West Hartford History: What Is Located Where This House Once Stood?

If you think you know the answer or have a special memory related to the photo, respond in the "Leave a comment" box below this article. We'll run the answer next Monday, along with a new historical photo. The image has been provided by the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society. For more information on the museum's collection and programs, visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org.

Last week's question was "Where Was This Fire?" One reader thought the flames were coming from Plant Junior High. However, Dianne Rechel, who noticed the name "Bill Lehmann's, Inc." when the photo was enlarged, was correct with her answer that the fire was in the building that once housed Lehmann's paint store.

Phil Hartling added the detail that the store was on Park Rd., and William Turley who was the fire captain responding to the incident, recalled, "It sounded like a train at high when the fire was raging through the hallways."

Current West Hartford Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Stuart said in an email that the ladder truck in the photo was the first apparatus he ever rode on when he joined the department!

The answer provided by the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is: "West Hartford firefighters can be seen trying to control a fire at 208 Park Road that damaged several businesses in 1972."