So,
As I said I was going to post about the museum I have in my head.
The theme of it is closed stores of the 1900's mainly from the 40's up. I would first have a wall when you enter that lists all of the stores that opened in the 1900's and closed up to the date. Since the museum would be located in Manchester, CT I would only have stores that were in the New England area featured such as Bradlees, Ames, Caldor, and Kings. The Bradlees block lettering left on the Manchester Parkade would be placed on a wall inside the museum for viewing. Hopefully there will be times when I find more signs like that and will be able to feature them. The Parkade has separated stores from the beginning to end. I would make it so they all connected and you just walk through it looking and reading information about the stores.
So that is my plan but I don't have the blue print of the Parkade and other information so it is a little general.
I am almost done writing my letter to the mayor. I will post it on here before I send it! Bye!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The sadness that is to come...
Well, hello there!
I'm Stephen and this is my blog about the Bradlees left in the abandoned Manchester Parkade.
A Quick History Lesson:
Bradlees was once a department store. It opened in 1958. It filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2000. It had 130 stores before filing but went through a tough time in 1996. They had 102 stores left in 1997 and gained 3 more in 2000. They had a hard time surviving with Wal-Marts spreading throughout New England.
The first Bradlees opened in New London, Connecticut. They took the name from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. In 1961 they were bought by The Stop & Shop Cos. The first time Bradlees had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection was in 1992. They planned to close 37 stores in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. In 1994 they opened around 10 new stores and opened they first in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY. On February 2, 1999 Bradlees no longer need bankruptcy protection, only 7 years after they entered it. Altogether Bradlees owned stores in seven states which were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Bradlees was also known for their TV and print ad character "Ms. B" who was played by the actress Cynthia Harris.
The beginning of the end for Bradlees started on December 26, 2000. They announced that they would begin liquidation as soon as possible and close all the remaining stores. The NASDAQ closed Bradlees stock for the final time at just under 22 cents.
Why this blog is needed:
So, the reason this blog was in need of making was because of what the town of Manchester has decided to do with their vacant Bradlees.
It has recently come to my attention that they have planned the demolition of not just Bradlees but the entire Parkade it was in.There are only 2 vacant Bradlees left in CT. There is one in Hartford and one in Manchester. The one in Hartford has been used since it closed in 2000. The sign was taken down and just looks like an empty building. So, the Bradlees at this Parkade is the only vacant Bradlees with the sign left in CT. This in a way, makes it a piece of history and special.
An article from the Journal Inquirer from 4/30/11 said that Manchester was to get $3 million by the state for the town's "streetscape" project. The money was approved on Friday (4/29/11) for the project which has been in progress for six years. Up until now the project wasn't really getting anywhere but is now in the fast lane. I went to check out the Parkade and take a few possibly final pictures of it. When we got there we almost collided with a large blockade not letting any cars in. There were one or two of these in each entrance to the Parkade. We pulled over the the Stop & Shop across the street (which used to be in the other part of the Parkade). Once out and walking around taking pictures I noticed that the lights that used to light the parking lot were all taken down and hauled off. It also looked like they possibly tore up some of the island in the parking lot but I'm not too sure about that. On almost every door there was a "NO TRESPASSING" sign.
The Broad Street project is said to cost $5 million. They want to turn the area into a mix of "small retail, residential, and environment uses."
I got the chance when talking to the mayor of Manchester that Thursday (4/28/11) to ask a few questions about the work on the Parkade/Bradlees. When asked how long it will be until they demolish the buildings he responded by saying it will happen in early 2012. I am now having a hard time believing that considering the light poles are already gone and the property is blocked off. I also asked him why it was necessary for the town to destroy the Parkade right now. He said that they were planning on putting businesses in. This in turn was to help bring in money to the town. In another article from the Journal Inquirer from 4/26/11 it said that it would take 15 months to complete this project. If they are taking out $5 million to do the project and it is supposed to take more than a year to complete and they say they aren't starting until early 2012 which is quite a ways away. When he say that this will make money for the town he must be talking about the far future because I don't see any money coming there way for a long time.
My final question I got to ask the mayor was that if i would be able to have the sign of Bradlees. He and his friend started laughing. He told me that he would put a word in but the way he said it I didn't take it too seriously. I am quite unhappy with his response since i was pretty much laughed at.
