Fill The Spot: 197 Colman Street

Your ideas for this vacant business on Colman Street might well focus on simply reviving it as it once was. After all, the spot proved quite popular for people who needed to get gas or a tune-up.

The property at 197 Colman Street was billed as the longest running gas station in New London. Salvatore Sylvester and Walter Harrington opened Sylvester's Texaco there in 1952, and 50 years later Sylvester and his son were still manning it. Sylvester died in 2009 at the age of 83. In August of 2010, Salvatore Sylvester Jr. had an application before the Planning and Zoning Commission to transition the business to a retail store with gasoline sales. However, when I started putting together listings for this site a few months later the station was empty.

A sign for the auto repair business Port City Auto remains on the site. The station includes a three-bay garage, two gas pumps, and office space. It is located a few blocks from the more business-oriented section of Colman Street, in the area where the road begins to become more residential.

Would you use a gas station or auto repair business if one opened here? Or would you prefer to see something else? Let us know in the comments.

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