprise Center, a business incubator, this place was originally the North School. It was one of two identical schools built in Thompsonville in 1860. The old school also served as the original location of Asnuntuck Community College.

At the foot of College Street, guarding the entrance into the mill apartments, is an absolutely adorable old apartment building.

I have to say, I'm glad I decided to make most of my Thompsonville images in black and white. I think the architecture and the skies work very well in that format. I wonder if there used to be a store of some sort on the ground floor.

South of that building, at the corner of Pleasant and Chapel streets, is a handsome commercial block that dates to around 1900.

Silvia's Thompsonville Cafe Bar & Grille is run by a "five-time gold medal winner in the National Chef’s Tasting competition," according to its web site. In addition to breakfast and lunch, the joint sells ice cream, smoothies, grinders and more.

Another place my friend suggested I check out was the building for the Greys Athletic Association. Located across from the Main Street entrance to Bigelow Commons, the building suffered a fire in late 2022 or early 2023.

Built around the turn of last century, the building was the clubhouse for the athletic association, a social club and fraternal organization that for 100 years has supported youth and adult sports leagues and "organizations dedicated to the less fortunate," as well as veterans and police and fire departments, according to the group's web site. Luckly, the group has found a temporary home elsewhere in Enfield.

On the side of the burned-out building is a roached-out ghost sign.

This is an old ad for Faber's carpet store, which was located somewhere in Thompsonville, perhaps in a building that occupied what is now an empty lot next to the old Greys club.

On Pearl Street, just south of the Enfield Dam, is a circa-1939 firehouse that is now in private hands. I like the "TFD" medallion at the roofline.

Continuing south on Pearl Street, I came to a shuttered store in a building dating to 1920.

The building has been vacant for at least 15 years, from what I've read online.

A short distance away, at 28 Prospect Street, is a beautiful old church that was the final stop on my brief tour.

The Enfield assessor's database says this house of worship dates to 1859. I believe it was originally known as St. Andrew's Episcopal; today it is the Amazing Grace Church.

A Sharp Old Factory in Collinsville, CT

From Dave Brigham:

Before exploring Collinsville, CT, earlier this year, I think the last (and only) time I'd been there was in the early 1980s when my sister lived in an apartment in the village. Hard to believe, considering that I grew up a 15-minute drive east-northeast from this part of Canton, hard by the Farmington River.

As you can tell from these photos, each of the two times I swung through the 'Ville, it was gloomy. Raining the first time, cool and cloudy (with rain later in the day) the second. Nevertheless, I was quite charmed by the village, which I'd seen pictures of in various places online over the years, leading to my decision to finally get off my duff and check it out.

While there are many great buildings with local businesses along Main Street and the side streets, I focused on the former factory of The Collins Company, which for 140 years manufactured axes, hatchets, machetes and other sharp tools.

The company’s founders, brothers Samuel and David Collins, were born into a wealthy family, according to this ConnecticutHistory.org article. "Their father, Alexander Collins, was a lawyer in Middletown and their mother Elizabeth was from the well-to-do mercantile Watkinson family of Hartford. When Alexander died in 1815, his widow moved the family to Hartford. Samuel was 24 years old and David age 21 when they decided to open an axe factory with their cousin William Wells. The Collins & Company factory opened in 1826 with the purchase of an old gristmill and a few acres of land along the Farmington River in Canton."

The company thrived for decades, selling its products around the country and the world. The brothers built dams along the Farmington River, expanded the number of buildings in their manufacturing plant, constructed worker housing, a Congregational church, a bank and other buildings for the community. The company also "secured a rail line for Collinsville to transport [its] goods and material by offering the railroad company a right of way through company land, a depot, and $3,000," according to the ConnecticutHistory article.

As you can see, the former factory's buildings are quite photogenic. The company was in business until 1966, having suffered a tough business environment after the devastating 1955 flood that hit Connecticut.

These days, there are businesses in some of the old mill buildings, including Antiques on the Farmington, a multi-dealer shop; TOOWi Wellness; a hair salon called Milkweeds; Almost Home Studio, which specializes in family and pet portraiture and landscape paintings; and Downright Music, a music school.

The old factory complex spreads across multiple buildings along the Farmington River. You can get great views from the bike path that runs through part of the complex, located along the old railroad right-of-way.

There are opportunities aplenty for urbexers who want to trespass and risk life and limb. But you know me - that ain't my thing.

Whenever I explore around an old mill complex, I wonder whether there's a redevelopment plan. A company called Ranger Properties indicates on its web site that it has reached an agreement to buy the old Collins factory. "The restoration plans for the historic site [call for] more than 200 apartments and a commercial hub that dominates the Collinsville section of Canton on a 20-acre river-front property," per the web site. "The plan is to refurbish 23 of the 25 decaying brick buildings, construct several new apartment buildings, add a partly underground parking garage, and create a public river walk and plaza along the Farmington River."

Stay tuned....

Going East to West in East Windsor

From Dave Brigham:

Located, as you might have guessed, east of Windsor, Connecticut, East Windsor is a small town that maintains a rural feel alongside suburban neighborhoods and relics of an industrial past. I visited there recently as part of my ongoing project to explore towns along the route between my home in Newton, Mass., and my mother's house in Windsor.