In conclusion, I am trying to get the town to understand my point of view on this project. I would like to see the building to be left alone but I'm afraid that is almost impossible to get. My idea instead would be to create a museum of old stores in the Parkade. It would be the perfect place for it. I will talk about this museum in my next post.
~Off to write a letter to the mayor!
I'm Stephen and this is my blog about the Bradlees left in the abandoned Manchester Parkade.
A Quick History Lesson:
Bradlees was once a department store. It opened in 1958. It filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2000. It had 130 stores before filing but went through a tough time in 1996. They had 102 stores left in 1997 and gained 3 more in 2000. They had a hard time surviving with Wal-Marts spreading throughout New England.
The first Bradlees opened in New London, Connecticut. They took the name from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. In 1961 they were bought by The Stop & Shop Cos. The first time Bradlees had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection was in 1992. They planned to close 37 stores in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. In 1994 they opened around 10 new stores and opened they first in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY. On February 2, 1999 Bradlees no longer need bankruptcy protection, only 7 years after they entered it. Altogether Bradlees owned stores in seven states which were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Bradlees was also known for their TV and print ad character "Ms. B" who was played by the actress Cynthia Harris.
The beginning of the end for Bradlees started on December 26, 2000. They announced that they would begin liquidation as soon as possible and close all the remaining stores. The NASDAQ closed Bradlees stock for the final time at just under 22 cents.
The "B" for Bradlees at the Manchester Parkade
Why this blog is needed:
So, the reason this blog was in need of making was because of what the town of Manchester has decided to do with their vacant Bradlees.
It has recently come to my attention that they have planned the demolition of not just Bradlees but the entire Parkade it was in.There are only 2 vacant Bradlees left in CT. There is one in Hartford and one in Manchester. The one in Hartford has been used since it closed in 2000. The sign was taken down and just looks like an empty building. So, the Bradlees at this Parkade is the only vacant Bradlees with the sign left in CT. This in a way, makes it a piece of history and special.
An article from the Journal Inquirer from 4/30/11 said that Manchester was to get $3 million by the state for the town's "streetscape" project. The money was approved on Friday (4/29/11) for the project which has been in progress for six years. Up until now the project wasn't really getting anywhere but is now in the fast lane. I went to check out the Parkade and take a few possibly final pictures of it. When we got there we almost collided with a large blockade not letting any cars in. There were one or two of these in each entrance to the Parkade. We pulled over the the Stop & Shop across the street (which used to be in the other part of the Parkade). Once out and walking around taking pictures I noticed that the lights that used to light the parking lot were all taken down and hauled off. It also looked like they possibly tore up some of the island in the parking lot but I'm not too sure about that. On almost every door there was a "NO TRESPASSING" sign.
The Broad Street project is said to cost $5 million. They want to turn the area into a mix of "small retail, residential, and environment uses."
I got the chance when talking to the mayor of Manchester that Thursday (4/28/11) to ask a few questions about the work on the Parkade/Bradlees. When asked how long it will be until they demolish the buildings he responded by saying it will happen in early 2012. I am now having a hard time believing that considering the light poles are already gone and the property is blocked off. I also asked him why it was necessary for the town to destroy the Parkade right now. He said that they were planning on putting businesses in. This in turn was to help bring in money to the town. In another article from the Journal Inquirer from 4/26/11 it said that it would take 15 months to complete this project. If they are taking out $5 million to do the project and it is supposed to take more than a year to complete and they say they aren't starting until early 2012 which is quite a ways away. When he say that this will make money for the town he must be talking about the far future because I don't see any money coming there way for a long time.
My final question I got to ask the mayor was that if i would be able to have the sign of Bradlees. He and his friend started laughing. He told me that he would put a word in but the way he said it I didn't take it too seriously. I am quite unhappy with his response since i was pretty much laughed at.
In conclusion, I am trying to get the town to understand my point of view on this project. I would like to see the building to be left alone but I'm afraid that is almost impossible to get. My idea instead would be to create a museum of old stores in the Parkade. It would be the perfect place for it. I will talk about this museum in my next post.
~Off to write a letter to the mayor!
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