Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, shows a late-1970s look at the River View Plaza, constructed in 1940 at 167 Elm Street, and located directly across the street from the former Kosciuszko Junior High School (now Asnuntuck Community College).

Businesses visible in this photo include, from left, the Kake Korner Sandwich Shoppe and Bakery, an unreadable sign (let us know if you recall what was there), Elm TV Service Center, American Foto and a tailor shop (remember tailor shops?).

I have vague memories of Kake Korner, but do remember the other restaurants which formerly occupied that space: Chuck Wagon, River View Restaurant and DiMartino's Giant Grinders, which my friends and I frequented when we skipped sch.... umm, I mean, when we were on our way home from "The Big K."

Currently, the strip plaza holds a unique distinction in Enfield - it is one of the few fully-occupied retail centers in town. Present tenants are Enfield Scuba and Watersports, Matt's Sports Cards & Comics, Liberty Pizza, Subway, Allstate and Kim Le's Nails. Here is a more contemporary view of the plaza, courtesy of Google Maps.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "There are six locations in Enfield listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Which was the first, in 1974, and which was the most recent, in 1994?" The answers: The Enfield Town Meetinghouse on Enfield St., now known as the Old Town Hall and Museum, was the first to achieve the national designation on Sept. 10, 1974. The most recent was the Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills Historic District, roughly bounded by Lafayette St., Hartford Ave., Alden Ave., Pleasant St., High St., Spring St., South St. and Prospect St., designated on Nov. 25, 1994.

(Enfield Historical Society)

This week's trivia question:
Longtime Thompsonville locals referred to the Lafayette, Hartford, Bigelow, Alden area by what nickname, and by what other name was the area around Lafayette Park known? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.