Friday, September 29, 2006

317 Main Street

According to the Perspectives column in last Sunday's News-Times, 25 years ago this week Nolan Enterprises was in the process of renovating the then-73-year-old Godfrey building on the corner of Main and Crosby streets into "nine new studio-style apartments." Why is it that new Main Street construction hardly ever follows this pattern of street-level shops and housing or offices above?

Here's a closeup of the detail over the front windows.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sharon, I really like this photo tour we're getting of Danbury, CT. Back in the old days when we drove to Maine in the summer, we'd sometimes stop in Danbury over night. Your photos are giving me a chance to see Danbury from a viewpoint other than the interstate. Thanks, cooper.

sharon said...

I'm glad you're enjoying it, cooper, I'm having a lot of fun doing it.

Danbury used to be quite the attraction in the old days, when travel was slower. This week, for example, would have been Fair Week. Buildings downtown would be decorated with bunting, and trolleys would run from town out to the fairgrounds, although a lot of folks just walked there. You'd be taking your life in your hands to walk to the Danbury Fair Mall from downtown today, because there are no sidewalks for most of the route and the cars are moving at twice the speed limit.

There were many fine hotels along Main Street that are gone now. It's heartbreaking to look at some of the photos of what we've lost.

Anonymous said...

Sharon, sounds like what Charlotte has done with its fine old architecture. They knock down the building, erect a tall, sterile glass box and then hang a bronze plaque on the new building, letting you know about the beautiful, historic building that used to be there.