Sure, traffic is bad now.
But that’s not exactly a new complaint.
Consider this photo from nearly a century ago.
A line of cars heads down the Post Road — or, as it was called then, State Street — past Westport Bank & Trust (now Patagonia) and the YMCA (now Anthropologie).
Only a couple of parking spots were free by the Y. All were taken on the other side of the street.
A few years later, this was the scene looking the other way.
Sure, it looks like there is not much traffic. But all those cars on the left, in front of Town Hall (now Don Memo) were parked. There must not have been a lot of room to pass by.
And those were some seriously big vehicles.
What stands out to you in these photos? Click “Comments” below.
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50 Years Ago This Week:
The Westport News reported that 1st Selectman (as she was called) Jacqueline Heneage rode her bike to work. She thought “at this time of the energy crisis” that she could set an example.
It was not a far ride. Heneage lived on Compo Road South, close to the Post Road.
(Whether 50 years ago or today, “06880” covers all things Westport. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The Fine Arts marquee in the bottom pic seems to read “The Two Mrs. Carrollton,” which was released in 1947.
That should read “The Two Mrs. Carrolls.” Bogie and Barbara Stanwyck starred in it. I remember seeing it on TCM many years ago. The release date of this film would seem to indicate that the photo was taken in 1947.
Telephone/electric poles on State Street/Post Road East. I think it is sall underground in that area.
All black cars…the best movie theater in the center of town that made downtown vibrant 🥲
The human mind/brain comes to accept what it feels it cannot change or that too many other more important needs take up time, energy, money. Slowly, what once was through awful or deplorable becomes okay. I have interviewed children in the dirtiest, crowded most pollutest places I could find in New York AND Egypt, India, and other countries. Kids didn’t care, a few disagreed. It is sadly possibly likely that pollution, crowded streets will only hit home with the influential masses when their coughing, etc badly interferes with their lunch or they run out of gas or electricity when they are consistently out of either after waiting too long in traffic to get to work or their children’s basketball game and they missed her three-point game winner or when
Hedges or a stone wall in front of Town Hall (I believe it was hedges). And no Wright Street Building behind what is now National Hall.
There were lots of (elm?) trees in town a few years back.
The first movie I ever saw at the Fine Arts was Godzilla. I remember one could only buy tickets at the ticket booth on the Post Road. Then sometime later, another window opened at the back of the building. This Westport was fantastic, just a small farm town with a quaint downtown!
The beautiful trees !
What stands out in both photos are the good sized beautiful TREES along downtown State St. \ Boston Post Rd.
What I recognize in the second picture is that it was taken from a fairly low angle with a camera that the photographer looked DOWN into, like a Rolleiflex, rather than one held at eye level.
This is what I did in the 40s and 50s. I also remember those trees!
Rollieflex cameras and all other twin lens reflex cameras produce square images by design. Perhaps this photo was cropped. To me, the photo looks compressed as if taken with a telephoto lens on a 35mm camera. Leicas and other 35mm rangefinder cameras with interchangeable lenses were very popular in the 30s-40s. SLRs didn’t really come into wide use until “Blow Up”.
I see trolley tracks…
A trolley ran through Westport into Bridgeport. My grandparents took it to go to St. Michael’s Church on Pulaski St. My guess is before 1927.
In a word, TREES!