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

Courtesy Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society

By Ronni Newton

It’s Thursday, and time for another historical West Hartford image!

Last week’s image was a fun one, and clearly demonstrates that “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

The first comment about the photo came from Kathi Droney: “Two of my favorite restaurants are there: Tokyo Sushi and Black Bamboo. The salon is still there. I did shop there when it was the Kingswood Market,” she wrote.

In her comment on Facebook, Lisa Petersen said, “I remember this. My first summer job was in the insurance agency upstairs from the package store. My aunt worked there and hired me to clean up the files. This building is on the corner of Farmington Avenue and Ardmore Road. Kingswood Market is now a Japanese Restaurant and the liquor store is now Black Bamboo.”

Mike Margolis added some fond memories of the Kingswood Market. “They delivered to my grandmother’s house on Griswold when she got too old to walk over there. Wow, that was 40+ years ago, she died in 1978!”

And Nild Sansone, were you serious about this comment? “I can see Frank the barber looking out the second floor window of the the Kingswood Barber Shop.”

Both Kathi and Lisa are correct about the new occupants of the stores on either end, and Step To Beauty indeed still occupies the storefront in the middle of 844-846 Farmington Ave. Kingswood Market closed sometime in late 2007. We’re not sure when the liquor store closed, but Black Bamboo opened on Dec. 8, 2010.

It’s amazing how little the Tudor exterior of the building has changed, despite the new tenants.

This week’s image is also of a spot that may bring back memories for many of our readers. Do you know where this building is/was located? What is in the space now?

Please add your memories, thoughts, and comments below.

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 Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society

846 Farmington Ave. (formerly Kingswood Market) is now Tokyo Sushi and 844A Farmington Ave. (formerly Kingswood Wines & Liquors) is now Black Bamboo. Courtesy Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society