Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, features a mid-1970s look at the eastern end of the interior of the Enfield Square shopping mall, specifically Steiger's department store.

Founded in 1893 by Albert Steiger, the business originally consisted of downtown high-end clothing stores. In the early 1960s, the stores began moving into rented outlets at shopping malls, with the Enfield location opening in 1972.

I have personal memory of numerous visits to Steiger's, as my mom worked in the housewares department for many years. My sister even worked there for a stretch in the mid-1980s.

Steiger's was taken over by the May Department Stores Company in 1994, and the company and brand ceased to exist at that time.

After a period of vacancy, the Square location became a Sears department store until closing in spring 2017.

Here is a more recent photo of the site:

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's Enfield trivia question was, "Enfield held one of the largest Bicentennial celebrations in Connecticut in observance of the country's 200th birthday in 1976. Who was the mayor of Enfield at that time?" The answer: Armand Roy, who assumed the position as the town's mayor in the midst of a 12-year stint on the town council in 1975. He passed away in Sept. 2016 at age 87.

This week's trivia question:
From 1971 to 1988, Enfield boasted three high schools. Name them by posting the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

Do you have an old photo of Enfield you would like featured in this column? Email it, with a description, to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Steiger's photo courtesy of Picture Enfield

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