The property that Puritan Furniture occupies is prime West Hartford real estate. It can only be hoped that conventional practices don't win out, and the property won't be turned into yet another over-priced, yuppie-schmuppie condo or townhouse project.
When I was a kid, Puritan Furniture used to run full-page ads on the back cover of the Hartford Courant's Sunday TV supplement for many years. When I was in my early 20's, I worked there a couple of times on temp jobs. The store had a vast inventory of furniture, and also had a massive furniture distribution warehouse in Wethersfield.
Ever since I was about 10 years old, I've maintained a big interest in motorcycles, particularly Triumphs, and other British bikes. I'm not sure about the dates, but in the 1970s and '80s, a custom motorcycle repair shop occupied a yellow building located next to East end of the Puritan Furniture building.
If I'm not mistaken, the motorcycle shop was named "House of the Iron Horse," and the owners were a very cool couple named Joe and Jeanette. When I was about 15, I rode my Raleigh chopper bicycle (with an extra pair of front forks just hammered onto the original forks) down to the House of the Iron Horse and introduced myself to the owners. The owners let me hang around sometimes, and I had the opportunity to be around some awesome bikes, and learn a few things.
A busy gas station used to be located diagonally across from Puritan Furniture, and a small, excellent breakfast and lunch restaurant named "Teddy's Lunch" sat just a few doors down.
Family-owned and operated retail stores are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. We should all make an effort to patronize these businesses, so they can compete against the corporate behemoths / Big-Box stores that are situated across America.
What a great, 89+-year run. Puritan Furniture, ye shall be missed.
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