Our Friday Flashbacks usually offer places and things — restaurants, stores, trolleys, Compo Beach bathhouses, and so much more — that no longer exist.
Today we explore 2 that never were.
Through the magic of AI, Nick Wiener offers a pair of what-might-have-been images. Both were hotly debated, more than half a century ago.
In the 1960s, United Illuminating wanted to build a nuclear power plant on Cockenoe Island.
You read that right: nuclear power, a mile off Westport’s shore.
You can read that fascinating story here. Today, we present an AI-generated look at what a large group of active residents (and intrepid Westport News editor Jo Fox Brosious) averted:
Thankfully, Cockenoe still looks like this today:
(Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
Not far away on the mainland, a handsome home stood for decades on Gorham Island.
(Photo/Peter Barlow)
It was a charming sight, just off Parker Harding Plaza.
Until a very large office complex was planned to replace it.
(AI images provided by Nick Weiner)
Thankfully, that was not ultimately built.
This was:
It’s easy to lament what we’ve lost over the years.
It’s also important to consider some of what we might really lament today.
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