Then & Now: RMV, 300 Grove St., Worcester

More than a half-century ago, the Worcester branch of the Registry of Motor Vehicles was leveled to make way for Interstate 190.

The branch was on Gold Star Boulevard, a section of which was remade in the 1970s as the highway took shape.

The former Atamian Porsche-Audi dealership, 300 Grove St., not far from the doomed branch, was selected by the state as a temporary home to the RMV. That branch — shown in this week's Then photo — opened in February 1978.

Meantime, plans were in place to locate the RMV in a new building elsewhere in the city. Worcester officials lobbied the state to site a new branch in downtown. The state settled on a parcel at Main and Madison streets , home of the Royal Hotel and Broms Academy of Hairdressing over the years.

With construction of a new RMV expected to take years, the state set up shop at the closed dealership.

The building was part of Atamian Motors, for years a family-owned business with a main showroom at 1013 Main St. There was a dealership at 231 Shrewsbury St.

Before Atamian Porsche-Audi moved into the building at 300 Grove St., it was home to Toomey Rents/Sells.

Charles Atamian, representing Atamian Realty Trust, made an unsuccessful push to have the state become a permanent occupant of the Grove Street building. State and city officials maintained that the downtown spot would help revive Main Street.

The registry on Grove Street closed in February 1984, days before the downtown branch opened. Workers hauled truckloads of file cabinets, boxes and office furniture from the old branch during the Washington's Birthday weekend in anticipation of the grand opening of the downtown location.

"This is a dream come true for me," Gov. Michael Dukakis said of the new branch, noting it had been on the table since his first administration.

After the RMV moved out, the building at 300 Grove St. became home to Worcester Surgery Center, an outpatient facility.

Last week Then & Now: George Bancroft birthplace marker, Salisbury Street, Worcester

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then & Now: RMV, 300 Grove St., Worcester