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PORTLAND, Conn. (WTNH) — The brownstone used for apartments in the East Coast’s major cities was mined at the Portland Quarries — but now new life is coming to the historic landmark with a new purpose.

Most families know the area for the Brownstone Adventure Sports Park. Darlene Rice and her husband, Dean Soucy, bought six acres of land in 2019 just across the water. The spot was meant to house Soucy’s construction company equipment.

“We called it a Jurassic jungle,” Rice said. “It was a mess, and there was a lot of garbage. A lot of stuff had been thrown over the sides from previous businesses up on the hill.”

The couple knew the brownstone was used for the classic apartments, but as Soucy cleared the area, they found pieces from the past.

“This is the history right here, the stone,” Rice said. “We didn’t move any of the original pieces, we uncovered them. We didn’t know they were here at all.”

Soucy found stones that once held derricks that would be used to pull stones from the quarry. He also found dinosaur footprints, carvings where a steam engine once was and initials on the walls dating back to 1891.

The couple transformed the land into the Quarry View Historic Park and Campground. In the middle of construction, their friend Mark Zarrillo said it could be something more.

Zarillo visited the park and discovered that the space tucked behind the walls of the quarry had great acoustics. They started hosting drum circles with a few people. Then, it kept growing.

“It doesn’t matter what your lifestyle is out there, drumming pulls all types of people together,” Zarrillo said. “Drumming can be whatever you want it to be. It can be somewhere where you sweat, have fun, dance and let loose, or you can go as deep as you want to.”

Soucy and Rice hosted an event Tuesday night called “The Awakening.” It is the first event of the year, welcoming people from all over New England to create music. Attendees described it as a spiritual experience.

“Dean and I will tell you we don’t even feel like we’re owners, we feel like we’re caretakers, cause there’s a lot of history, there’s a lot of feelings here,” Rice said.

People can visit and attend public events at the Quarry View for free. Rice and Soucy take donations for the upkeep of the park. The site books private events like weddings and celebrations of life as well.

To find out more information visit the park’s website or Facebook page.

Patch has your complete guide to Independence Day fireworks shows, parades and other celebrations in and around East Hampton-Portland.

|Updated Mon, Jun 26, 2023 at 12:16 pm ET

EAST HAMPTON-PORTLAND, CT — Independence Day is quickly approaching, which means it's time to fire up that barbecue and find out what Fourth of July fireworks and festivities are going on in and around East Hampton-Portland for 2023.

We gathered up all the fireworks shows, parades and festivals happening in and around East Hampton-Portland so you can start planning now.

Here's what's in store this July 4 in and around East Hampton-Portland:

Norwich Harbor Fireworks

What: The 2023 Norwich Harbor Fireworks will be cap off Rose Arts Weekend with a night of celebrating our country’s independence.

Find out what's happening in East Hampton-Portlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Where: Howard T. Brown Park, 100 Chelsea Harbor Drive, Norwich

When: Sunday, July 2, from 5 to 10 p.m.

More information: Go to Norwich Harbor Fireworks' Facebook page.

Groton Fourth of July Parade

What: This hometown event to celebrate America's independence brings together dozens of local businesses, civic, youth sports and other organizations for an old-fashioned parade with fire engines, marching bands and antique cars.

Where: Poquonnock Plains Park in Groton

When: Tuesday, July 4, at 10 a.m.

More information: Go to the Town of Groton's website.

Independence Day at Mystic Seaport Museum

What: Reenactors from several Connecticut and British Regiments will take over our quaint seaport town at Mystic Seaport Museum for a day. The museum invites you to witness what it was like to be a member of a Continental Regiment or British Regiment during these tumultuous times in American history.

Where: Village Green

When: Saturday, July 1, parade kicks off at noon

More information: Go to Mystic Seaport Museum's website.

Celebrate East Lyme 2023

What: Niantic’s Main Street will transform for this celebration by the sea, filled with food, fun, and activities. More than 200 vendors, live music, and a Dominion fireworks display over Niantic Bay.

Where: Main Street in Niantic

When: Saturday, July 15

More information: Go to Celebrate East Lyme's Facebook page.

Clinton Summerfest and Fireworks

What: Food, fun, beer garden, music, and fireworks.

Where: Andrews Memorial Town Hall and Clinton Town Beach

When: Saturday, Aug. 26, starting at 4 p.m., fireworks at 9 p.m.

More information: Go to Clinton Summerfest and Fireworks' Facebook page.

Sailfest New London

What: Sailfest is Southeastern Connecticut’s premiere summertime event, complete with a major fireworks display, amusement rides, free entertainment, ships, and over 200 vendors lining the streets.

When: Saturday, July 8, and Sunday, July 9

Where: Downtown New London

More information: Go to Sailfest New London's website.

Town of Orange Annual Independence Day Concert and Fireworks Show

What: Orange will hold its annual Independence Day celebration with food trucks, fireworks, and more.

When: Sunday, July 2, festivities begin at 6:30 p.m., fireworks at 9:30 p.m.; rain date July 9

Where: Orange Fairgrounds, 525 Orange Center Rd

More information: Go here

Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular

What: Join the Savin Rock Fireworks Committee as fireworks blast off Bradley Point and explode over Long Island Sound, dazzling crowds along the city’s 3 miles of public beaches with a display of brilliant lighting and booming sound effects.

When: Monday, July 3, 9:15 p.m.

Where: Bradley Point

More information: Go to the city of West Haven's website.

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PORTLAND — After several years of delays, Portland’s Brainerd Place mixed-use development, which will house apartments, businesses, offices — and a Starbucks — has finally broken ground.

With the tagline “A Modern New England Town Center,” Brainerd Place will sit at the site of the old Elmcrest psychiatric Hospital, which was mostly demolished last summer. Earlier this spring, construction began on building E, which will house 99 residential units.

Developer Dan Bertram of Bright Ravens Development says the project is coming along nicely. He anticipates construction to soon begin on Building D, which will be home to the Starbucks. Town can expect the coffeehouse to open in spring 2024, he added.

The 240 residential units on the site are about 15 to 18 months out from being habitable. Following Starbucks, the next building to be constructed will be Building F, home to another 130 residential units.

Other progress in the development includes the decision to split Building B, a commercial building originally slated to be a CVS, into two buildings on the corner of Main and Marlborough streets. These spaces are now intended to house retail on the first floor and offices on the second.

“I'm always focused, not on the thing that's getting built right now, but on the next thing to be built at that site, and making sure we're listening to market feedback and adjusting accordingly,” Bertram said of the decision to alter plans for Building B.

The overall timeline of the project has been adjusted to account for delays in breaking ground, and changes that have been made since. Due to inflation, the developers previously struggled to obtain the necessary supplies and engage construction workers on the project.

However, Bertram expects to soon bring a new estimated completion date to the Board of Selectmen.

First Selectman Ryan Curley expressed hope that the development will be a catalyst for further economic growth in town, especially with the addition of so many housing units.

“[We’re] hoping to attract young business professionals, maybe some elderly looking to downsize, which will increase the population of the town somewhat,” Curley said. “We've been stagnant for several years now… and with 240 units, we could be talking about 500 new people in town, which [means] 500 new people that are going to Portland businesses, restaurants, eating [and] shopping in town, which is great.”

Another element of the project is the tax abatement, which Curley has been working on with the Town Council to amend the October 2021 version. The abatement will account for all three phases of the project rather than two, and will allow construction to continue progressing.

“It shouldn't be too much longer until we get this amended agreement in place,” Curley said. “I think both sides are probably in a pretty good place. And we need to get this agreement so that the developer can secure the financing for phase two of the project, which is important.”

The site also includes three historic homes: the circa 1852 Erastus Brainerd Jr. House, circa 1804 John H. Sage House, and Hart-Jarvis House, built in 1829. The latter was originally scheduled to be moved from its original location and installed in the southwest corner of the development.

The restoration of this structure was slated to be undertaken by a local nonprofit, according to Bertram. However, its financing fell through, so the developer decided to take on the additional task of incorporating the Hart-Jarvis House into the plans in its current location.

“It will bring a special character to the development and preserve the best of the best elements of the past,” Bertram said.

Sage House will be a restaurant, and Brainerd House will become a clubhouse for people who work or live at Brainerd Place. Bertram anticipates the restored Hart-Jarvis House will be used as office space.

Bertram also mentioned that the development has been designed around the presence of specimen trees, such as beech trees.

“You have these legacy components that you then try to bring a modern living and service-level business experience to,” he said.

Sitting on a hill overlooking the Arrigoni Bridge and the Connecticut River, the site will be landscaped to create a park-like feel, with more trees planted once buildings are constructed. Certain views will be preserved, such as from the terrace of Sage House and specific locations within the new structures.

The combination of history and modernity, in addition to residential and commercial use, will contribute to the overall role that Brainerd Place will play in the community.

