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Politics & Government

Demolition of Former Police Headquarters Begins

Built in Mathews Park in the early 1960s, the dilapidated structure will be replaced with grass and shrubs.

It was the beginning of the end Thursday afternoon for Norwalk’s old police headquarters in Mathews Park.

A crowd of department officers, politicians and the general public gathered in the north parking lot of the abandoned building to witness a ceremonial portion of it be demolished.

Police Chief Harry W. Rilling, who began his career in the building in May 1995, called it “difficult to watch” as the claw of a front loader scraped layers of brick off the building’s façade.

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The overall mood of the audience, however, was joy at seeing the dilapidated structure, built in the early 1960s, finally coming down after delays last summer for hazardous materials removal, followed by this winter’s plentiful snowstorms.

Getting the building leveled has been of particular interest to Mayor Richard A. Moccia, who told the crowd it sits between the jewels of Mathews Park, the and the .

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Also contained in the park is Devon’s Place, a playground with facilities for children who have physical disabilities, and the Center for Contemporary Printmaking.

Once it’s gone, the city initially plans to bury the remains of its foundation with soil and plant grass and shrubs.

Norwalk Police vacated the building in 2005 when they moved into their new headquarters building on Monroe Street in South Norwalk.

Besides being headquarters for the city’s police, the old building had a courtroom on the second floor, dating back to when Norwalk had its own court.

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