ThreadCity.com Photo Gallery

Threadcity Photo Gallery

Redevelopment -page 1

The beginning...... Redevelopment officially began at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 9, 1973. It began at Lincoln Square and proceeded East. The first building to be razed was the gas station that sat at the junction of Union and Main. Four other buildings were razed in that first three week period.	First 5 buildings to be razed Here is an overview of the first 5 buildings to be razed. Buildings were “released” to the demolition firm in lots of 5.	Main St. side of buildings This is the Main St. side of buildings that had entrances on both Main and Union Sts. On the left is Martin’s Home appliances and at the far right is Goettlich’s Furniture store. The 2 buildings in the middle were vacant at the time but I believe that the smaller one was, at one time, Rothblatt’s Meat Market.	Martin’s Home appliances
Goettlich’s Furniture store	Redevelopment Area Photo courtesy of Bruce Oscar and Debbie Martel	Northwest view of Union Street The Baptist Church is at the far left.	Demolition of the Pomeroy Block The building being demolished was known as "The Pomeroy Block". Some of you may remember that it housed Brennan's Electrical and Noheimer's Market. Across the street (from left to right in the photo) was Melo's Beauty Salon, Olin's Wallpaper Store, a barber shop, Theresa's Dress Shop and Delmar Radio
NE corner of Union and Temple The large building was once known as the "Temple of Fashion". To the right, the small storefront was Rob Roy Jewelers. (Rob's father, Homer Roy, had a barber shop on the Temple St. side of the Temple of Fashion). To the right of Rob Roy's is Morris Hardware.	North & Valley Streets "The Washburn Block" sat on the southwest corner of North and Valley. Until the building of the Town Hall, all Town of Windham public meetings were held here.	North St. facing Meadow Street Irene's Coffee Shop and the garage door was the entrance to Doc Lacey's car wash.. We also heard from Cheryl Zudin who said, "Joe's Launderette was my father's business, Joseph Udin from Lebanon, CT. He ran this business from around 1955 until the coin-op laundry put him out of the business around 1965. My father work 7 days a week doing people's laundry. He would wash, dry, fold and package each person's laundry like it was his own. He took pride in his business. My mother, Sonny and sister, Michelle who was 3 years old, when it first opened, used to be there working most days along side my dad."	140-142 and 146 Valley Street On the left is the building that had a double storefront and was home to the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the First Society of Spiritualists. At one time it was used as an Armory for the CT National Guard. It was also used as a social club. On the right is the Park Central. These two buildings as well as one on the right of the Park central were built around 1890 by M. Eugene Lincoln (not the Lincoln Square Lincoln) who was one of the city's most prolific builders. Besides these three, he put up at least ten other buildings in the city.
Park Central Hotel - 146 Valley Street The first mention of the Park Central Hotel that we could find came from a 1903 newspaper story. A fireman wrenched his back at a fire at the Hawthorn House and was “confined to his room at the Park Central Hotel”. In 1913, the hotel was sold by Mrs. Eliza Smith to Mrs. William Rose . To the right is the building that held J. B. Carpenter’s Plumbing Co. and the W.G. Potter Oil Burner Co. They were built sometime around 1890 and by 1971 they were on the “Redevelopment” hit list.	Meadow Street This is Meadow Street and the view is toward North Street. Brunen's Bakery is on the corner. The home was at 10 Meadow Street and the driveway led to the U.S. Post Office Parcel Post substation that was at 20 Meadow Street.	B'nai Israel Synagogue The B'nai Israel Synagogue was located in a 1876 Spiritualist church on the east side of Bank Street, just north of the Bank Street Fire house. It is pictured here in September, 1952. The building had been known as Excelsior Hall and housed a cinema during the early years of the twentieth century. Picture courtesy of Ruth Ridgeway	Center Street Armory The Center Street Armory is pictured here during the early 1950s. This building housed a state armory, a silk mill, boys clubs, town offices, a dance hall and finally the French Canadian Club. It was demolished in 1972. Picture courtesy of Tom Riquier
Borodach's Market - Corner of Valley and Jackson Streets Ada Kerachsky Albright identified this picture as that of Borodach's Market. She said, "It was Borodach's for at least 40 years as far as I can determine. It started out as Borodach's Meat Market in the 1920s.."	Center St. Center Street, looking from Valley Street south towards Main Center Street was laid out in 1866 by Allen Lincoln. This location, along with Temple and Broad Streets, developed into a vibrant commercial, residential center of the city. The entire area was demolished in 1974. Picture courtesy of Tom Riquier.	Summer of 1968 This photograph was taken in the summer of 1968, after the St. Valentine's Day fire destroyed the Commercial Block, which had stood on the site since 1865. The building located on the eastern corner of Main and Church, the Turner block, was built in 1877 and served as a hotel for many years. It was demolished in the early 1970s, and the site is today the home of Liberty Bank.	Osso's Store Corner of Jackson Street and Valley Street Ext. Prior to Redevelopment, Catholic Charities had moved into the building but prior to that it was the confectionary store owned by Joe and Louis Osso.
Wonder Restaurant & Bar The Wonder Restaurant and Bar was once a landmark on Jackson Street. The Father Honan elderly housing complex stands on this location today, .The address of the Wonder Bar was 35 1/2 Jackson Street.	Wonder Restaurant & Bar Note Lenny's Package Store is also seen. The Wonder Bar is advertising steamed clam dinners and Schlitz beer	Wonder Restaurant & Bar Note the unique curved balcony on the south side of the building	Saint Mary's Church This is a view of St. Mary's Church that will never be seen again. We're looking at the Church in 1970, between the houses that once stood on the major parcel.



	Bank and Meadow Streets Looking west along Meadow Street Home of Safety Complex today	Meadow Street Looking East from Bank Street