The Story of Nearly 60 Years

About Pinewood Furniture, Manchester Connecticut's Favorite Wood Furniture Store

The year was 1955. Eisenhower was President, Elvis was the rage and The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Americans were moving to the suburbs and the post war baby boom was in full swing. That same year, Morris and Ann Firestone opened the doors to their unfinished furniture store at Pinewood's first location, 379 East Center Street in Manchester, CT. Both do-it-yourselfers and discriminating decorators soon discovered the pride and joy of personalizing their furnishings with ready-to-finish furniture.

In 1967, Morris Firestone suffered a stroke and his youngest son Ed, while still in high school, took over running the business alongside his mother. Ed continued to work full time at Pinewood and attended UCONN where he earned a degree in accounting.

Pinewood continued to grow. In 1970, Pinewood opened a second store in Canton, CT. Business was doing great as the demand for ready-to-finish furniture increased. In 1976, Morris Firestone passed away at the young age of 65. Two years later, Ann retired from the business. It was a tough time period for the Firestone family.

Pinewood remained strong throughout the 80's and early 90's. The Canton store was enlarged in 1992. Then in 1995, the Manchester store moved to 1115 Main Street, which more than tripled its showroom size and warehouse. The building is one of the oldest buildings on Main Street and has actually housed furniture stores since 1890.

In 1999, Ann Firestone passed away at the ripe old age of 88. She would be very happy knowing that Pinewood has maintained its high quality of standards in providing quality ready-to-finish furniture to its customers. Today, Ed runs Pinewood with the help of a dedicated group of employees.

Ed continues to be President of Pinewood furniture and runs the store full-time. One might argue that Ed spends just as much time giving back to the community as he does in the store.

Maintaining ties to the community is very important to Ed. Along with being a member of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, he chairs the Downtown Manchester Special Services District which was created to promote the economic and general welfare of the citizens, property owners and tenants of Manchester’s downtown district. 

He is involved with the Rotary Club of Manchester and served as Vice President in 2009-2010 and Treasurer from 2006 to 2009. He continues to serve on various committees. To help further the growth of the unfinished furniture business, he was one of the founders of the Unfinished Furniture Association in 1990. He served 9 ½ years on the BOD and was President in 1996. In 2007, Ed was presented with the Distinguished Member Award by the Unfinished Furniture Association. He was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Manchester Community College in 2008.

In addition to his work in the furniture world, he has a deep interest in antique cars. He is a Life Member of the Hudson Essex Terraplane Historical Society and has served as President and Vice President of the Yankee Chapter Hudson Essex Terraplane club. As a result of his love of old cars and service to the Downtown Manchester Special Services District, Ed was one of the founders of “Cruisin’ on Main Street”. “Cruisin’ on Main Street” has grown to become one of Manchester, Connecticut’s premiere special events. “ Cruisin’ on Main Street” is a single day cruise and car show for antique and classic cars, trucks, sports cars and street rods twenty-five years old and older. This one-day event brings thousands of vintage vehicles and enthusiastic admirers to the streets of historic Downtown Manchester.

There are precious few businesses left throughout the country that have been family owned and operated for more than a half-century.  Pinewood Furniture is one of them, representing it's timelessness in every product and every interaction with guests.  It's not just the quality of the furniture that lasts a lifetime - it's the entire experience of shopping at Pinewood.