“It's so important because it's going to have a lot of character, and I do believe that these historic homes that they save are going to really set this property apart from other mixed-use developments that you may see throughout the state,” Curley said.

In demolishing Elmcrest Hospital, the developers salvaged some brownstone from the site and plan to use it on the new buildings to be constructed. Given Portland’s historic brownstone quarries, the incorporation of such a cultural element serves as an homage to Portland's history.

“It's going to be basically one of the very first things that you see when you come over the Arrigoni Bridge into Portland, so we want to make sure that we present it in the best way possible, and that's why they're incorporating things like the brownstone features into the project,” Curley said.

Curley elaborated on the importance of the development, not only to Portland’s commerce but that of the entire Route 66 corridor.

“It's definitely an important part of Portland's future,” Curley said. “I've told the developers this many times: their success is our success in the town.”

PORTLAND — East Hampton couple Andrea and Alan Spaulding have been slinging Thumann’s hot dogs with all the fixings from their iconic Airstream trailer on Route 66 for so many decades that their customers now span several generations.

“I now have kids of kids of kids,” said Andrea Spaulding, who has run the distinctive Top Dog stand, a roadside attraction, for 43 years with help from her husband. Customers come from all over Connecticut, upstate New York and even Europe one time.

The menu is simple: hot dogs, chips, and soda including Foxon Park of East Haven. Prices are affordable: hot dogs range in price from $3.60 to $4.70 depending on the toppings. Only cash is accepted.

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The 1963 bun-colored former camper is based at the defunct Connecticut Central Railroad depot at 211 Marlborough Road, not far from the Portland Bridge.

The trailer, topped by a large, red hot dog complete with mustard and relish, was custom made by Alan Spaulding. It took him hundreds of hours to trick it out.

“When I saw the trailer, I had a vision that it looked like a hot dog roll (even though it was a silver color)," he said. That’s when business doubled.

It’s a well-known local landmark, drawn by a 1972 yellow Marathon checker cab with an “Elvis” mannequin dressed in a Hawaiian shirt as passenger.

"Elvis" has been riding with them for more than 20 years. “I thought it would be cute,” Andrea Spaulding said, thinking of the spectacle. She came up with the idea. “I also had Marilyn Monroe, but over the years, we’ve gotten so much stuff that we put in the car, she had to get out.”

She and her husband have run the stand together for the past four years after her husband, who started the business in 1980, sold his own endeavor, although he previously had helped out on the weekends when he could, his wife said.

“It’s worked out — knock on wood — really well,” Andrea Spaulding said.

A year after they married, Andrea Spaulding kept telling her husband that she wanted a restaurant, “and this is what I got,” she said, gesturing to the tiny confines.

“He was smart enough to know that running a restaurant is very difficult: The success rate is very low,” she said.

Some patrons stop by on their way to visit F40 Motorsports just up the road. Owner host Wayne Carini is host of the “Chasing Classic Cars” documentary show, which has featured the food truck.

Top Dog’s best years were during the pandemic, Andrea Spaulding said, because they had plastic dividers, tailgaters could enjoy lunch in the open air and customers could socially distance.

“It was some place for people to take their kids and get out of the house," she added.

Now it’s time to retire, Andrea Spaulding said. “I wanted to go 45 years, but, in this day and age, you don’t know what’s around the corner.”

The couple looks forward to traveling in the summertime, including to Alaska. All these years, they could only take vacation in the winter, she said.

“I used to tell him jokingly we should just turn it back into a camper, leave the hot dog on top and go across country,” she said.

The hot dog stand, which opened for the season this year on March 29, has been featured in local media as well as on national TV shows such as "Road Food," and a documentary last year.

Dave Corsino of Plainville queued up in line Wednesday for a kraut dog. “We’re usually passing by here going somewhere else,” he said of he and his companion. “It’s the best hot dogs around."

“We might plan the timing of where we need to be to stop here," he said.

Joe Albert of Portland, who came by with his daughter, said he "grew up" at the hot dog stand. His choice is the spicy chili dog, while his daughter prefers a plain dog with ketchup.

“It’s a good place,” he said.

Michaela Miano, a Mercy High School senior, has been patronizing Top Dog since she was a child. “I have very fond memories of coming here with my mother when I was little; get a great conversation along the way, too," she said. "It’s a staple of living in Portland."

She remembers being made fun of while younger for ordering plain hot dogs, she said, but, “I quickly graduated to putting cheese and/or bacon on them.”

