Picture Windsor Locks - Then And Now

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — The latest installment of this pictorial history series takes us back exactly six decades, to the 1960 edition of the Windsor Locks High School yearbook, The Herald. Among the advertisements is one for a former mainstay of Main Street: the F.S. Bidwell Company.

Long before the existence of home improvement superstores like Home Depot and Lowe's, Bidwell was the place to go for lumber and hardware in Windsor Locks during the 1950s and 1960s. According to the lettering on its siding, the store also sold farm machinery.

Of particular interest in this photo is the garage door on the second floor. I am also a fan of the old-style phone number: NA 3-4484.

According to Windsor Locks property records, apartment buildings were constructed at 266 Main in 1966. The site is currently known as Countryside Apartments.

Here is a more contemporary look, 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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