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August 29, 2005

Inside old Bridgeport

As long as I have lived here, I have been fascinated with Read's old department store, the one that is now Sterling Market Lofts. I was watching a movie on cable over the weekend which left me with the distinct feeling that I had stepped inside the venerable landmark.

The movie was a not particularly good film called "The Group." It was filmed in the '60s, but set in the '30s, and had a scene inside the ground floor of a department store. Maybe most department stores back then looked pretty much alike, but here were the aisles of glass display cases, the white lighting fixtures, the discreet displays and the women in hats and gloves shopping. The scene pretty much matches up with what little I have seen on the interiors of Read's.

I wish I could find more interior photography, not just of Read's but of other downtown Bridgeport stores. A retired friend grew up in Bridgeport in the '30s and '40s and vividly describes tagging along with Mother as she shopped at Leavitt's or Smith-Murray's on Main and Fairfield, or Meigs at Main and Wall. Some of these places that don't even show up in a Google search! (But are quite prominent if you scan the microfilm of the Post or Telegram.)

Could there really have been so many department stores downtown? In the microfilm they look quite glamorous, a point of view supported by the exhibit still on view on the third floor of the library downtown. Those old Corbit photos get me every time, and they are displayed alongside some short memoirs by people who remember Meigs and the rest of downtown. The guest curator, Ben Ortiz, grew up in Bridgeport and although he's not old enough to remember much before the mid-60s, he knows quite a lot about our rich local history. He rattled off a list of famous architects responsible for buildings that thankfully still stand. But more on that later.

Posted by lsteele on 11:45 AM | Comments (1208)

August 22, 2005

OK, OK! I'll start blogging

The Webmaster is upset that I deleted all my first drafts to my first blog. So here I go, typing up my first entry.

Why does the design editor of the Connecticut Post have a blog? Because design editors are trendy-type people, and since blogs are still considered trendy (with about five minutes to go until they become dated) I must, must, must have one.

Also, I do have a lot to say about design, and how it influences our lives. Not just newspaper design, but architecture, fashion, even cuisine. The French, love 'em or hate 'em, know about this. I think we Americans kind of know it too, but we're a little ashamed to admit it. We like to think of ourselves as plain people with plain tastes. We're practical, with no room for frills or frou-frou.

But when I look at archival pictures of Bridgeport, especially Bridgeport between the two world wars, but also of Barnum's era, I see a town of no-nonsense people surrounded by wonderful, fanciful architecture, wearing carefully chosen clothes, and with access to high culture. The fact that we're preserving what remains of old Bridgeport, gives me hope. And so begins my blog.

Posted by lsteele on 12:00 PM | Comments (2673)