Kings Avenue

Can you name a downtown street that has only one house on it and only two buildings total?

Answer: Kings Avenue. Never heard of it?  You probably drive by it all the time and have just never had your attention drawn to it.

Kings Avenue runs for about 100 yards at the northernmost end of Main, on the west side, just a little north of Eli Cannon's Restaurant. Bob's Automotive is on the left corner and the former warehouse of EIS automotive parts is on the right. (The latter building will be the subject of an article later this week.) Kings Avenue dead ends where Clinton Avenue properties back up to it.

At one time, there were three houses on the street and another at the intersection facing Main Street. In 1874, all four houses were owned by Norman Smith. In the 1870s and 1880s, the only Norman Smith in Middlesex County was a blacksmith living in Higganum. He must have owned these as investment properties that he rented.

The one remaining house dates back to about 1840, and is a three-bay, side hall house, with all historic details hidden by the exterior asphalt shingles. It is a lovely house with great potential!

I suspect that the street has early Colonial roots. Many roadways laid out in the Colonial period were named the Kings Highway in New England, and this seems to be our Middletown example.

The street also includes a brick commercial building, erected sometime in the mid-20th century, which currently serves as an auto body shop. On the lots of the now- demolished houses is a large parking lot.

Go take a peek at this "lost" street.