The other day, I looked through some photos.
This shot — of a long-ago store in what was then Sherwood (now Sconset) Square — caught my eye.
(Photo courtesy of James Gray)
It was nothing special — just another local business.
But it got me thinking:
- What’s happened to all our cool-looking, colorful stores?
- Why don’t they have fun names anymore?
- How come we lost all our paint shops?
- And is this what is meant by “painting the town red”?
Your picture of The Paint Bucket sure brought back many memories.
That was one of my favorite places when I lived in Westport in the 1980-1999. I was always redecorating or remodeling one of the two homes I owned. The last being on the Old Mill Beach.
Not “All.” Ring’s End has a paint shop in the strip mall next to the Sherwood Diner. They boast — “Open in 2012, our Westport Paint Center is all about paint, stains, faux finishes, painting supplies and sundries. We have unparalleled customer service along with custom color matching. We are proud to be the largest supplier of Benjamin Moore paints in Connecticut and carry zero-VOC Natura and the Aura lines.”
They may not be painted red, but they have a wonderful line of colors. We’re very happy with the ones we selected from them.
And what kind of a name is Ring’s End,” anyway?
My late mother, Eleanor Woodson Duquette worked at the Paint Bucket for a time after she graduated from Staples. She used to mention some of the many famous local artists that would come in and buy supplies. Thanks for the memories Dan.
Painting the Town Red, eh? One def suggests Dante’s Inferno: “We are they who painted the world scarlet with sins.” Another alludes to noblemen from the English village of Melton Mobray and their misbehavior after a wild night on the town. As for the Paint Bucket, I can recall shopping in Westport in the 1950s when there were NO “super-centers,” with everything under one roof. That was the pleasure of shopping: going from store to store and talking with the owner/staff on a purchase. I recall going into the Remarkable Bookstore and asking the owner/manager to suggest a fiction I should read for a forthcoming high school book report. I got quizzed as to my worldly interests, and he suggested title that I would like, and to report on. Recently, where I live now, I was in a Barnes & Noble to find a certain novel for our next Book Club gathering. The clerk informed me that the title “would be in fiction.”Oi!
How come we lost all our paint shops? Home Depot
That was unquestionably a very cool looking store.
And its owner or manager back in the 1950s, Dick Berg, ended up becoming a prominent writer/producer in Hollywood (and I believe was very friendly with a fellow Hollywood transplant from Westport, Rod Serling).
Last, but not least, didn’t Berg and/or his wife go to high school with your mom?
Yes, Dick Berg went to New Rochelle High School with my mother. But how do you remember that?!
His son Scott Berg is a noted writer too — including a biography on former Westporter Charles Lindbergh.
Dan, Didn’t Lindbergh live near the corner of Long Lots Rd & Bulkley Ave., just before the Fairfield line.
Yes,,,on Juniper Hill
I vaguely remember the store from the 60,s. I think it became Carousel Toys, then burnt down. Then rebuilt and was Camera Arts. Now being renovated.
It was next door to the Carousel Toy store
I seem to remember The Paint Bucket and Camera Arts being separate stores, with the Paint Bucket just right of center at the “back” of the square and Camera Arts being along the right side of the square. But I don’t remember the Paint Bucket being painted red. Maybe that was before we arrived in town.
GONE/SHIPS- –GONE/.–…THE WONDERFUL MOM/POP STORES WHERE THE KIDS BOUGHT USED JEANS- ….GONE/ OUR LOCAL HARDWARE STORE…..GONE/THE REMARKABLE (NAMING NEW PLACES AFTER IT DOESN/T REPLACE IT…GONE/MAX’S ART STORE , THE HUB WHERE ARTISTS WOULD ‘MEET UP’…..GONE/FINE ARTS ,2,3 AND 4….GONE/TAVERN ON THE MAIN…..GONE, THE WESTPORT ART CENTER,, A DAMN SHAME….(.THANK GOODNESS FOR THE ARTISTS COLLECTIVE)…….SO SO SO MANY MORE THAT THE ‘NEWBIES MISSED AND MISSED THE ORIGINAL ‘FLAVOR ‘ OF WESTPORT.WHEN TIFFANY ARRIVED, I KNEW IT WAS ALL OVER.