Looking Into the Past With a Drive From Bethel to Danbury in 1989

There's one constant in life that we can't avoid, and that's change. Change can happen quickly or change can happen over the course of time.

Today, we take a look at a simple drive from Bethel to Danbury in 1989 to see how much things have changed.

It was the year my wife and I made the move from Long Island to Danbury, CT. George H. Bush was President of the United States, a gallon of gas cost about $1.06, and stores like Bradlee's, Circuit City, and Caldor were where you did most of your shopping. The Danbury Fair Mall was only three years old.

If you were hungry, you may have eaten at Ponderosa, or grabbed a shake and burger at Marcus Dairy, heck Stew Leonard's was just a tent. The year was 1989.

I recently found a video online that was taken back in October 1989 of someone driving from their home in Bethel to Danbury, and headed towards the Berkshire Shopping Center. Part of the video is the driver traveling the back roads through Bethel, but at around the 6:46 mark in the video, they make their way out onto Route 6 and head into Danbury. This is where you can really see the change that's taken place.

Now, most of the stores and buildings are still there, however many have changed names and ownership. You'll notice there's no Target and The Ground Round was located in the Ramada Hotel where the Outback is now. If they wanted to, they could have stopped and had lunch at El Torito Mexican Restaurant, which is now a Medical Center.

You'll also notice the Movie Cinema was located across from the Berkshire Shopping Center, and Teddy's Nightclub was the hot night life spot in the Holiday Inn.

My favorite part of the video is when they turn into the Berkshire Shopping Center and there's good old Bradlee's. And if you watch carefully, you can see where CVS and McCrory used to be. There was also a Service Merchandise in that plaza as well. Plus, check out some of those "classic cars".

So watch the video and see how many changes you see and leave them in the comments section below:

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