I started out in the southeast part of town, known as Windsorville, at a wonderful church.

The Windsorville United Methodist Church was built in 1877, replacing an earlier one from 1829 that burned down in 1876. There is a cemetery immediately to the east of the church. I was quite taken by this lovely house of worship.

I even love the storage shed!

From Windsorville, I made my way north-northwest to the Broad Brook village. As often happens when I go backsidin', I researched a few sites ahead of time, but it was the one I was clueless about that turned out to be the gem.

I knew about the Broad Brook Opera House at the corner of Main and Depot streets, but as I steered north on Main Street, I passed a place that had my eyes buggin' out of my head. I'll get to that site in a minute, but first the opera house.

Built 1892, "[t]he historic location has been home to various community groups and businesses throughout the century," according to its web site. "Originally founded by the Broad Brook Company, the tradition of being a family run establishment has stayed true through present day." In addition to live shows (Killer Queen Experience, a Queen tribute band; Reverend Horton Heat with the Delta Bombers; and the Ultimate Variety Show, featuring Vegas impersonators and impressionists), the facility is available to rent for private events.

There's a fantastic mural on the back.

In my research, I learned about a run-down mill across Main Street from the opera house.

Tucked behind a strip mall with a few restaurants and other small businesses, the remnants of the Broad Brook Mill are fenced off, although I'm sure folks get in there and party and spray paint and whatever. The property appears to be owned by Hamilton Standard Controls, according to the town's assessor, with some buildings dating as far back as 1850. That company was part of Hamilton Sundstrand, a Windsor Locks-based aerospace and industrial products company that merged with Goodrich Corp. in 2012 to form UTC Aerospace Systems. So who knows who the hell owns this mess.

These buildings, and possibly a few others, are what's left of the Broad Brook Company mill. To learn the history of this place, for the first time on this blog, I will be turning to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its Superfund site for this property:

"The site was used for industry dating back to at least 1835 when a woolen mill was built by the Phelps Manufacturing Co., displacing earlier gristmills, sawmills, and a tannery. In 1849, the Broad Brook Co. bought the mill and continued manufacturing woolen products until 1951....To power the woolen mill, the [company] operated a coal gasification plant, which contaminated the site with PAHs as coal gasification byproducts. In 1954, United Aircraft Corp., now United Technologies Corp., bought the site property and owned it until 1977....From 1954 to 1967, United Technologies manufactured printed circuit boards....From 1968 to 1974, the company made boron filament at the site. From 1974 to 1977, there was a boron filament manufacturing operation at the site, operated by Composite Materials Corp., a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America. Composite Technology Inc. continued manufacturing from 1977 to 1982.

"In 1977, United Technologies sold the property to Broad Brook Center, [which] leased building space to commercial and industrial users. In 1982, Broad Brook Center...conveyed the site property to James R. Testa and John Bartus, who in 1985, doing business as the partnership Broad Brook Center Associates, transferred title to the site property to Broad Brook Center Associates. In January 1986, the site property was sold to Connecticut Building Corporation. In May 1986, a fire destroyed many of the former mill buildings. In July 1986, Connecticut Building Corporation applied for a permit to develop 21 residential condominium units in the former mill building that had survived the fire. These residential condominiums were developed between 1990 and 1993."

I wonder what it was like living in condos on a former mill site that was almost certainly still quite polluted and contaminated. Well, however that experience was, it didn't last long. "In October 2004, Hamilton Sundstrand acquired this 21-unit mill building formerly used as residential condominiums as well as associated property from the Millbrook condominium association and individual unit owners. Residents no longer live on the property and the site is fenced."

The site seems to have been cleaned up in recent years. "In December 2003, EPA, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP), and Hamilton Sundstrand finalized agreements necessary to defer this site to the state. The state took the lead in the cleanup and EPA provided oversight. CT DEP ordered Hamilton Sundstrand to develop a cleanup plan and put it in place....In April 2021, the EPA withdrew the proposed rule to add the site to the National Priorities List."

What's next for this property? I imagine all remaining buildings will be torn down at some point. Broad Brook bisects this property, so I'm not sure how much of the land is buildable. Seems a good candidate for some open space with historical markers.

Immediately southeast of the old mill site, in the strip mall property, is an old brick building that I'm guessing was once part of the mill.

This building is currently home to Salon Rausch and James A. Houlberg accounting and tax services.

Just north of the mill site, along Main Street, are some nice older homes, including some brick ones, as well as some brick commercial properties.

Next to Broad Brook is 100 Main St., which dates to 1850. Currents tenants are Agonist Gallery and At the Dam Restaurant, which, based on photos online, looks to be a great little diner.

Next to the restaurant and gallery space is another circa-1850 brick building.

I found an old postcard online that I believe depicts the building above. The card is dated 1903 and indicates this building at that time was a hotel and general store. It is now home to the K. Simon Center for the Arts, although I'm not sure if it's currently open.

