Turning Red (Potato Pizza)
Harrington’s Kissing Bridge, Willington
If you’re reading this wondering why you’re reading this, I’ll tell you why you’re reading this: because here at CTMQ we are thorough. When we say we’re going to seek out and write about every covered bridge in Connecticut, we mean every covered bridge in Connecticut. And that means ridiculous toy-like covered bridges in parking lots of pizza restaurants in Willington, darnit.
Actually… a few things. There is no “we” here at CTMQ, as it has always been, is, and will always be just me. I wish I could blame stuff like this page on other people. Also, as there often is, there’s a guy out there who has an even looser definition of what covered bridges to keep track of. His name is Dale Travis and I used his incredibly thorough list to create mine.
What I’m saying is that anytime you find yourself reading one of these dumb pages about a covered bridge that no one should care about… blame Dale Travis. (Note: I don’t know Dale Travis but I thank him for his wonderful resource.)
Harrington’s Kissing Bridge is located at Willington Pizza House – home of the red potato and pickle pizzas. I do not know why this bridge is here other than to allow patrons who park in the overflow lot to save maybe 10 steps on their way to and from the restaurant. And I’ve no clue who Harrington is or was.
But it allows us to learn why covered bridges were called kissing bridges – and why these cutesy little ones hold onto that name today. “Kissing bridges” are, of course, covered bridges with roofs and wooden sides. They are called kissing bridges because people inside the bridge cannot be seen from the outside, making them good places to kiss discreetly. (And you are correct… Harrington’s Kissing Bridge has no sides.)
Cute. Of course there’s a different historical angle to this – there is plenty of historical accounting which indicates that “girls learned to be wary when their escort’s horse stopped inside a covered bridge without any command from the driver”. Bro, no meant no in 1821 as much as it does in 2021.
The caretakers at Willington Pizza House take very good care of the landscaping around the bridge and it’s all very nice, but the bridge itself just looks heavy and artificial next to the parking lot. Go here for the famous red potato pizza, not this silly bridge.
Willington Pizza House
CTMQ’s Covered & Other Cool Bridges
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