Category Archives: Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge #583

Posted on March 1, 2026 | 12 comments

Deadman Brook — the body of water that feeds into the Saugatuck River between the Imperial Avenue parking lot and Levitt Pavilion — is little noticed as it winds its way downtown.

We scarcely notice it at Sconset Square, next to Casa Me, where it disappears under the Post Road.

Even fewer folks see it upstream, at Violet Lane off Myrtle Avenue.

But there’s a handsome bridge there. And it was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)

Morley Boyd, Andrew Colabella, Sal Liccione and Richard Hyman were the only readers to correctly identify John Maloney’s image.

(Sal and Morley had a big advantage: They live nearby and on Violet Lane, respectively.)

Fun fact: It’s “Deadman Brook,” not “Deadman’s” or “Dead Man.” The name refers not to an actual deceased person, but to a family name from long ago.

Though they too are no longer with us.

So it’s on to this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Ed Simek)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

 

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Photo Challenge #582

Posted on February 22, 2026 | 10 comments

Two things can be true at once.

And last week’s Photo Challenge had 2 answers.

The photo (taken by yours truly) shows a photo (by Richard Frank) that hangs in the Westport Library stairwell nearest the cafe. It’s part of the Westport Public Art Collections. (Click here to see.)

But there’s another print of the same image. You’ll find it at Gold’s Delicatessen.

It might be in some private collections in town too. It captures the powerful, yet playful, Muhammad Ali perfectly.

Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Les Dinkin, Robert Mitchell, Clark Thiemann, Jilda Manikas and Larry Bartimer all checked in with the Library answer.

Adam Starr, Larry Weisman and Tom Feeley said Gold’s.

Just like Ali: You’re all champs.

In keeping with the winter weather that’s not going away, here is today’s Photo Challenge. I think it’s hard. Your mileage may vary.

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/John Maloney)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

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Posted in Library, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #581

Posted on February 15, 2026 | 12 comments

The Westport Library café is a great place to hang out.

The coffee and food are delicious. The view of the river is spectacular. You’re never rushed, and there’s no music playing (loudly) in the background.

But who looks at the ceiling, as they enjoy their time?

Andrew Colabella, Ed Simek, Beth Berkowitz, Seth Schachter, Wendy Schaefer and Tom Feeley — that’s who.

They’re the 6 alert readers who quickly identified the Library café ceiling as the image in last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.) 

Congratulations — you really know what’s up down at the library.

Now, do you — and everyone else — know where to find this week’s Photo Challenge? If you do, click ”’Comments” below.

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

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Photo Challenge #580

Posted on February 8, 2026 | 12 comments

“You can’t get there from here,” the saying goes.

Except — improbably — you can walk directly from Compo Road South to Compo Beach, without taking the long way on Soundview Drive or (even longer) Compo Beach Road.

Just pop through the gray wood gate, underneath a red brick arch.

It’s hidden in plain sight. But it was last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see).

And it was quickly identified by more than a dozen readers, some of whom noted that they used it frequently.

Congrats to Bob Colson, Maureen Coogan, John McKinney, Joyce Barnhard, Missy Targowski, Kitty Graves, Dave Eason, Matt Murray, Nancy McKeever, Michael Szeto and Katie J. Phillis.

If we gave out prizes, you’d get a free beach sticker.

But obviously, you don’t need one.

Here is this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

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Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #579

Posted on February 1, 2026 | 13 comments

Last Sunday’s Photo Challenge was appropriate.

We posted a classic rooster weathervane, atop a 4-sided wooden bell tower on a snow-covered roof. (Click here to see.)

Appropriate, because last Sunday we were in the middle of a classic New England snowstorm.

Surprisingly — because there was not much else to do that day, but curl up beside a fire with “06880” — only a few readers hazarded guesses.

A few were wrong. It was not the Westport Country Playhouse, or Wright Street.

Diane Lowman’s photo showed the roof of Bridge Square — the small plaza with popular destinations like Kawa Ni, Rainbow Thai and 99 Bottles.

Gabriela Hayes, Seth Schachter, Ben Meyer (whose office sits just underneath,  and whose brother-in-law helped repair it), Susan Lloyd and Elaine Marino all answered correctly.

Susan added some very intriguing history: She says it was the bell tower of the original Saugatuck firehouse. Today — with a different bell tower — it’s a few yards away, on Riverside Avenue.

But it’s very old. So this one, at Bridge Square, must be really old.

What’s new? Today’s Photo Challenge.

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/John Maloney)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

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Posted in Categories, Photo Challenge, Saugatuck

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Photo Challenge #578

Posted on January 25, 2026 | 9 comments

Yikes!

In the excitement of today’s “snowpocalypse” — aka “a pretty good snowfall” — I forgot to post this week’s Photo Challenge.

It’s the first screw-up since I started the Sunday feature, more than 10 years ago. My bad.

Last week’s showed dozens of bottles, behind what looked like a restaurant bar. (Click here to see.)

It’s a testament to Westport’s diverse dining scene that readers guessed 6 different spots.

But Seth Braunstein’s shot showed the one at the Bridge at Saugatuck.

Pam Kopack, Peggy O’Halloran, Elaine Marino, Dave Eason, Rachel Sara Halperin and Polly Sykes all knew the right answer.

On today’s snowy, stay-inside day: I’ll drink to that!

