Willimantic's Blocks Part 4 by Pete Zizka 10-21-2023 |
For the stories about “blocks”, I’ve relied on city directories,
newspaper reports, insurance maps and several of Tom Beardsley’s
articles. A few weeks ago, we began looking at some of Willimantic’s
larger buildings, which were referred to at the time, as “blocks”. While
most were constructed of brick, the earliest ones were of wood
construction and none survive today. What was probably the oldest of the
wooden blocks was the Melony Block which was at 828 Main Street. The
Melony Block started out as the first home of the Congregational Church
and was remodeled when the congregation moved to its new building on
Walnut and Valley Streets in 1870. The Melony Block was home to William
Asher’s Maverick Laundry, the Blanchette Furniture Store and George
Walker’s Saloon on the ground floor. The second floor was occupied by
offices and the third floor by tenants. In May, 1908, the block was
nearly ruined by fire but was repaired and was part of Main Street until
1937 when Abraham Beller purchased the building from Albina Belanger.
Beller tore down the old building and built what became known as the
Beller Block. In the ‘60’s, Beller’s Package Store was located there and
Dr. Basden had offices upstairs. The Beller Block exists today on Main
Street. The Tanner Block, built on the northeast corner of Main and
Walnut Streets rivaled the Melony Block for age. The block went back to
circa 1853 when Warren Tanner purchased a slaughterhouse and livery
stable in the rear of that location. It had been erected by BALDWIN. The
stable was accessed by using a small passage which became known as
Tanner’s Lane and, in 1865, was widened and renamed North Street. Tanner
then built a commercial block on the site. In 1899, the front part of
the building was remodeled into a saloon named “The O.T.Cafe” after
Willimantic Mayor Oscar O. Tanner. Tanner opened two other saloons in
Willimantic and brewed and bottled beer. Oscar Tanner sold the building
to James Shea in 1905 but the saloon kept the “O.T.” name. In the 1940s,
Contos’ News Store, the Center Pharmacy and First National Stores were
located in it. The building was torn down to make room for Todd’s
Department Store. In April, 1880, the borough burgesses, “Voted
permission to Levi A. Frink to build a three-story wood
building on the site of his present dwelling on Main Street”. Frink then
moved his old house,
which had been on Main Street for fifty years,
back
from the street and put up a three story building with brick basement in
its place. He
planned to occupy the lower rooms in the new building and have a number
of tenements to rent in the upper part. That August, The Chronicle
reported that, “Levi Frink's new block has taken a new start and begins
to look something like a building. Meanwhile he is selling off his stock
at low prices to save moving.” His business, curiously, was called “The
Voluntown Bazaar”. Frink advertised. “
The best and the cheapest assortment of Stoves, Tin, Glass, Crockery,
Etc. Plumbing, and tin roofing, sheet iron, copper and tin work done to
order at short notice and in the best manner. All stove repairing is
cash on delivery.”
Upon opening,
Frink turned the business over to his wife, Elnora who then became one
of the very few female business owners in the city while Frink managed
the business. The store also advertised Frink’s promise, “to
astonish his customers with his low prices for the next thirty days. Now
is the time to make a trade with him, while he feels good over his new
block”!
The
business, however, “met with reverses” and he ended up dying in the
Almshouse where he and his wife resided for four years. Frink sold his
block to Martha C. Fuller for $500 in 1889. Two years later, she sold
the building and a neighboring tract to Marcus L. Tryon who dealt
extensively in Willimantic real estate.
Tryon also bought the old Post Office site from “Mary L. James, a single
woman who never married, according to the deed.”
In 1923, the Heller Family bought the building from Tryon. The Hellers
opened two businesses there, Harry Heller’s Auto Accessories and Max
Heller’s Insurance. In the ‘60s, Max Heller carried on his real estate
and insurance businesses from the block at 943-955 Main Street. The
ground floor, as some will remember, was home to Bob Moore’s Package
Store and Patsy LaMorte’s newsstand.
The building was torn down in January, 1972.
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