This is a great aerial view of downtown Norwood Center then (probably early 1960’s) and now (2018). Moving left to right at the top of the photo, you can see the Norwood Municipal Building (Town Hall) and the old Fire Station (now the Olde Colonial Cafe) with a dry cleaner to the rear in both photos.
Norwood Municipal Building – 566 Washington St – October 2017
Top center right is the State Armory (now the Norwood Civic Center), and in the top right corner was an apartment building, torn down in 1968 to build a Goodyear Tire store, which was replaced in 1984 with a bank. A Santander bank stands there in 2018 although the bank has changed names several times.
The old Armory, Now the Norwood Civic Center
The right side of the photo shows the Norwood Theater, renovated in 2012 and flanked on both sides by retail shops.
Norwood Theater – 109 Central St – March 2018
At the bottom right you can see the corner of the Folan block. Moving around to the left side, The United Church appears to have been changed very little.
United Church of Norwood- 595 Washington St
A few modifications have been done the commercial retail buildings at the bottom left. most notably to the building at 615 Washington St that housed the Apollo restaurant for many years. After 10 years on Vaderbilt Ave, the Heritage Baptist Church bought and renovated the building in 2015. The spire is visible in the bottom 2018 photo across from the center of the Town Common.
Heritage Baptist Church – 615 Washington St
The Norwood Town Common itself has changed a bit in the 50+ years since the top photo. The spoked paths remain the same, but the pine tree in the center has been replaced with a Gazebo Band Stand, erected in the 1990’s. Weddings, concerts and other special events use the gazebo throughout the spring and summer months and well into the fall.
The Gazebo Band Stand in the center of Norwood’s Town Common, August 2017
