Goodyear Tire Center Demolished for Bank of New England-August 28, 1984

Demolition of the former Goodyear Tire Center building on Nahatan Street—situated opposite the intersection with Broadway—is underway to make way for a new regional office building for the Bank of New England-Hancock. According to senior vice president Charles Sullivan, the facility is slated for completion by next March and will house both the Norwood branch and the bank’s regional administrative center overseeing 16 South Shore branches.

The one-story structure will be constructed using light-colored stone designed to harmonize aesthetically with the nearby Civic Center (formerly the National Guard armory) and the town hall, with sufficient on-site parking planned to accommodate both employees and customers without aggravating local parking congestion.

Relocation and Town Hall Parking Debate

The bank’s current location on Central Street—situated next to Carla’s Restaurant and opposite the town hall—is being purchased by the Round Tower Travel Agency of Norwood. Selectmen Chairman Walter J. Dempsey expressed public frustration over the lost transaction, noting that he had urged bank management to sell the property to the town to serve as an accessible location for the municipal treasurer’s office.

Dempsey argued that acquiring the Central Street building would have spared residents—particularly elderly citizens burdened by finding scarce downtown parking, crossing busy streets, climbing town hall stairs, and navigating heavy doors—considerable difficulty when paying town bills. Despite offering a higher bid, town officials were told the bank preferred a swift private sale over municipal purchasing procedures.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger