Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, depicts groundbreaking for the first of what was to become numerous car dealerships on the then-new Palomba Drive in the mid-1970s.

Fiore Oldsmobile opened at 50 Palomba Drive in 1976. It was owned and operated by Ralph A. Fiore, one of two businessmen in town with that name (the other was Ralph J. "Butch" Fiore, who owned Towne House Styling Studio for over 40 years).

Ralph A. Fiore had been involved in the automobile business prior to opening the Olds dealership. He was a member of the National Automobile Dealers Association, from which he retired in 1996. He passed away in Jan. 2013 at age 85.

The site is currently home to Gale Toyota. Here is a photo of the area as it appears today, courtesy of the Enfield town assessor's office.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Civic Leadership High School was formerly known as the CREC Public Safety Academy. In what Enfield building did the school originally operate when it opened in 2008?" The answer: the former Noah Webster Elementary School at 227 Brainard Road, which was purchased by Control Module in 1982 after the school closed.

This week's trivia question:
When the Enrico Fermi High School building opened on North Maple Street in 1971, who was the school principal? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.