Willimantic Before Redevelopment, Part 2

Main St looking east to Lincoln Square

Downtown, Main St., South Side Part 2

I would like to start with The Windham Grill Resturant which was at the railroad crossing. It was owned by two families and some of the children went to school with us  When I was very young my father worked as the chef at the Windham Grill and years later my aunt worked there as a part time waitress. I got written up in a book when a lady write about diners, all the trolley cars that were turned into lunch wagons on the tracks.when they closed down the trolleys

Willimantic had a unique piece of land in the middle of the road which had Main St on one side and Union Street on the other and had a gas station at the"V" that devided Main from Union Streets.On the north side of Main St was the Windham Gas Station and Martin's Radio and Martin's Home Alliances,Winham Grill, The Jillson House( Before redevelopment the Jillson House front faced Union Street ed) and Knights Service Station at the corner of Main and Jackson St. On the south side of main Street was The Eastern States Farmers Exchange (later Agway), Goettlick Furniture Store, Saba's Package (Later I use to stop in and talk to Phosy about baseball because he went to Windham High and played sports with my two uncles.)  Next to Saba's was The City Lunch. an early mourning resturamt and next to that Gene's Shoe Hospital where we got our shoe's repaired. Next was the Willimantic  School of Music. Then came The Willimantic Frozen Food Center, then Rosen's Dept. Store which we frequented often. On the same side the Jordan Building which housed the Jordan Hardware Store, WillimanticTrust  and many offices on the upper floors:  Sumner & Sumner Insurance offices, Potter & Kelly, lawyers, a beauty palor and The State of Conn. Employment and Unemployment office.(where I went for my first job afte  getting my working papers when I turned sixteen.) Willet Plumbers followed .Then Hurley's Men Shop, Wolmer and Case Jewelers, Fullerton-Fournier Women's Clothing. (This was like a New York store with seamstresses on premises) Then Wolmer Optometrists. (Where I was sent for glasses when I was sixteen years old and I never wore the glasses and ten years later I was sent there again. while applying for a new job and Dr Wolmer said my eyes were better and that happened one and a million) Then game The Internal Revenue Service, Lizee Jeweler's, Hurleys Boy Store, Gerry's Studio, (Mr Gerry was a friend of mine and looked back into his archives and found two pictures of my father for me, one picture was when he turned sixteen wearing his first pair of long pants as young boys in those days wore knickers and the other picture was of my father when he was a little older.  Mr Gerry was so nice to do that for me.) Hurley-Grant Co. was next. Some of the stores had steps in front a people, mostly retired older men would sit on the steps and talk to their friends.

Crossing past the footbridge.  we come Curran's Pharmacy which had a soda fountain.as a water fountain in front of Curran's. On hot summer days just about everyone stopped for a drink and even little children could get a drink as there was a cement step for them to stand on. We stopped for a drink every time we past bye.
Next came Weicke's Jewelers, Phil's Barber Shop, D&L Auto Accessories, and Hallocks Resturant. I worked there when I was seventeen.  Just about everyone on the street ate  at Hallocks. I got two jobs out of working at Hallocks from old customers years later. Next to the restaurant was Puritan's Clothing and the best thing was we were able to charge. I was able to buy my niece, Martha a beautiful white coat that she still has. Then there was Lorrain's Beauty Shop and Tubridy's Ladies Cloths where they also had a seamstress.There was Plotkin Jewelers, Cohen's Shoe Store, The Federal Land Bank. Eastern Conn. Farm Loans and the Sadd Block where we lived when I was nine. There were thirty six  families living on the upper floors.  Woolworths and Sears Roebuck was on the Main St.

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