Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's throwback takes us once again into the pages of John Zirolli's delightful book of photos and stories, entitled I Took a Little Trip to My Hometown. Here we see a mid-1970s cleanup effort by some unidentified Enfield youths at the Hazardville Youth Center, located inside a landmark building which had fallen into serious disrepair: the Hazardville Institute.

Built in 1869, the Italian-revival style Institute at various times housed a meeting hall, library, community theater and Grange Hall prior to its use as the youth center. As Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame honoree Bill Cantin recalled in his 2004 induction speech, "There was a long, narrow basketball court on the second floor."

The photo below, courtesy of the Enfield Historical Society, shows the building in its earlier days.

The Institute was vacated in the late 1970s, and despite the best efforts of Hazardville leaders like Tony Secondo and Ed Allen, numerous restoration efforts were unsuccessful. The building was leased to the Hazardville Institute Conservancy Society Inc., a non-profit organization formed in 1979 to save it from demolition and restore it. The deteriorating structure became an eyesore for many years, until a second incarnation of the society gathered in the early part of the 21st century and renovation work began in earnest following several grants.

Plans for the renovated building, which is still unoccupied as restoration work continues, include a community meeting space and a Hazardville museum on the ground floor, and the North Central Connecticut Probate District court on the second floor.

The 150th anniversary of the Institute's opening was marked by a proclamation from the Enfield Town Council in 2019. Here is a more contemporary look at the building, taken last August.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Enfield lost its only Major League Baseball son this week with the passing of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Spanswick. As detailed in this article, Bill was a minor-league roommate of future Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. I grew up and went to school with Bill's youngest daughter Susan, and one day in the mid-1970s, word got around the neighborhood that Yaz was in town. Kids were appearing literally out of nowhere to meet the legendary star. On what street did the Spanswicks live when that happened?" The answer: 56 Field Road, where Spanswick lived until moving to 10 St. Thomas Street in 1980. He moved to Suffield in 1993 before relocating with his wife Bonnie to Naples, Fla. upon retirement. George Temple was the first person to provide the correct answer.

This week's trivia question:
The Presidential section of Enfield, off Abbe Rd., contains 15 streets named after U.S. presidents. How many different Presidential surnames may be found on town streets outside of the Presidential area? Do not count duplicates; for example, Grant Ave. and Grant St. count as one name, and Roosevelt Boulevard counts as one name despite having two different presidents with that name. If you're not totally confused, post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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