Thurmann’s hot dogs are “the very best,” Andrea Spaulding said.

“They’re natural casing,” her husband said. “People like that. ... In this business, you’ve got to have the best.”

Little toy checker cabs, a black British taxi and a dog figurine shaped like a hot dog on the window counter are gifts from customers. “I have so many at my house,” Andrea Spaulding said.

Two local “celebrities,” Gov. Ned Lamont and Eyewitness News Meteorologist Scott Haney, have been their most notable customers over the years.

Andrea Spaulding was particularly excited about the governor, who stopped by in 2019 with a large entourage, including state troopers, after attending the first Middletown Pride festival. He ordered a chili dog, their most popular style: “He was standing in line like everybody else. I kept looking. You can’t miss Gov. Lamont,” she said.

“I kept hitting my husband, saying, ‘Is that who I think it is?’ He came up to the window and I’m tongue-tied,” she added.

Haney stopped by a few years prior to that on his way to Pumpkintown U.S.A. in East Hampton. “He saw it and came back and had lunch,” Andrea Spaulding said.

Also, Zippy the Pinhead cartoonist Bill Griffith, who lives in East Haddam, featured Top Dog in his comic strip last year. “(Zippy) the clown loves my hot dogs,” Andrea Spaulding said with a chuckle.

At the end of each day, the couple hops into the cab to head home. Inevitably they get waves, stares and beeping horns from motorists, said Andrea Spaulding, who calls it “a riot.”

Top Dog is now up for sale. The couple hopes to find a buyer who is as friendly and enthusiastic about the business as they are.

Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information, visit Top Dog on Facebook. To inquire about buying the business, text 860-218-4852 (no phone calls) or email [email protected].

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PORTLAND — Despite pandemic-related issues delaying the start of construction at Brainerd Place in Portland, the developer says the mixed-use apartment, business, medical and office project on the site of the former Elmcrest Hospital remains on schedule.

Developer Dan Bertram of Bright Ravens said other elements of the seven-building project spread over 14.7 acres are being accelerated. Specifically, a period of time between the construction of the first and second buildings will shorter than earlier anticipated.

He still expects the overall project to be finished on time.

“The delay on Building E will be made up by compressing the start of other elements of the project,” he said.

That building, with 99 apartment units, be complete by 2024, he said. The foundation area has been excavated and concrete should be poured in late February.

A Starbucks is set to open in the second building as early as the end of this year. There will also be an additional 1,800 square feet of retail space.

Bertram said the project is entering a new, exciting stage because progress will become visible to motorists crossing the Arrigoni Bridge and traveling along Marlborough Street / Route 66.

“It will be fun to see the first building go up and for people to see it when they drive by,” said Bertram.

Rental units are in demand in the area, he added. The delay in construction on the first structure was also caused by inflation-related issues related to obtaining necessary commodities and building supplies, as well as finding workers.

But those issues are subsiding, Bertram explained: “The economy is slowing, so it is not as hard to get contractors. It should be full steam ahead.”

Following the completion of phase one, which also includes a lot of site work, phase two will involve the creation of 130 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail. That project should also be completed in 2024, Bertram said.

The developer is also saving three historic homes on the site, including the Sage House, which will host a future restaurant, and Brainerd House, with a clubhouse with amenities such as a gym for residents and employees of businesses at Brainerd Place.

First Selectman Ryan Curley said he is pleased that things are moving forward. “The progress is encouraging,” he pointed out. “There is a lot of work to do, but we’re eagerly awaiting more progress to come.”

One action item for the town council is to amend a tax abatement agreement crafted by previous town councils to align with the modified planning on the project, Curley added. For example, the earlier abatement was premised on a two-phase construction schedule, which has been changed to include a third phase reserved for creating a large commercial retail building.

That schedule has been put off, however, so the developer has an opportunity to assess the demand in the retail leasing market, and potential merchants can see that the residential component of the project is creating a sufficiently attractive commercial environment.

Curley hopes to have a draft tax abatement for the council to consider next month. That would be the fourth iteration of the abatement, he said, as the town has had to shift along with the changing plan over the years.

The abatement now runs for seven years, and offers a gradually increasing assessed valuation for the buildings until they are assessed at 100 percent in their eighth year, Curley said.

The clock begins to run on each building as it is finished, he noted, adding that council members may want to place additional requirements on the developer's plan.

“This is about incentivizing the developer to make progress, and making sure we stay on track,” Curley said.