West Hartford’s ‘Thursday Throwback’

Test your knowledge of West Hartford history with this ‘Thursday Throwback,’ courtesy of the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society.

Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.

By Ronni Newton

“Throwback Thursday” (#tbt) has become a popular feature on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. It’s so much fun to see the images of our friends back in their elementary school days, photos of babies who are now in college, unfortunate fashion choices from the ’80s, and much more.

We-Ha.com takes its own historical look  back at the town with “Thursday Throwback.” We will feature images of people, places, and events in West Hartford, and we’d love to have your feedback.

The colorizing made last week’s image stand out in a column that’s usually full of black and white or sepia-toned images. I thought it was a beautiful image!

I shared this on my own Facebook page, where Chuck Coursey was the first to comment: “I believe we’re looking south on North Main Street, just north of Farmington Avenue. The town green is on the left and former Town Hall on the right. The Home in the middle/right is where Bruegger’s is currently located.”

Rick Liftig chimed in with the following comment on the article: “Chuck Coursey beat me to it on Facebook. I agree with him – it must be the intersection of Farmington Avenue and s/n Main Street many years ago. I believe that is the old First Church to the right of the picture. This photo would have been looking from present day Bank of America towards the opposite corner where Bruegger’s bagels is today (Goodwin Green is on the left). Must have been the late 1800’s. Good one, Ronni!”

John Maloney added the following: “Look at the leaves out at the curb waiting for collection !!…. *cough*….Good one guys!..I recall when they built the Vets Memorial on the church site in about 2006, I found many bricks, clay drain pipe and granite and assumed they came from the old church. If you look very closely at the green you can see a small tree in the middle of the green to the left of the elm. I will bet it is the big oak that grows there now!”

We don’t have the date for the photo, but the location is correct and very appropriate to view this week since West Hartford just held its Veterans Day ceremony right there on Tuesday. It would also be interesting to find out if the same tree still grows there.

We’re back to black and white for this week’s image. Does anyone remember it? Do you know what is there now?

Please add your comments below about the featured photo, and we will publish the answers along with next Thursday’s image.

Thank you to the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society for providing us with the images. For more information about the organization, visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org.

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Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.

West Hartford Center, looking south at intersection of Main Street and Farmington Avenue. Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.