Tag Archives: Westport Police headquarters

Photo Challenge #442

Back in the day, everyone who got a traffic ticket in Westport — or any other citation — had to appear before a judge.

Fortunately, they did not have to to far. We had our own court.

It was in the same building as police headquarters.

It’s long gone. But “Town Court” is still there, etched in marble and facing Jesup Road.

The subject of last week’s Photo Challenge, it evoked memories from attorneys, former police officers and speeders. All had close encounters of the Circuit Court kind.

Other readers, who moved here long after it moved to Norwalk, have noticed (and wondered about) it.

Bob Grant, Adam Starr, Gloria Gouveia, Dave Eason, Fred Cantor, John McCarthy, Art Hayes, Jan Carpenter, Beth Berkowitz, Diane Silfen, Rich Diviney, Dick Alley, Pete Powell, Mary Ann Batsell, Lawrence Zlatkin, Peter Hirst and Cheryl Petrone all answered correctly. They each win a “get out of jail free” card, courtesy of “06880.”

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

(Photo/Paul Rohan)

(The Photo Challenge runs every Sunday on “06880.” If you enjoy this — and our many other features — please consider a contribution. Click here — and thank you!)

Today Is Arbor Day. Westport Is A “Tree City USA.”

Happy Arbor Day!

To celebrate, Westport’s Tree Board announces our town’s newest honor: The Arbor Day Foundation has named us a “2020 Tree City USA.”

The award (which we share with 3,600 other communities) recognizes that we make “planting and care of trees a priority.”

Former Tree Board chair Dick Fincher, tree warden Bruce Lindsay and assistant town attorney Eileen Lavigne Flug helped obtain certification.

Proving that we really are a Tree City USA, this year’s Arbor Day celebration includes tree plantings at the police station on Jesup Road, and Greens Farms fire station.

Planting a tree at the Greens Farms fire station …

The new trees celebrate first responders who worked diligently during the pandemic.

The Tree Board will be active in coming months. They’ll sponsor educational events, and a celebration of oak trees, which reduce runoff, flooding, noise and pollution. Oaks also host over 400 types of caterpillars that birds need for food.

(For more information on the Tree Board, click here.)

… and police headquarters.

Friday Flashback #75

We’ve lost many handsome buildings in Westport.

Some are gone because of neglect. Others outlived their usefulness. Still more were torn down because they were in the way of something newer, different or “better.”

For years, a handsome building stood at 50 Jesup Road. It was once a private residence. Later, it became the Open Door Inn:

(Photo courtesy of Paul Ehrismann)

It was demolished in the 1950s. The town had outgrown its police headquarters — in the basement of what was then Town Hall. Today the building houses 2 restaurants: Jesup Hall and, below, Rothbard Ale + Larder.

If you close your eyes, you can almost imagine the cops who worked there — and prisoners in the lockup, staring through bars at the alley outside.

Keys To The Cops

Losing your car keys is a hassle.

But back in the day, a replacement cost only a dollar or two.

Today, a new “fob” can run a couple hundred bucks.

Back in the day, when you lost your car keys you’d post signs in your neighborhood.

Now, you can post an item on “06880+.”

But there’s an even better alternative.

In the lobby of Westport Police headquarters sits a plastic container filled with 2 or 3 dozen lost keys.

Lost keys

Many Westporters don’t know about this low-key but effective public service.

So the next time you lose your keys, don’t call the cops.

Go to Jesup Road headquarters yourself. Of course, you’ll have to call someone for a ride…


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