Today, we feature a “double Friday Flashback.”
We look back 50 years ago this holiday season — by reposting one of our most commented-on Friday Flashbacks. This one originally ran in 2020. Ho ho ho — enjoy!
When Fred Cantor graduated from Yale University in May of 1975, his parents gave him a 35mm Nikkormat camera. He’d always enjoyed taking photos, with an inexpensive Kodak.
In December he returned to Westport for break, from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
There was a beautiful snowfall. On Christmas Day, Fred knew that downtown would be empty. He’d always enjoyed the “Norman Rockwell-esque” feeling there. He hoped to capture it, without interference.
After 50 years — almost to the day — parts of downtown look very different. Parts look much the same.
After 50 years too, the photos have faded.
But the memories have not.
Gorham Island. The Victorian house has been replaced by a large office building.
Main Street, without any holiday decorations. Gene Hallowell’s Mobil station is now the site of Vineyard Vines.
Further up (undecorated) Main Street, we see Achorn’s Pharmacy on the left (now in Playhouse Square); Oscar’s across the street on the right (soon to be Luya restaurant), and the large furniture store (now, after burning down a couple of years later), The Gap.
The much-loved Remarkable Book Shop has been reimagined as Eleish Van Breems.
Westport Bank & Trust was most recently Patagonia. Soon it will be home to Compass Real Estate. The YMCA building on the left is now Anthropologie.
Ice on the Saugatuck River still looks the same.
Fairfield Furniture has been transformed into National Hall — the original name for the 1800s building. It’s being repurposed for AIG.
Before the Wright Street building rose up behind it — and, later, an architectural firm took over the space — a popular liquor store occupied the busy Wilton Road/Post Road West corner. A decade ago, David Waldman offered to buy this building and move it, creating a right-turn lane from Wilton Road. The town refused. We live with the consequences every day.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
Love it
Loved seeing the old photos. Thank you Dan and Fred Cantor.
Who were the short-sighted town officials who turned down David Waldman’s offer?
Dan, thanks for posting and for your updated captions pointing out the one thing that is constant in Westport: ongoing change.😉
Downtown just as I remember it. Thanks for sharing these again Dan, and thanks to Fred Cantor for taking them.
That Mobil station isn’t on Main Street anymore?
Gorham Island house is haunted 👻👻
I noticed 1 hour parking on Main Street from 7am -6 pm. I wonder how that would go over now.
Does anyone know the backstory of the Victorian house on Gorham Island?
Here is a story about the Gorham Island house:
https://06880danwoog.com/2017/07/07/friday-flashback-47/
Fabulous!
Great photos! My first “real” camera was a Nikkormat. What a great workhorse. The settings were all done manually so I really got to know how things worked. I loved that camera.
My uncle bought a Bell and Howell home movie camera in 1941 and I have the camera in its original box. I have some home movies of Westport and the family from 1941.To use the camera you have to crank it.
Always fun to travel down our Memory Lane of Westport. Thanks to Fred for capturing that unique time we shared.