And I’ll also — belatedly — post this week’s challenge. Complete with (of course) snow.

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Diane Lowman)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

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Posted in Photo Challenge, Restaurants

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Photo Challenge #577

Posted on January 18, 2026 | 15 comments

Hardware stores are often the heart of their community.

They’re places to go for supplies of all kinds, sure — for the inside and outside of homes, lawncare and more.

But they’re also places to get advice, chat with knowledgeable owners and staff, and feel — well, at home.

Westport is lucky to have had several that were much more than just “stores.”

Welch’s and Hartmann’s on Main Street were legendary. The Izzos’ Crossroads Ace Hardware next to Coffee An’ (now The Grapevine liquor store) took their place, and served Westport for decades.

Our go-to now is Westport Hardware & Fireplace Shop, in the plaza next to Cava (across from Fresh Market).

The second, nail-shaped “T” in its logo was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see). 

I thought many readers would confuse it with the Tesla “T.” But you’re too sharp for that.

Nineteen got the right answer. Not one fell for the Musk trap (which sounds like something Westport Hardware should stock).

A couple of comments included shout-outs to Bear (who is actually a dog, and — when he’s not roaming the store — sits quietly behind the counter).

One reader noted that Westport Hardware shares a strip mall with the unrelated Hammer & Nails Grooming Shop for Guys.

Congratulations to Bill Downey, Brian Taylor, Sal Liccione, Arthur Hayes, Andrew Colabella, Gabby Velez, Jonathan Alloy, Wendy Schaefer, Seth Schachter, Lisa Hayes, Jerry Kuyper, John McKinney, Seth Braunstein, Jeff Loechner, Clark Thiemann, Peter Dennigan Sinnott, Beth Berkowitz, Colleen Williams and Dede McDowell.

You all “nailed” last week’s Photo Challenge.

Will this week’s be as easy? If you know where in Westport you would see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Seth Braunstein)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

15 Comments

Posted in Local business, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #576

Posted on January 11, 2026 | 25 comments

We started 2026 off with a gimme.

Our first Photo Challenge of the new year showed a tray of delicious chocolate frosted, powdered and plain donuts, on a counter.

It could only be Coffee An’.

The Westport institution is beloved by many.

A record 48 readers knew exactly where to find Marina Drasnin’s photo. (Click here to see.)

And — like visitors to the Main Street store — the correct responses came from a mix of regulars and newcomers.

Congratulations to Sandra Howard, Pat Saviano, Seth Braunstein, Todd Ehrlich, Dave Eason, Matt Murray, Barbara Mathias, Lynn Wilson, Sal Liccione, Joan Lipson, Dan Vener, Ed Simek, Matt McGrath, Mike Hibbard, Mickey Herbst, Chris Swan, Rob Hauck, Dan Ashley, Bryan Schwartz, Rachel Sara Halperin, Pete Powell, Seth Schachter, Steve Stein, Andrew Colabella, Suzanne Atkins, Linda Vita Velez, Fred Levin, Rick Benson, Sharon Yules, Jack Krayson, Janine Scotti, Patty Lynch, Evin Dubrow, Jalna Jaeger, Richard Hyman, Katie Phillis, Jonathan McClure, Ann Franzen, Robert Mitchell, Regi Kendig, Christy Charise, Alex Knopp, Ryan Heemeyer, Deb Alderson, Linda Pomerantz Novis, Cat Malkin, Bobbi Essagof and Barbara Wong.

You all earned yourselves an extra treat today.

In fact, the only disagreement was on the punctuation of the donut shop.

Readers called it Coffee ‘An, Coffee An and Coffee And.

For the record, it’s Coffee An’.

An’ it’s delicious.

Our second Photo Challenge of the Year is (moderately) harder. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Susan Garment)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

25 Comments

Posted in Local business, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #575

Posted on January 4, 2026 | 54 comments

There are many places you might find a sardine can — or a representation of one. That was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge (click here to see).

There are the seafood places: Superior, Fjord Fish Market.

And other food spots: Stiles, Gold’s. Black Duck.

One reader even guessed Urban Outfitters.

The correct response though, was Westfair Fish & Chips.

Tucked in the back of Westfair Center — with just a few tables, but a very active takeout business — the spot is one of Westport’s hidden jewels.

Dan Vener and Andrew Colabella both nailed it.

I thought more readers would. But maybe — coming a few days after Christmas — they were still in ham and egg nog mode.

Still, for those who enjoy the Feast of the Seven Fishes …

Anyway — continuing our culinary theme — here is today’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Marina Drasnin)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

54 Comments

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Photo Challenge #574

Posted on December 28, 2025 | 11 comments

There are many brick structures in Westport.

The old Patagonia/Westport Bank & Trust downtown. Greens Farms Elementary School.

And — the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge — the Compo Beach locker rooms, next to the (also brick) pavilion, and Hook’d concession stand. (Click here to see.)

Fred Cantor, Andrew Colabella, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Sal Liccione, Robert Mitchell, Jude Siegel and Linda Vita Velez all knew where those bricks stand.

They (the bricks) are in a lot better shape than those lockers, that’s for sure.

In keeping with our maritime theme, here is this week’s Photo Challenge.

If you know where in Westport you’d see it, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Bill Dedman)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

11 Comments

Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge

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