Spring Glen Hardware operated in the Spring Glen section of Hamden for 74 years. The owners finally retiring and the store closing to the dismay of the local community, including this author. Worse, after the building sold, it had to come down, and there is now just an empty lot. See article on closing: https://www.newhavenindependent.org/article/hardware
But that is not the end of the story. While they were closing, Urbanminers salvaged some materials and store fixtures that were destined for the dumpster. This included old shelving, some work benches and a odds and end such as a spool of about 600 feet of old rope.
Fast forward to the day when it was determined the building had to come down. I got the message around 11:00 that the building was about to come down, and drove over right away. The demolition crew was already there, there was a fence around the building and a machhine sitting there with the engine idling. Since the building was condemned due to a unsafe foundation condition, I knew there would be no going inside to salvage anything. I found the site manager from the demolition company ,whom I happened to know from a recent salvage at a renovation of a building at Yale. I indicated that there were alot of people that would appreciate some token from this building since it was such a community icon. ( In 2017 the store was the subject of the town’s official holiday ornament.) And I thought that the front door removal would not require going inside the building and could be removed in minutes. They were in fact removed and saved. This was a group effort involving Mayor Lauren Garrett ( for providing me with the last minute warning), the owners and friends of the hardware store, and the demolition contractor. Article on demolition: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/community-reacts-former-spring-glen-hardware-building-hamden-demolished/3313661/
I know everyone will remember going through those doors – especially because you had to think every time you went through them – they had to be pushed from the outside and pulled from the inside – opposite of any commercial doorway of today. So even if you had been to the store 100 times, there was still that slight hesitation while you decided to push not pull, to get inside.
So now the challenge is to create something that brings to life as much as possible the old hardware store and what made it so admired – the owners/ staff that worked there. That is the next step. To be continued. article about the history of the store: https://dailynutmeg.com/blogs/blog/spring-glen-hardware-home-team
Above – a few of the items recovered at the closing of the store.
Above – selling in front of the closed store, including some items from the store, at the Spring Glen Artwalk.
Above, the day the building came down.
Above- The front doors waiting to demonstrate the history of the store.