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December 2010
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2720 Grand Marais

A few of the places lost in the DRIC demolition that I’ve been meaning to post about for while now. Someone added it to the “future topics” on the right, when the death fences went up in August. I drove past the site the other week, and can confirm that she’s long gone.

This big old buff brick beauty was built around 1927-28 as part of the speculative boom of South Windsor.

There are small pockets of model homes around various places in South Windsor, that were all erected as the first parts of huge planned communities. With St. Mary’s Academy being built, and the new Ambassador Bridge, combined with the projected industrial growth over in Ojibway, this part of town was supposed to boom. That is until the depression came along. As it stand only a small handful of homes were ever built, and with DRIC coming through, today there’s one less.

Located west of the house above is another DRICtim. The old King Kone, is now also no more.

I have no additional information on the history of this place, but I am going to assume by the construction that it is of a similar vintage, likely an old gas station. Can anyone remember what is was before it was the King Kone?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Andrew

View Comments

  • I remember playing at this house with my older sister, Elaine. Nina was in my class at school and came to my birthday party. My sister, was friends with Rosie. Yes, it was a beautiful house and I am sorry that it has been destroyed. Seeing it featured brought back memories of our childhood in south Windsor. Eleanor (Lappin) Henry

  • I remember it as the La Mona Lisa where my mom went and got her hair done.
    Now to have pictures of all those hairstyles....
    I always remember commenting on how nice here hairy style was as per advice from my dad LOL

  • King Kone was originally a "British American" (B/A) gas station. In the early '60's a new station was built and it moved across the street. (It later became a Gulf and then a self service Petro Can.) The old gas station was vacant from time to time. Tony and Judy, in the mid '70's, turned it into a Coney Island (does anyone remember the giant hotdog out front?) Afterwards they turned it into the "Wicked Witch" ice cream parlour. They had a witch outfront riding a broom. Later the "Mona Lisa" beauty parlour moved in for a while. Afterwards the pizza place was there. It sat vacant again for a while and Tony and Judy reopened it again as an ice cream parlour, but only for take out. (The original coney island and ice cream parlour had tables inside.) I think the second time around selling ice cream was more profitable because it stayed open until the land was bought up for the parkway. It is too bad because that was one of the last examples of an old style gas station left in the city.

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