Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. The city has a total area of 20.9 square miles (54 km2), of which 20.4 square miles (53 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), or 2.40%, is water. Southbridge is drained by the Quinebaug River.
Southbridge was formed out of portions of three of its neighboring towns: Sturbridge to the west, Charlton to the north, and Dudley to the east. The other neighboring town is Woodstock, Connecticut to the south.
Southbridge has a long history of manufacturing optical products, earning it the unofficial title "Eye of the Commonwealth", in reference to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
By the early 1960s, the mill town had a movie theatre, an AM radio station (WESO), and an airport. New immigrants from Puerto Rico, Laos, and Vietnam began arriving in the 1970s and 1980s, and the town now has a significant Hispanic and Puerto Rican population.
These vintage photos from
dickwhitney were taken by Don Whitney that show the inside of stores in Southbridge, Massachusetts in 1953 and 1954.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJJrCj36kFIEAg9j-iGV7xaAU72mtZanFysFrzbnEWdC6UyPG-4W00f_Wrdp3PVRqHj96N74UXzssgCbnKXBNeLfv7ZgM-FSIFYVUcrSabch7hqCmFiUpEk_nmHEXSdSX6nMcAiUPvTWiCrfPAoUdVnN_M1Yu7lIDSPdoeYA0570mSDbYc74XnuNoR4Q=w640-h426-rw) |
1953 in Foley's News - Ammidown Building on Main St (Now Savers Coop) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHafawAtq7013hHahrz_E4IqyUbQclYc1cknfltxFvxc30jgzHpbVTQeWFQzEr_TvgA7lB21mJ9W5Hkgi6CqnlvoDvddf0pd7ZvllpMq3lC4yiZJ1XZZQ8vEV-xTkRNyDYHQ8UdR4wkPNhkqK9XmHsqiiSaJjosCncWSpf5FFC5TchJ98724hqh-xolQ=w640-h480-rw) |
1953 in Foley's News - Ammidown Building on Main St (Now Savers Coop) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_yNDNcnuDV-hVKcHWbRgktBIB7iipXBE61I9if_L5zY5hP1ZabgNZkK1ISw2h5O6jqUqmiOkk8YGLQv5BWr7m9ogn4j_n_vpQ9lcq3vsvUCkgRYyJr0hykVohdwB2_fTQMMcat3VKBqSz4Eiie_N3oDd4cnaTRk8ryBDncwocfCKDdYnSwKDkcuRCNA=w640-h426-rw) |
Woolworths Dept Store, Main St, Southbridge |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh57dEzf6ulUr2brHxlHDW8w8-RO4n1qhO_MZvalExuhBvK-Kfj82O1ffAWEP7dTxIAuQVEjlf32LyymHELObfxZlZxBsijisOJREc3NA0wVP_4pO9BRgLIkvBViAvJJ0gB8xGXYNhrHxo3mCaMEM22gzerQ9FPli1kbMbD0ON4aQ6yVt7wCQYkCz1Beg=w640-h480-rw) |
Paquette Stationery, Main St, Southbridge |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg8vNYEtUrlSXqSQQPbQ4zhKQa9m_xRxXnEapSEfm1yd6KnyMSDF1qz8WqQUcWoFMCfmmS-mAz5UqHXdNmmX369F5u7nuDkw3EKoGJ3dwH-b_rpxvGHSMWyqxwcf_QckQ9Ttf3NhM97_1s-Wze3aJTbZAjDLwNBJZ323ubvL41XDyZiagM1cGHzI189Bw=w640-h426-rw) |
First National Grocery Store, Main St, Southbridge |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzZREEH6diYqpvEbAsnl7qkQpQjW9Mex7ZO9huNlXbRXabTljoDU3nSDuFH0t3FEjXlU_ilYC6Is79IFZNQcxWxnAbjgb1eIRxmFnIj-7a1lUFBftpodfkwGGoeeClKpUD4kwd7dokOu7Eu2Y0llWY6oPxFRdI3Fbge4ifDmv9DnOBKatGxcJK75E4AA=w640-h426-rw) |
South Street Market, South Street |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNBKIBAGS9IczNTnbCBlhFcQRADZXtew1Tg6uGB5VzivaXLEYFuqi1M-bnQNEPLJWkj25c5CD79h8U6cduadfFT2ARWdOiZk1CWXD7zYQB8-nZMKm0rKxAwiUSrTFCY29GB9OYICpFXEp6iJ2pJEAf07JvFsiv_GMnI54RGLxj2yNMcbUuu4PaY6bRzw=w640-h426-rw) |
South Street Market, South Street |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHFDCj6r9CrAiv8pOmcNvpovvzP-J0G4VmsvuujjWP3qwpDqCSXar4dYEDllOcLKHOe5ARfwNKMNvINpGpaVbjLbW_BubnYpGLpuUg9hZrA8h6bdRDoNwZxO1yNWzeaUuUq7485AXYklR0DoLFMIjbP6roZOm855buGIwEqUKYkr9Ons4zK0U8qQzuaA=w640-h426-rw) |
Mitch Dune in his barber shop cutting my hair in 1954 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrfJA5hsRJ7-nbdCGClbQRVMUpN7hy9aEKTK3MtWT7vn1ihgZidbLxIN1hucqW4zuvKqCUg0KKM1QzTMlbVtevPGNen6WPDY4NQgwB7UTt1bqPC9UzZxm2BqbffNIGsi6_gNGiEaT0cZlIOcPq6I8JDP2w-ZcU0R85QHwKEUAs84xK3-WrtxQ39p9y8Q=w640-h426-rw) |
A young George Vasil getting his hair cut by Marcy (Massimo) Pettinelli |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBlGi3j6djydfOPrgGZw1gBtOXXIPudFEsoNxot6Uub2MX3MKmyiV3qRQuKVcT3dYldNCytYMJLtmHiQ8m-x7YDh9xGusveojgyRdVSR4eJ6-t01yivBSWMIjqDfIIIRpOnuI3Akw97-A524IhvWZqPk_IjkFImQ04pG5Iv7ROXqq_HjFaRjYxxg5JZA=w640-h426-rw) |
Mitch Dune's shop was located on Central Street. According to Phil Pettinelli (Marcy's son): The space had an entrance from what is now the Savers parking lot, behind the current sports card store and before getting to The Corner Pocket |
(Photos © Don Whitney)
0 comments:
Post a Comment