Monday, July 13, 2009

Sunday At G's, pt 3

Part 2



Well now, I sure hope you had a good time hanging out at Starbucks, drinking coffee and talking to some of the locals. I do apologize for leaving you by yourself while I had to finish up some personal business, but now I'm back to continue with the tour. The picture that you see here is the local branch of Congregationalist Church. It's also the home of Boy Scout Troop #355. And to show you how much this intersection has changed, right where you see that line of cars waiting at the light, there used to be a huge patch of ground in the shape of a triangle (and contained a small tree) that marked where cars had to make a left turn from route 175.

This is another shot of the same intersection, only this is looking south. That triangle I described in the first picture was located some twenty feet off to the right of that crosswalk apex that you see. The "Do Not Enter" sign that you see is at the end of the parking lot to what passes for downtown Newington. Contained in that little plaza is a Carvels, two jewelry stores, a bicycle store, a florist, three nail salons, three restaurants and the local chamber of commerce.

This is the first of my two destination stops when I'm doing my Saturday morning errands. Interesting note about this particular business. I came to this bank not of my own free will, but as an acquisition. To whit: I started at a bank called "Burritt Savings" and when I came back from vacation in 1992, I found out that the bank was seized by the FDIC and I became a depositor of "Derby Savings Bank". That lasted until about 1996, when that bank was acquired by the bank you see pictured here. Interesting thing about this particular branch, was that I used to be a depositor of the previous tenant, "Federal Savings Bank", who was acquired by the bank pictured above. Isn't capitalism wonderful???


This is a shot looking eastward down the other well known downtown area called "Market Square". One of the more interesting things about this street (and for those readers from my neck of the woods, you're probably aware of this annual event) is that every year they hold something called the Waterfall Festival. The close off the road, set up booths manned by local businesses, borrow a large stage from Wethersfield for music, have some games and rides, and the centerpiece of the festival (which I will try in the fall to get pics of) are the chalk drawings/renderings that are done on the street by the local artists. Last year, I believe that they had about 25 participants for it.

And finally, this is a shot of the local CVS (doesn't everyone have a CVS?) I don't remember what the trees are called, since they're now completely green, but they were blooming when these were originally taken (April I believe). The red building in the foreground is the original firehouse for the town (there are now four stations in town: the newer version about a half mile from this; one about two miles from where I live near the West Hartford border; one near the southern end of town, and one tucked way in the back straddling the Newington/New Britain border), and it currently houses an antique firetruck that is hauled out every Memorial Day weekend for the parades.
I think now is a good time as any for another pit stop. I have to run another errand, but the CVS will be a decent place to grab something cold to drink and a small snack. There is a very nice wall just off to the side and I'll meet you there once I'm finished. In all seriousness, it's a pretty quiet parking lot since it's directly next to the lot is the local funeral home. But it can also be a bit boisterous as well, since directly behind the CVS is the local Masonic Temple.
Hope you enjoy this latest tour stop and hopefully, there won't be a two month gap in between stops.

13 comments:

  1. The last time I took pics of my home town it was mostly of the back alleys. Trying to hold onto memories, I guess. ;)

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  2. Yep, we've lots of CVS' here, they used to be Eckerdt's. Were yours Eckherdt's too? They and Walgreens have pretty-much cornered the pharmacy market here.

    Such a pain when banks buy each other out. We were so happy with WaMu and now Chase took them over and we'll start getting all kind of extra charges. But what can ya do?

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  3. I like the sound of the Waterfall Festival!

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  4. It's nice that Newington has held onto some of its old charm, like in that little downtown area with Carvel's, the antique firetruck, a street festival. It seems like a place that's the best of both worlds, modern progress, but still lingers with its history.

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  5. Thanks for the tour! Looks like a nice place to run errands. I worked in CT for a couple of years (Stamford). I like learning about other parts of the state. My husband works in Norwalk now. He is learning about CT since he has to travel throughout the state.

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  6. Charles: Sometimes memories are all that we got left of where we grow up at.

    Jannie: Never had an Eckards here. My main beef has been that Rite Aid bought out Brooks and changed everything around. I used to stop off at the Brooks in the plaza where the Starbooks is and I'd be able to pick up some sugar free cookies. Now, nada.

    As for banks, my sore thumb has always been Bank of America. They bought out Fleet/BankBoston (a bad marriage there too), and they kept the same crappy service. For instance, you now have to dial a 1-800 number in order to get hold of any branch.

    Lynn: It does have a nice ring. We really do have a mini waterfall in Newington. It drains from Mill Pond Falls to the small Mill Pond Brook.

    Joanne: It has done a relatively decent job of hanging onto its history quite well and merging it with the present. Among other places we have is the Eddy Farm and the Kellogg-Eddy house. In addition, our local library managed to keep the old shell of the former and merged it quite nicely with the new.

    Septembermom: A very nice place to run errands. I do my Saturday morning errands like this every single weekend no matter what the month is.

    It's great that your husband is learning about the state. To really appreciate CT, you have to get out of the metro areas and explore the 'burbs and the country.

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  7. Well I wish everyone did have a CVS, but here in the UK we don't! Just as we don't have Target or Wal-Mart.

    We do have TK Maxx which of course is TJ Maxx to you.

    Do you have Marks & Spencer?

    Thanks for dropping into Joey's Pad. I will return, I like what I'm reading here. :)

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  8. Archavist: Hmmm....

    I should be there. If you search "George Miller Jr" I should pop up. If you want, I'll search you out on FB.

    LL Cool Joe: Thanks for stopping by to visit. I was on a crawl yesterday looking for other blogs to read, and that's how I found yours. I'll be stopping by yours for return visits as well.

    I don't think we have a Marks & Spencer, then again, I don't know what Marks & Spencer is.

    We do have TJ Maxx here, they're more of a high end competitor to Marshalls or Bob's

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  9. I think those are pear trees (the no fruit kind).

    Looks like a nice place!

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  10. I'm not sure....I do know that they're now totally green (I had a similar pic on my masthead last month).

    It is. Sometimes where you grew up at still can remain pleasantly unchanged.

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  11. I hate that when you pick a bank because of the ease due to it's location, that it changes names at a neck-breaking pace before your 200 checks can run out...
    I love street-blocking fairs, until they make me late for work (every other week-end).
    Nice Firestation!. I think our CVS drinks are over-priced...
    thanks for the tour, it was fun!

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  12. I feel the same way about street blocking fairs as well, although I've learned over the years when not to take my through that portion of town (thus avoiding the Waterfall festival, the Memorial Day parade and the local town fair/fireworks demonstration).

    And you're very welcome.

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