Front Yard Skating Rink Brings Wright Street Neighborhood Together
Local siblings and neighbors living in the Wright Street neighborhood spent yesterday afternoon on the ice, enjoying the outdoors and being with one another.
For nearly twenty years the Reilly Family’s front yard has been transformed into an ice skating rink, with neighborhood kids invited to enjoy it on Winter’s coldest days - combatting the doldrums of the season dominated by a pandemic. By Jaime Bairaktaris
The ice rink is custom designed and built by the family and their friends each year around Thanksgiving, allowing ample time for the water to catch a few consecutive days of freezing temperatures to create thick enough ice to skate on. Being only a few inches deep, falling through isn’t disastrous - making it a much safer option than relying on local ponds, and more accessible than the many rinks closed this season due to coronavirus.
To keep the ice smooth, mother-of-five Alison Reilly maintains it with a hot water rake (donated by neighbors) or with a propane blow torch. A true labor of love; the neighborhood tradition is more important this Winter than ever before as the World tries to remain outdoors as much as possible during the COVID-19 crisis.
After school days dominated by at-home-learning and social distancing, ice skating has been a safe way to get kids moving and to promote positive social interaction. The Mayo Clinic cited the benefits of being outside during the Winter, naming ice skating as one of their lowest-risk options to enjoy during the pandemic. Skating and other low-risk social activities are also being promoted as ways to help boost mental health amongst children and adolescents, a goal for many local parents as some push to get kids into schoolhouses full-time in order to grow their social connections and combat isolation.
As temperatures froze and Zoom classes finished, the neighborhood kids waddled down the street in their winter gear last night to get onto the ice to continue the Wright Street Winter tradition. They slipped and fell, and slid and glided, and laughed and chatted under their masks as the friends supported each other on their skates.
With families and neighbors watching from the driveway as smaller kids held the fingers of the older kids leading them around the ice, the front yard rink exemplified how a community can rise up together amidst a pandemic.
The Reilly family has always welcomed their community to enjoy the rink as a way to get kids outside and to make memories together, however never did they imagine how important this year’s memories will be in proving not all was bad during the coronavirus crisis.
With cold weather ahead, the kids on Wright Street won’t be complaining. They’ll be closing their ChromeBooks, lacing up their skates, and gliding out onto the ice.
Staples High School Celebrates December, January Students of the Month
From Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas:
Principal Thomas has announced Staples High School's recipients for December and January Student of the Month:
Mary Bazile- Gr.9
Catherine Cunningham-Gr.11
Nicholas Porzio-Gr.9
Brandon Saunders-Gr.11
Tucker Peters - Gr. 9
Maya Vogelmann-Gr.11
Claire Railton-Jones- Gr.12
Autumn Smith- Gr.12
Matthew Lott-Gr.11
Logan Goodman-Gr.9
Sasha Hamer-Gr.12
The Students of the Month award program recognizes students who help make Staples High School a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the “glue” of the Staples community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students that keep the high school together, making it the special place that it is.
Students of the month are nominated by their teachers, who are asked to think of those students who come to school regularly, are friendly to the staff and to fellow students, and make positive contributions in class as well as the Staples community. In short, these students are all-around good citizens of our school. Students of the Month are not necessarily star athletes, high honor students, or lead performers, and even if they are, this award recognizes the positive attitude they bring to school every day in making Staples High School a genial place in which to learn and teach.
The Show Goes On for Former Westport Movie Theater Properties
Barnes & Noble Booksellers will come to 76 Post Road East, the former home of the Fine Arts 1 & 2 Movie Theater.
Although Westport’s silver screens were removed decades ago, the former movie-houses are all experiencing their own encores as new businesses and updates begin to take shape.
The original Fine Arts 1 & 2 Movie Theater, at 76 Post Road East. This was taken in 1940, after a recent renovation. (Cinema Treasures, LLC) The Housekeeper’s Daughter was showing, a black & white film debuting in late 1939.
Even as the COVID-19 crisis has taken the thought of going to a movie theater out of many Westporters’ minds, it’s not been lost on many new residents that Westport has no permanent movie theater. In the past, there were four: three downtown and one farther east. The cinemas served generations of community members throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood and towards the end of the 20th century.
Although gone for decades, the former buildings of these theaters continue to serve the community, and are all experiencing updates and new life as 2021 begins.
The former location of Fine Arts 1 & 2, 76 Post Road East, is causing excitement among community members as Barnes & Noble and David Adam Realty announced its February opening in the 10,742 square foot building. The booksellers will be downsizing from their previous 1076 Post Road East location, which coincidentally was in the same plaza as the former Post Cinema (featured below). The building hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years, allowing the former theater’s facade and marquee to be easily recalled from memories of standing underneath, waiting in the queue for the shows to begin. There may be irony in the space taking decades to transition from movies to books, however with the change in entertainment medium comes life and excitement for the downtown area, which currently lacks a bookstore. Prior to Barnes & Noble, the space was occupied by Restoration Hardware.
The Fine Arts 1 & 2 in 1939, prior to its renovation. (Cinema Treasures, LLC) The theater was showing Fast and Furious, debuted in 1939.
The former location of Fine Arts 3, 33 Jesup Road, now smells of a wood fire and fresh food as Basso Restaurant and Wine Bar opened in the space this month. The building sits directly behind the Fine Arts 1 & 2 building, facing Jesup Green. The “FA3” theater brought a third screen to the downtown area, and transitioned to a restaurant after its closure - utilizing the high movie-screen ceilings to create a lofted dining room. The newest restaurant - owned by Gilda Scorza and husband/head chef Renato Donzelli - will serve mediterranean cuisine, signature wines, and wood-fired napoletana pizza - a far cry from popcorn with movie theater butter. Prior to Basso, the space was occupied by Matsu Sushi.
Basso Restaurant at 33 Jesup Road, the former site of the Fine Arts 3 Movie Theater.
Fine Arts 4, 180 Post Road East, completed the downtown movie theater grouping with a fourth screen located just a few doors up from Fine Arts 1 & 2. The 35,402 square foot building, owned by Luzern Realty, went through extensive exterior renovations in 2014, and was sold in 2017 for 18 million dollars. The movie theater occupied the eastern corner of the building, facing Post Road East, now Mancini Salon.
About two miles East along Route 1 sat the Post Cinema in Post Plaza, 1100 Post Road East. The Post Plaza has been owned by the Field Family, of the Stamford-based Field Group, since 1976 and has not been updated since 1997, according to the family. However with the recent closure of its anchor tenant, Barnes & Noble, the Plaza will experience a major renovation in 2021 as it prepares for a new anchor tenant, rumoured to be Amazon Fresh. Post Cinema was located on the opposite side of the strip mall from Barnes & Noble, facing the corner of Post Road East and Morningside Drive South. The exact space of Post Cinema’s former screen is occupied by Bassett Furniture, who have been Post Road Plaza tenants since 2013. Prior to Bassett Furniture, the space was occupied by Pompanoosuc Mills, which closed permanently after its relocation to Post Road West.
Westport’s Remarkable Drive-in Theater on Imperial Road, Debuting in Summer 2020
Despite the pandemic, a remarkable thing happened in 2020: the creation of the Remarkable Theater’s Drive-in Movie Screen on Imperial Road. Westport gained the new venue, which brought the silver screen back to the community from the comfort of their cars. The non-profit venue is run by volunteers, and supplied movie events throughout the summer.
Blue Skies Over the Marina
Blue skies and wisps of far-away clouds plagued visitors to Westport’s Ned Dimes Marina fields this afternoon.