Due south on Main Street, located in a circa-1920 former bank, is Paul's Package Store.

Across the street is the site that that had me rubbing my eyes to make sure it was real.

The Broad Brook Garage was built in 1918. The small, red-tile-roofed building was where the gas attendant hung out (notice the pump underneath the sign). The main garage "housed at various times a Buick dealership, a Chevrolet dealership and a repair shop which also sold new and used cars," according to this Patch article from April 2021.

This property is like something out of a movie about small-town America in the 1950s, or a suburbex fever dream. If I ever stumble across old service stations, they tend to be fairly plain and simple, attesting to the no-bullshit work that got done there, or, in some cases, still gets done. Driving past this joint, I felt like I was a location scout for "American Pickers." This is the kind of spot that makes Mike Wolf slam on his brakes, turn around and go introduce himself to the proprietor.

If you watch "American Pickers," you know those folks love cars and petroliana. I saw a few old signs, and of course the Coca-Cola clock, and I'm guessing there may be some other gems inside these buildings.

I don't know how long the place has been out of business, but there is good news. When I posted shots of this place on Instagram, the owner of Stand Alone Customs commented: "Currently owned, loved and soon to be restored! The owner has been trying to restore the building slowly and keep it as a pillar of historical value. Discussions have been in place to restore and return the gas house into a functional area and possibly turn it into a coffee shop, hot dog stand, etc."

Man, that would just be fantastic.

From Broad Brook, I continued west to East Windsor's Warehouse Point village. Here again, I checked out sites I'd scouted out ahead of time on Google Maps, and stumbled across some nice surprises.

The main draw for me here, something I'd run across a few years ago while tooling around after exploring nearby Windsor Locks, was the old mill on Main Street.

The former Leonard Silk Company / Warehouse Point Silk Company buildings date to 1874 through 1884, according to this Preservation Connecticut article. "The four-story brick mill operated by the Leonard Silk Company was tragically destroyed by fire on December 16, 1874, however, the company quickly moved to rebuild and resume production," the article indicates. "In less than one month the firm had erected a new dye house and powerplant and had installed enough machinery to begin work. The majority of the existing red brick mill was completed in short order and the Leonard Silk Company was soon up to full capacity. Demand for the company’s products continued through the early 1880s and the two-story red brick block at the northern end of the plant was added to house a new office and stock room ca. 1884. In March 1893 the stockholders of the Leonard Silk Company voted to change the name of the firm to the Warehouse Point Silk Company."

Warehouse Point Silk prospered through World War I and the Great Depression, but its business slowed down and the operation closed up shop in 1944. After that, Montgomery Ward and Co., a mail-order and department store chain that went out of business in 2001, moved into the facility. Current tenants include Keystone Paper and Box Company, which was founded in 1944, and Trim Solutions, which since 2006 has manufactured vinyl siding, windows and doors.

A short distance away, on School Street, past the relatively modern police department building, is the town's social services building.

Built in 1874, this appears to be a former school, which would make sense given the street that it's on. The social services department provides social, emotional and economic assistance to East Windsor residents.

At the corner of School Street and Dean Avenue is a former firehouse.

Now a private home, this was once the home of Hose Company Number 1. The building dates to 1912.

Heading north to Bridge Street, I was pleasantly surprised to spy Mark's Tavern.

The assessor says this building dates to 1900, but the tavern's web site indicates it was built in the 1880s. I trust Mark.

Just a few doors down, heading back east, is a great old building that dates to 1850.

I'm assuming this was originally a private home. Tenants nowadays include The Vintage Shops, which comprises a group of independent antique and collectibles dealers. According to the group's web site, this building was previously a boarding house and a bar. Among the group is CBug's Records, Matt's Military, The Clock Man and Chipping with Charm.

Across Bridge Street from the vintage collaborative is a building that intrigues me.

Dated to 1850, 53 Bridge Street appears as though it might have been affiliated with the old mill complex. It is currently apartments, but its shape, and the fact that there are no windows at the close end, says to me "old warehouse."

A little bit south on Main Street I found two defunct businesses in one low brick building dating to 1920.

Danny's Radio & TV was evidently established in 1978. I like the hand-lettered sign. I'm not sure when the business went dark.

Around the back of this building is the former Wadsworth Press, which was founded in 1947.

I don't know when this place went out of business, either. The company's last Facebook post was made in September 2021.

Finally, in the southwest quadrant of East Windsor, as the clouds were rolling in, the winds kicking up and rain starting to fall, I found my final spot.

Located along Route 5 just shy of the South Windsor Line, Dari Delite is a great ice cream spot that unfortunately closed up last summer.

The shop opened in 1956. I hope somebody can find a way to reopen it.

I wanted to get closer and take more photos of the outside and inside, but the parking lot was roped off, I was parked on the side of very busy Route 5, and the skies were opening up. I had also hoped to make some photos of barns and other rural scenes in town, but the weather cut my trip short.

For more about this part of north-central Connecticut, see November 13, 2021, "Things Are Poppin' in Windsor Locks", and March 12, 2021, "Blowing Into Windsor".