[amberdaniels]

Do you guys recall any roller skating groups in the Stratford or New Haven area from the 80s? I'm actually trying to find one in particular. I think they skated from Stratford to New Haven or East Hartford at one point, and made it onto one of the local radio stations.

[PulltheIvy]

Originally Posted by MisterStereoman

Anyone remember a cool little record store in New Haven called Rhymes Records? It was on Broadway, on the second floor, on the same strip as Cutler's and the old Yale Co-Op. Great for punk, and imports.
One day I was in Grand Central Terminal, wearing a Rhymes Records T-Shirt, and a guy in one of the Metro-North ticket booths called out, "Hey! Rhymes Records! Rhymes Records!" and motioned me over. He told me his father (or some relative, I don't remember) owns the building housing Rhymes Records. Kind of a weird encounter. Almost thought his dad would charge me rent for my T-Shirt!

I absolutely loved Rhyme's Records and bought way more clothing than I care to admit in the vintage clothing store above it. Do you remember the name of that store ?

I was introduced to The Dead Kennedy's in Rhymes and bought lots of The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, The Clash, The Alarm, the Eurogliders, X and more at Rhymes Records. I always loved the sound of my Doc Martins clomping up those narrow stairs.

Name three of your favorite concerts at Toad's Place ? The Alarm, INXS, and Soma Holiday.

[Old Dominionite]

I know this is an old thread, but since it's been revived I thought I'd share a few random memories of Connecticut when I lived in Newington as a kid in the 80s.

- Whalers games -- most notably the Brass Bonanza
- the occasional Celtics game at the Civic Center (the Celtics were a much bigger deal to me as a kid since this was before UCONN rose to prominence)
- regularly going to New Britain Red Sox games
- G. Fox in downtown Hartford (although Steiger's in downtown Springfield had better food)
- Taking the old CT Transit buses (dark blue and silver GM Fishbowl Models) into Hartford for Whalers games
- Ravioli Kitchen when it was in the South End
- Hot Tomato's at Union Station
- Westfarms Mall before it went super upscale
- The East Side Restaurant in New Britain before it went super kitsch
- Neighborhood pharmacies in Newington (Thrifty, Briarwood, and West Hill) which all went out of business when CVS planted its flag in the late 80s
- Newington Theater and its $.99 specials
- Hartford Drive-In
- Plotting with my neighborhood buddies about how we were going to sneak into Mrs. Pips...
- Berlin Turnpike with far fewer big box retail stores
- You actually had to travel to New Haven for Pepe's or Sally's
- ”The Highway To Nowhere” in New Britain before it opened and became part of Route 9
- The original Charter Oak Bridge (which had significantly more character than the current one and was much more fun to drive over)
- One year you took I-86 to Boston. Then another year you took I-84 to Boston. Took a while for CT to figure that out...
- Tollbooths for the Charter Oak and Putnam Bridges (and trying to navigate through Glastonbury to get from Route 3 to Route 2)
- Mini-rush hours when major factory shifts were changed (thinking of the Fafnir plant on Willard Ave in Newington as one of many examples)
- More optimism and less negativity (although that's probably not unique to CT)

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

- More optimism and less negativity (although that's probably not unique to CT)

That’s just called no social media

[SteveM85]

Originally Posted by PulltheIvy

I absolutely loved Rhyme's Records and bought way more clothing than I care to admit in the vintage clothing store above it. Do you remember the name of that store ?

I was introduced to The Dead Kennedy's in Rhymes and bought lots of The Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, The Clash, The Alarm, the Eurogliders, X and more at Rhymes Records. I always loved the sound of my Doc Martins clomping up those narrow stairs.

Name three of your favorite concerts at Toad's Place ? The Alarm, INXS, and Soma Holiday.

That sounds like Johnny's in Darien. Still there. I heard that was the place to get bootlegs, Deadhead and Smith's records in the day.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by amberdaniels

Do you guys recall any roller skating groups in the Stratford or New Haven area from the 80s? I'm actually trying to find one in particular. I think they skated from Stratford to New Haven or East Hartford at one point, and made it onto one of the local radio stations.

I recall ice skating in Stratford, forgot name or location. In the early 80s.

[JP Nutmegger]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

I know this is an old thread, but since it's been revived I thought I'd share a few random memories of Connecticut when I lived in Newington as a kid in the 80s.

