Street Scenes Archives - Page 55 of 95

Main Street, Southington, Connecticut (2)

September 1, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The view looking north on Main Street in Southington, from just south of Columbus Avenue, around 1885-1891. Image courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Main Street in 2015:

This view is very similar to the photos in this post, which were taken just a little further up the street beyond the intersection. Unlike the other Southington photos that I have featured here, this one was not taken by the Office of War Information during World War II; instead, this image was from a 19th century stereocard. In this scene, the Soldiers’ Monument on the green had just recently been dedicated, and most of the town’s Civil War veterans would have still been alive. World War I was still a generation away at this point, and it would be more than 50 years before the OWI would capture photos of the town in the early years of World War II.

The only building from the first photo that is still standing today is the First Congregational Church. It is essentially unchanged from its appearance when it was built in 1830, and it is one of several nearly identical church buildings of the era that can still be seen in small towns throughout Connecticut. Across Main Street is the town green, where the Soldiers’ Monument still stands today, although it is now accompanied by monuments to the veterans of the wars of the 20th century. The dirt roads around the town green in the first photo have several horse-drawn carriages, but within a decade or so automobiles would begin to appear, eventually leading to the paved roads and traffic lights of the present-day scene.

School Children in Southington, Connecticut

August 26, 2015 by Derek Strahan

A group of children, made up of teenagers and younger children, on the town green in Southington in May 1942. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection.

The scene in 2015:

The caption of the first photo is “Southington school children staging a patriotic demonstration,” and it is probably related to the town’s Memorial Day observances. It is part of a series of photos taken in Southington by the Office of War Information, to be published in a propaganda pamphlet overseas. The intent of this photo was probably to show American sympathizers and other potential allies about the patriotism expressed even by young children, although the only overt display of patriotism in this particular scene is the American flag that the young girl on the tricycle is holding.

Today, the scene has not changed too much. The two buildings in the background are still there: the town hall on the left, and a brick commercial building on the right. The town hall opened less than six months before the first photo was taken, and it is still in use today, and the commercial building was probably built in the early 1900s. The storefront once housed Southington’s post office, and in the 2015 photo it is apparently vacant and boarded up. Both buildings can also be seen in this post, which was taken from a similar angle.

Main Street, Southington, Connecticut (1)

September 1, 2015August 25, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Looking north on Main Street in Southington from along the town green, in May 1942. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection.

The scene in 2015

These two photos were taken less than 75 years apart, but over that time most of the east side of Main Street has changed. The First Congregational Church on the far right is still there, but all of the buildings beyond it are gone. To the left, the Soliders’ Monument is still visible in both photos,

Town Green, Southington, Connecticut

August 24, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The town green in Southington, seen from across Main Street facing west, in May 1942. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection.

The same view in 2015:

The first photo shows two houses that once stood on the west side of the town green. They appear to have been built in the late 1800s, and were probably single family homes originally. The one on the right was probably the older of the two; its Italianate architecture was popular for American homes in the 1860s and 1870s. The house to the left, with its tower and many different gables, resembles the Queen Anne style that became popular in the 1880s and 1890s.

The older house still stands today, although it is now a real estate agency and a Masonic lodge. It has clearly been modernized on the exterior, but it still retains some of its original features. The American Legion building to the right of it, seen closer in this post, is also still standing, but the Queen Anne house to the left has since been demolished, and a large commercial building now occupies the lot.

Drum Corps, Southington, Connecticut (2)

August 19, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Members of a youth drum corps on the town green in Southington in May 1942. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, FSA-OWI Collection.

The scene in 2015:

Very similar to the angle in this post, the 1942 photo here shows members of a fife and drum corps at the 1942 Memorial Day parade. They are probably in high school, and they may be some of the same people seen in this post. Today, the church is still there, as is the Town Hall to the right, although it isn’t visible in the 2015 photo. However, all of the buildings to the left of the church are gone and have been replaced by parking lots. As mentioned in the previous post, the tree in front of the church was standing in 1942; it had been planted in 1935 and can barely be seen beyond the bicycle in the lower center of the first photo.

Memorial Day Parade, Southington, Connecticut

August 18, 2015 by Derek Strahan

A view of the spectators at the Memorial Day parade on Main Street in Southington in May 1942. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The scene in 2015:

The first photo was taken by Charles Fenno Jacobs for the Office of War Information as part of the agency’s efforts to document life in a “typical” American town. Some of the photos were distributed overseas as part of a pamphlet to promote American ideas of freedom, democracy, and equality. This particular scene emphasizes the patriotism found in America, with the original caption reading, “Southington, Connecticut. An American town and its way of life. The Memorial Day parade moving down the main street. The small number of spectators is accounted for by the fact that the town’s war factories did not close.” Even the caption has some subtle wording; the “small number of spectators” reference is clearly intended to imply that this large gathering is small by American standards.

The photo shows the Memorial Day spectators watching the parade from the town green, with the Soldiers’ Monument in the distance to the left and the First Congregational Church on the right side of the photo. The scene in the foreground is interesting; the group on the left appears to be posing for a photo, with the young man in the band uniform as the photographer. In between them, the girl in the white dress looks like she is crying; perhaps she is upset that she was left out of the photo, or perhaps she was left out of the photo because she was crying about not wanting to be in it.

Today, the church is still there, but most of the other buildings along Main Street are gone. The place where the crowds once stood on the green is now the site of the town’s monument for veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. On the other side of the monument are the names of all the men and women from Southington who served in those wars; undoubtedly many of the people in the crowd had children, siblings, and/or spouses who were serving in the military in May 1942 and whose names now appear on the monument.