Road Trip: U.S. Route 6 (Providence to Hartford)

It was a beautiful summer day in New England; perfectly blue sky, warm but not too hot. The scenic route from the capitol of Rhode Island to the capitol of Connecticut leads through the heart of southern New England and interesting terrain. The trip, which is about 77 miles, could be done much faster, of course. Yet, time and weather beckoned for a contemplative examination of the route and scenery.

Soon after exiting the freeway onto Route 6 proper, in the outskirts of Providence, more local businesses are noticed. Mom and Pop hotels, such as the Bel-Air Motel and the Stone House Motor Inn, which are in varying states of repair can be found along the road. Dairy bars, as well as pizza shops, dot the little towns and villages along the way. Of course this is New England, so there is a requisite Dunkin Donut in every hamlet and neighborhood; however, there are not a great many chains in the rural areas.

A recent visitor from Britain said that he was surprised how much of the northeast was forested. One of the reasons I love Alfred Hitchcock’s film, The Trouble with Harry, is how beautifully the forests of Vermont in the autumn are filmed. People tend to focus on the shoreline of Maine and Cape Cod, or of the major metropolitan areas, when they consider New England. And, I often forget about the abundance of wetlands in the region. Yet the rural areas of New England are enticing.

The total length of Route 6 in Rhode Island is only 26.5 miles. Thus once you leave the metropolitan Providence area there is not much of the road left in the state. Crossing into Connecticut the road becomes much more typical of the rural U.S. routes that lattice the United States.

Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, CT

Unlike its more famous counterpart further south, Brooklyn, Connecticut is a small and rural crossroad village that is prototypical of New England. The village is picturesque, with the Unitarian Church, sitting on the commons, built in 1771 anchoring the center of Brooklyn. The plain and evocative architecture of the town, usually painted white, is so appealing that even local enterprises that are no longer in business, such as the local service station, are still visually appealing.

Service Station in the center of Brooklyn

After leaving Brooklyn, I stopped for lunch at the Aero Diner in North Windham, a restored 1958 diner originally constructed by the Bramsom Engineering Company of Union Bay, NY. The diner began life as the Boulevard Diner of East Hartford, but was restored and moved to its current location in 2005. Although it was a rather late lunch, the diner hosted a typical Saturday afternoon clientele. Several people lingered over their food and desserts chatting about various things. A young man and woman in their twenties, who went to school together, talk about their new houses and families at the counter. A group of four men in their seventies, with four empty stainless steel milkshake cups in the center of the table talked intently when I sat down to order my lunch. The four men were still there, chatting away, when I left.

Back on the road again, I saw my first sign that indicated the distance to Hartford: 32 miles. It was a reminder to me at how there were not a lot of signs to spoil the view.

Aero Diner, North Windham, CT

I stopped for a short walk on the Hop River State Park Trail in Andover. The railroad track has been replaced by a walking and bike path. I noticed the trail from my car because a relatively new bridge on the trail crosses route 316 within a few hundred feet of route 6. Also at the intersection of Route 6 and 316 once stood the Andover Creamery Company. The creamery utilized the nearby railroad so that local farmers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century could sell their butter to distant customers across the region.

After my walk, I returned to the car and started west. Soon, U.S. Routes 6 and 44 join together and travel together through Manchester, before joining I-84 into Hartford.