Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — After a brief hiatus, we resume our periodic look back at business photos from Enfield's past with a shot from the late 1970s, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield. It depicts a manufacturing plant for Toolkraft Corporation, on the edge of the newly constructed Enfield Industrial Park at 250 South Road.

Toolkraft did not last long, and was gone in the early 1980s. Several businesses had short stints in the 114,300 square foot facility, until Cuno Inc. bought the 9-acre property for $4.1 million in 1992. The 3M Co. acquired Cuno in 2005 and continued to operate in Enfield until late 2014, when it moved the plant to its home base in Minnesota.

In 2016, the property was purchased for $2.9 million by East Windsor-based Maragust Holdings LLC. It is currently home to Phoenix Manufacturing.

Here is a contemporary look at the building, taken this morning by yours truly.

Last week's trivia answer:
Our latest trivia question was, "In the 1950s and 1960s, what was the name of the Pearl Street retail shop owned and operated by the mother of the lead dancer on "The Carol Burnett Show"?" The answer: Crichton's Lingerie, Cards & Gifts. It was owned by Mary Crichton, who lived just down the street on Burns Ave. with her husband Fred and son Donald. Donald Crichton wound up becoming one of the top success stories in Enfield lore. He graduated from Enfield High School in 1952, earning the accolades "Best Dressed Boy" and "Best Boy Dancer." The latter designation proved prophetic, as he taught dance classes in his hometown for several years before embarking on a career that saw him perform on Broadway, and ultimately on the highest-rated television variety program of its time.

This week's trivia question:
What was the first team from Fermi High School to win a CCIL championship? Directions: leave your answer in the comments section here on the story, not on a Facebook page, and not via email. Have fun!