|
Plainville Shops
Along New Britain Avenue in Plainville,
there is a curious network of shops behind a high chain link fence that is completely abandoned. It is set
back from the road and sports approximately 10 separate buildings, mostly repair garages. Among the buildings are a
Chinese Buffet Restaurant, a book and record store, and a Veterinarians Office. The center has an eerie feeling because
of all the empty and dark buildings. On the day that I was there, it was partially overcast and very windy, so many
sounds heard there were inside the drafty buildings (paper rustling, plastic slapping wood and concrete, and tree branches
scratching along walls). I took approximately one hour to walk among the buildings, even venturing into a few of them
to look around. The dripping water from the ceilings only added to the overall feeling of creepiness. Behind the
shopping center, a dilapidated paved road ran up a hill and entered a makeshift mechanical graveyard and dumpsite. There
were hundreds of car and motorcycle parts, as well as furniture, plumbing fixtures, signs, appliances and trash. Most
of it was uninteresting. A school bus parked on the site had all its windows shattered in the rear and I looked inside,
finding the bus from back to front stuffed with collapsed corrugated boxes, still neatly wrapped in plastic strips, but mostly
water damaged. Upon one of the buildings was the interesting sign which read, "I.O.R.M. Plainville, Conn. Pequabuck
Tribe #74". Not exactly sure what this was, I began digging when I got back to Creepy
Connecticut Headquarters and found a very odd thing. The letters IORM stand
for Improved Order of Redmen. The odd thing about it is that it is not a Native American organization at all.
In fact, the Pequabuck Tribe of this region has nothing whatsoever to do with this organization. The IORM is a secret
society with its own passwords and signs that has been in existence since before the Revolutionary War. For more information
on this organization, click here http://www.redmen.org/ for their website and a thorough explanation of their society. I was curious to look inside each building,
but was quite frankly relieved once I had departed the site. I almost felt eyes looking at me from the darkened broken
windows of the surrounding buildings. I will re-visit this site to do more in-depth study. For the time being,
suffice it to say that I was thoroughly creeped out.
GOOSEBUMP FACTOR: 65
Barry A. A. Dillinger
December 1st, 2004
UPDATE: It
has been discovered that this series of shops has been abandoned for approximately one year. It has also been
discovered that the site has been purchased by a developer and will be de-polluted and cleaned up before new construction
begins. Thanks, Noelle.
January 20th, 2005
According to another Creepy Connecticut
visitor, the long, low red building used to be a roller rink decades ago. Diane related that she used to go there as
a little girl. Thanks for the info, Diane!
October 21st, 2005
UPDATE: Information
has come to light that the buildings within this area were mostly composed of auto repair shops back when the theatre, restaurant
and retail complex across New Britain Avenue used to consist of a roller rink and large area race track. Apparently,
thrill-seekers used to ride around on race cars that were repaired and upkept in this shop center. Here's a quote from
Chris:
"[This was an] Amateur Race Track up until the early
80's. Those building if you look a them are Transmission Repair, Tire Shop, Exhaust, Body work done here. They were
for the drivers to buy parts, and get work done on vehicles. At the time I moved into the area early 90's that
huge lot that now holds a Loews theater and Lowe's hardware was all overgrown, nothing but a run-down ticket shack remained."
Thanks, Chris!
March 13th, 2008
|
| Inside the IORM former Headquarters |
|
| Sign of the Times |
|
| Fireplace in the Headquarters |
|
