Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — After a brief hiatus, today we return to the delightful book I Took a Little Trip to My Hometown, self-published by retired freelance photographer John Zirolli and containing hundreds of photos of Enfield taken between 1973 and 1985. This week's offering is the old Enfield Cinema on North Main Street in Thompsonville.

The movie house was known for many years as the Strand Theater, which opened in Sept. 1937 and showcased the top box office hits of the day. It closed briefly n the 1960s, then re-opened as the Enfield Cinema in Dec. 1966, as evidenced by the ad below (courtesy of rivest266 via cinematreasures.org).

In the 1970s, an urban renewal project was concocted, ostensibly to improve conditions in the downtown area. In addition, a new movie theater had opened adjacent to the Enfield Outlet Mall, on Route 190 just off Interstate 91. As a result, the owners of the Enfield Cinema resorted to showing X-rated, adults-only films, a practice which continued until shutting down entirely in the late 1980s. Below is an ad from 1974 (uploaded by texas2step onto cinematreasures.org) - probably the only time Charles Bronson got second billing to a flasher.

The closed theater building rapidly deteriorated, and a group named Save Our Strand bought the property for $55,000 in 1996. Efforts to renovate the site have thus far proved unfruitful.

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

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Of the eight Enfield Dunkin' Donuts locations, which is the newest?" The answer: the drive-up-only store at 90 Enfield Street, next to Angie's State Line Package Store, which opened in early March of this year. Several people correctly guessed the answer, with David Kiner being the first; he wins a 7-day, 2-night cruise to downtown Rockville.

This week's trivia question:
Prior to Dunkin' Donuts, the space at 90 Enfield Street had been occupied by a gun shop, and prior to that, had been a salon and day spa for about 15 years. Without Googling, copying and pasting, name that longtime salon. Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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