- Whalers games -- most notably the Brass Bonanza
- the occasional Celtics game at the Civic Center (the Celtics were a much bigger deal to me as a kid since this was before UCONN rose to prominence)
- regularly going to New Britain Red Sox games
- G. Fox in downtown Hartford (although Steiger's in downtown Springfield had better food)
- Taking the old CT Transit buses (dark blue and silver GM Fishbowl Models) into Hartford for Whalers games
- Ravioli Kitchen when it was in the South End
- Hot Tomato's at Union Station
- Westfarms Mall before it went super upscale
- The East Side Restaurant in New Britain before it went super kitsch
- Neighborhood pharmacies in Newington (Thrifty, Briarwood, and West Hill) which all went out of business when CVS planted its flag in the late 80s
- Newington Theater and its $.99 specials
- Hartford Drive-In
- Plotting with my neighborhood buddies about how we were going to sneak into Mrs. Pips...
- Berlin Turnpike with far fewer big box retail stores
- You actually had to travel to New Haven for Pepe's or Sally's
- ”The Highway To Nowhere” in New Britain before it opened and became part of Route 9
- The original Charter Oak Bridge (which had significantly more character than the current one and was much more fun to drive over)
- One year you took I-86 to Boston. Then another year you took I-84 to Boston. Took a while for CT to figure that out...
- Tollbooths for the Charter Oak and Putnam Bridges (and trying to navigate through Glastonbury to get from Route 3 to Route 2)
- Mini-rush hours when major factory shifts were changed (thinking of the Fafnir plant on Willard Ave in Newington as one of many examples)
- More optimism and less negativity (although that's probably not unique to CT)

I remember a lot of these. My family had season tickets to the Whalers for years, so I saw many of the big games (All Star 86, Dineen's OT goal against Montreal, and the clincher for their only playoff series victory). New Britain Red Sox tickets were 99 cents for general admission for kids 16 and under. Also on Main St in Hartford, there was Brown Thomson's (don't remember the store, just the restaurant) where City Steam is now, plus Sage-Allen, and JJ Newberry. Then you had the Civic Center Mall with the food court in the basement that either required going out to the street to go in a separate door (Rein's had a second location in it), or a trip down the elevator from Luettgens Ltd. The Wendy's downstairs was so busy they had to open a second location upstairs called Wendy's Too. Then there was Margaritaville (later Margarita's thanks to Mr. Buffett), Chuck's and Gaetano's. Al Franklin's for music, the tobaccionist, the Whalers gift shop, Koenig Art Emporium (with Peter Stone in his wheelchair selling candy in front), and Munson's. I also remember the Sage-Allen in Westfarms with the cafeteria that served great chicken croquets. I can even remember when Westfarms had a movie theater (I think I remember seeing Return of the Jedi there), then you could go next door to Cathy John's or Arthur Treacher's for dinner. East Side was always a tradition for lunch on the last day of school every year. As for roads, I also remember when I-691 was Route 66 and used to end at Exit 4 on the Meriden/Southington line, plus I remember tolls on the Bissell Bridge, as well as I-95 and the Parkway. And I'll always remember the 84 ENDS 86 TO BOSTON sign right in front of the old Showcase Cinemas in East Hartford, then 84 magically reappearing east of Spencer St on what is now I-384, plus in the Willimantic area on what is now Route 6. There was Benihana's in The Exchange in Farmington, Guida's Dairy Bar on Farmington Ave in New Britain. Great Taste was IHOP, and every town had just one Dunkin, which was Dunkin DONUTS, none of which had drive thru's and all had stools at a counter where coffee was served in ceramic cups. Video arcades in every town, roller skating rinks, The Sting in New Britain. Plus those mini-rush hours on Queen St in Southington when the Pratt & Whitney plant changed shifts.

[lannym]

Does anyone remember the name of the bar in Old Saybrook that eventually turned into The Back Porch?

[WestRiverTraveler]

Originally Posted by lannym

Does anyone remember the name of the bar in Old Saybrook that eventually turned into The Back Porch?

In the 70's, it was The Black Swan. In the 80's, it was Willy Js. I think it might have had another name or two between Willy Js and The Back Porch.

[Lincolnian]

Woolworths and JM Fields Plaza on Silver Lane in East Hartford was a big deal in the mid 70s. At Christmas time WDRC had Mobile Studio D there. I won a round trip for two to Florida with their "Do you want to keep your $5 or give it away and take the consequences" contest. Later in the 70s, Charter Oak Mall and Showcase Cinemas were built and became the place to go. I remember waiting in a line outside Showcase Cinemas for Star Wars in a line that wrapped around the building despite it being shown on multiple screens. The Silver Lanes bowling ally, Augie and Rays (Silver Lane), and Friendly's were also part of our teenage stomping grounds. A great time to be a kid!