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CTMQ > Everything Else > Superlatives

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Firsts, Onlies, Oldests, Largests, Longests, Mosts, Smallests, & Bests

The Bleach House

December 10, 2021 by Steve 2 Comments

Bleachy Keen World's Only Piano Key Bleach House Deep River I touched on this thing when I wrote about our visit to the Deep River Historical Society Museum at the Stone House. But after reading more about the bleach house itself, which sits off by itself in the yard, away from the house, I realized it deserved … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Cool Architecture, Deep River, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Industrial History

Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy

December 6, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Sarah Fierce Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy Litchfield Every CTMQ reader knows about the historic importance of The American School for the Deaf in West Hartford and Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury - two Connecticut educational institutions that broke barriers. Many know that Litchfield is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Houses, Communities, Libraries, & Businesses, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Litchfield, litchfield academy, schools

Italian Chicken Cutlet Grinder at Wethersfield Pizza House

October 1, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Ridiculous. Just Ridiculous. Wethersfield Pizza House, Wethersfield September 2021 A couple years ago I was talking with my friend about life and parenting and kids and sports. My young son Calvin was beginning to show a greater interest in soccer and I was looking ahead at what that would me for my own selfish … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best, Unique, & Historic Restaurants & Foods, Food & Drink, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Dubious Claims, Largests Longests Mosts Smallests and Tallests, Roadfood's Eat Before You Die, Wethersfield

The Kensington Soldiers’ Monument

September 21, 2021 by Steve 4 Comments

The Berlin Tall The Oldest US Civil War Monument, Berlin Here we are again, at another "oldest in the US" that isn't truly totally verifiable. Although in the case of the Kensington Soldiers' Monument in Berlin, the locals did convince the federal whomevers at the National Register of Historic Places that the claim … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Religion, Cemeteries, Monuments, Statuary, Greens, & Outdoor Sculpture & Art, Superlatives Tagged With: Berlin, Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Monuments and Plaques

NHL: USS Nautilus

August 30, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

CT National Historic Landmark USS Nautilus Groton Naming ships Nautilus goes back to Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I loved that story as a kid and loved reading it with my son again a few years ago. Even so, when I hear Nautilus, I now think of Connecticut's own special naval submarine, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, National "Stuff", New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Groton, National Historic Landmarks, Ships & Boats & Submarines

The Blue Oar (Closed)

August 12, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Eat Here... Oar Else The Blue Oar, Haddam July 2021 The Blue Oar permanently closed in April 2023. Lists and listicles are as much of an epidemic as the COVID pandemic. These lazy lists are endemic across online publications these days. I mostly ignore all of them - especially any about "Best Connecticut … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Best, Unique, & Historic Restaurants & Foods, Food & Drink, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: "See Before you die" list, Closed/Gone/Former, Haddam, Hoang, unique restaurants and/or food

It Adventure Ropes Course

May 25, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Bop It It at Jordan's Furniture, New Haven June 2019 The first thing you need to know here is that you're not allowed to have your camera (phone) with you on the course. However, I do see in the FAQ that chest-mounted GoPros are permissible. I do not have a chest-mounted GoPro. The second thing to know is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Sports, Thrills, Tours, & Events, Superlatives Tagged With: Calvin, Largests Longests Mosts Smallests and Tallests, New Haven, Other Companies and Businesses

The Barker Character Comic and Cartoon Museum & Art Gallery

April 23, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

This Place Gets Me Quite Animated Cheshire (Google Maps location) September 2014 & January 2017 Most readers know that I rarely visit the same museum twice. That's not a statement on the quality of the museums, but rather a simple function of logistics and my oh-so precious time. I've been to The Barker … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Museums, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Calvin, Cheshire, Damian, Hoang, Largests Longests Mosts Smallests and Tallests

Cheney Silk Vaults

March 15, 2021 by Steve 1 Comment

The Chene Gang The Cheney Silk Vaults Manchester I've written fairly extensively about various buildings within Manchester's Cheney Brothers Historic District and I thought I was done with it. Then Calvin and I rode the full Cheney Rail Trail which took us right into the heart of the historic mills and out to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Houses, Communities, Libraries, & Businesses, National "Stuff", New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: cheney Brothers historic district, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Manchester, manchester historical society

Book Review: American Cookery

March 14, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (1796) I can be moderately proud that I've written about many, many hundreds of things for this site that previously had no internet presence. Every so often, though, I'm tasked to write about something that has been described, poked, prodded, and probed dozens of times over many … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Movies, People, & Stories, Everything Else, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Connecticut Books, Connecticut Travel Guides & Cookbooks, Firsts Onlies and Oldests

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