Picture Windsor Locks - Then And Now

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Once again, we look back at an image from Windsor Locks history from the great photo book Images of America: Windsor Locks, compiled by Leslie Matthews Stansfield in 2003. Today we examine a photo taken around the turn of the 20th century of the Coogan Building, on the south corner of Main and State streets.

Also known as Coogan's Block, the building was the southernmost of 15 such blocks on Main Street, as illustrated below by noted Windsor Locks history expert Mel Montemerlo. Named for its owner, Dr. Joseph Coogan, the building contained stores on the ground level, living spaces for the doctor and his family on the second floor and meeting halls on the third floor.

In the featured photo, Dr. Coogan's drug store and a grocery owned by Roscoe W. Prentice can be seen. The small building to the left of the picture was an undertaker's parlor.

Dr. Coogan died in 1933, and five years later, the building was demolished. The Barberi Esso station was later built on the site. Today, professional buildings in the Waterside Office Park occupy the property, and State Street no longer exists.

Here is a more contemporary look at the general area of the Coogan Building, courtesy of Google Maps.

Do you have a photo of an old Windsor Locks business which no longer exists, to which you own the copyright, and which we could feature in this column? Email tim.jensen@patch.com.

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