Picture Vernon: Big Old Bumpers In The Big Old Circle

VERNON, CT — Last week, we visited one part of Vernon Circle in the 1970s for the Picture Vernon series. This week, it's another side.

This time around, the featured photo is an old black-and-white investigation image that turned up in the Vernon Police Department archives. It was taken during an investigation on June 25, 1975, when Vernon circle was actually a circle. The plaza to the right looks pretty much the same, but the Mobil station in the background is now a car wash.

Some of the cars in the circle seem to be fairly new, since they feature the oversized bumpers that became all the rage in 1974, when the U. S. Department of Transportation mandated 5-mph bumpers. In 1975, the federal Environmental Protection Agency imposed new smog standards.

Vernon Circle is the area near the interchange of Interstate-84 and routes 30 and 83. Its namesake rotary was replaced years ago with the traffic light system currently in use.

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Picture Vernon is a periodic series featuring images of the town, past and present.