Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — For today's trip down memory lane, we return to Jim Malley's outstanding book of his dad Ed's photos, entitled Enfield: 1950-1980, for a 1950s view of a very busy building at 19 North Main Street in Thompsonville.

During that era, this structure was home to a courthouse, the Enfield Police Department and the Enfield Youth Center. In front was the Soldiers' Monument, which was later moved about 50 feet to the northeast upon the rerouting of Church Street during the urban renewal project of the mid- to late-1970s.

Also noticeable is a traffic directional sign for Route 190A, which formerly took vehicles over the Enfield-Suffield bridge at the end of Main Street. The bridge closed in the late 1960s, replaced by the current span over the Connecticut River on the present-day Route 190.

During the urban renewal project, the building was among about 200 torn down in the area. In its place, the Enfield Neighborhood Center was built, now known as the Angelo Lamagna Activity Center.

Here is a more contemporary look at the site, actually taken by me around 7:30 this morning.

Update:
Last week's column showed the disrepair currently at 132 Weymouth Road, former longtime site of the Porter & Chester Institute. Good news: shortly after publication, I received an email from a person saying they were in the process of purchasing the property. Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming weeks.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Other than all graduating the same year, what distinction will Kelly Brantner, Dan Isherwood, Jon LeBlanc and Lisa Tenerowicz hold in common forever in the annals of Enfield history?" The answer: In 1984, they were the first four recipients from Enfield of the CAS-CIAC Scholar-Athlete Award - Brantner and Isherwood from Enfield, and LeBlanc and Tenerowicz from Fermi. The award is presented annually to two high school seniors – one boy and one girl – from each CAS-CIAC member high school whose academic and athletic careers have been exemplary, whose personal standards and achievements are a model to others, and who possess high levels of integrity, self-discipline and courage.

This week's trivia question:
Since the inception of the CAS-CIAC Scholar-Athlete Awards, 135 student-athletes from Enfield have been honored (including my son Alex in 2017 - excuse the proud dad moment there). Of those 135, five have been subsequently elected as individuals to the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame; curiously, all five attended Enfield High School. Name them. Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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