tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10332892938075188442012-02-03T03:27:26.376-06:00A nostalgic look back at chain stores and other everyday places from the pastDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comBlogger2871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-89873857552902344972012-01-01T14:58:00.001-06:002012-01-03T11:28:48.095-06:00

Happy 2012, and welcome to the start of a new year of Pleasant Family Shopping, where we revisit those great everyday places from our past – the supermarket, the discount store, the shopping center and more. Think about it – they’ve changed more than a little through the years, haven’t they?And to start the year off right, we’ve adopted a special theme. I like to call it “ring out the old, ring

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-24094396633607085632011-12-25T23:40:00.001-06:002011-12-25T23:40:20.204-06:00

Shown above is an early 1970’s edition of one of the largest indoor Christmas trees in the world, and certainly the most famous one of any kind in the Chicago area – the “Great Tree” inside the Walnut Room restaurant at the legendary State Street home of Marshall Field & Company.The Walnut Room (named for its beautiful walnut paneling) and the tree tradition date all the way back to 1907, when

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-41447073615153650162011-12-24T20:35:00.005-06:002012-01-04T17:41:05.401-06:00

“…by night it becomes festive, chic, expensive, for in this season Fifth Avenue is the quintessence of Christmas for adults…it is a scintillating sight, alive with bright movement. And in its own way, it is full of Christmas peace, the peace which makes such elegance possible…The shops of Fifth Avenue are mostly elegant shops offering elegant Christmas gifts for or from elegant people. But a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-63195253175891356292011-12-23T22:06:00.006-06:002011-12-24T00:42:43.491-06:00

Christmas in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sometime in the late 40’s or early 50’s. The charming Santa decoration says both “Merry Christmas” and “Season’s Greetings”, so everyone is covered. Colorful garland hangs across the storefronts on either side. The building itself easily dates to the earliest years of the 1900’s if not before, and undoubtedly housed other businesses prior to J.C.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-78915577518475299132011-12-22T21:37:00.011-06:002011-12-23T00:31:34.726-06:00

So to speak, that is. Regardless of location, S. Klein stores were always “on the square”, even if they were in a mall, a shopping center, or the middle of a field. It was an integral part of the name, dating back to the opening of their famous flagship store on New York City’s Union Square. An engineering square (barely visible below the “L” in the sign) served as a company logo of sorts for

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-63761712309928128312011-12-21T23:23:00.006-06:002011-12-22T01:26:12.985-06:00

Randhurst. In its early years it was an appealing sight, regardless of the time of year. At Christmastime that appeal was magnified in many ways. A glittering new shopping center it was, the world’s largest…where we lucky Northwest Suburbanites got fresh new gift ideas from sparkling new stores…where we found gifts galore from token to treasure…all under one roof, in 72-degree comfort. When

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-29438661570087153462011-11-21T07:55:00.008-06:002011-11-21T08:22:50.179-06:00

The pages of retail history are filled with the names of companies that no longer exist. Many of them were the picture of success for decades on end. They were leaders in their field - patronized, respected and loved by millions of customers. Household names. For one reason or another, these companies failed to adapt to conditions, and consequently they’re gone – sold out to a competitor, or just

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-20437470446491494802011-09-28T23:32:00.013-05:002011-09-29T20:39:23.944-05:00

For most of their first sixty years of existence, the signs out front read “J.C. Penney Company” or “J.C. Penney Co.” in “black and mustard yellow“ as Time Magazine described them in 1965. Straightforward and prosaic these signs were, with the exception of some nice deco versions in the 1940’s. From 1971 until earlier this year, it was “JCPenney” in Helvetica, a much-loved classic in its own

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-60042404495179508412011-09-06T00:03:00.010-05:002011-10-07T13:20:17.363-05:00

The "Great Sign" combines with a rooftop sign to form a powerful image, 1972.Rarely has a commercial icon been so appropriately named as “The Great Sign” of Holiday Inn. It was “great” in multiple senses of the word. Great in size - the standard version stood a titanic five stories tall and sixteen feet wide. Great in impact – striking green, orange and yellow colors by day, a blaze of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-67763191714745134812011-07-05T21:20:00.003-05:002011-07-05T21:24:44.082-05:00

Am I too late for the cookout?Sorry, I stopped by “Jewels” in Winnetka to pick a few things up – they had Kingsford charcoal for 89 cents a bag, two jars of Open Pit barbecue sauce for 69 cents, two jars of Heinz relish for 59 cents, Oscar Mayer wieners for 49 cents, and unspecified “Bar-B-Q Tools” for 69 cents! Shopping in the North Shore is such a bargain!You mean it was yesterday?!Whoa.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-72702683536898808222011-07-02T22:48:00.035-05:002011-07-05T15:53:52.889-05:00

August 1965 was a hot, tumultuous month for the New York metropolitan area. For one thing, the city was in the midst of a historic water shortage, so severe it was officially declared a disaster by the federal government on August 18. The New York World’s Fair, the last of its kind, was in the midst of its second and final season. Save for a few trademark structures, the Fair would be completely

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-26476523185265021852011-05-01T20:50:00.011-05:002011-05-02T07:47:47.397-05:00

…is a look into another world, one different in so many ways from the world we know today. For one thing, people tended to dress up – to visit relatives, to travel on a train or plane, and yes...to go shopping. Shown above, in two sidewalk-level views taken soon after its April 14, 1955 opening, is the J.C. Penney store in Plainview, New York. The interior decor is typical of new Penney stores of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-82881464859190131612011-04-24T22:34:00.026-05:002011-08-10T16:19:57.613-05:00

I’m honored to be the first to let you know about a wonderful new book that tells the story of one of the most important malls ever built. Randhurst : Suburban Chicago’s Grandest Shopping Center is available now! Ah, Randhurst – monumental in its day, it was influential in so many respects, including its triangular “three-anchor” design, cooperative ownership, and a host of charming

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-36427588012567230422011-04-17T20:00:00.009-05:002011-04-17T20:09:34.879-05:00

...about a very special place. Stay tuned for details to follow!

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-6642150873260495442011-04-10T18:55:00.007-05:002011-04-11T08:21:53.636-05:00

Before we move on, I wanted to put up a quick postscript to our look at the history of gas stations. A couple of folks brought up the important point that virtually all of the major petroleum brands gave away free travel maps to customers. I had intended to touch on this on the earlier post, but felt my original idea for it was a bit too cute, and as it was the post ended up bring pretty darn

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-47278104274879590872011-03-19T03:30:00.019-05:002011-03-21T22:50:33.956-05:00

One of my all-time favorite movie sequences is only a few seconds long. It’s a scene from the 1985 movie “Back to the Future”, where a dazed Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) has just been unwittingly transported back thirty years in time, to 1955. Eyes wide and mouth agape, he walks the downtown square of his hometown, the fictional Hill Valley, California. In place of the familiar blighted streets

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-33262215488296858592011-02-28T18:05:00.004-06:002011-02-28T20:43:02.867-06:00

"The stars shone just a little brighter that night. And the birds sang."A Pay Less Northwest/Safeway combination, somewhere in Washington state, 1961.I couldn't let February slip by with nothing new at all on here. Hoping to have the next "real" post up within a few days!

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-79972713892157419452011-01-23T22:35:00.013-06:002011-01-29T00:37:22.310-06:00

So I’m on a business trip to Springfield, Missouri a few weeks ago, in town just for the day. I’m there to call on a customer, a well-known manufacturer of well-known products, as part of an effort to become well-known. As I drive through town, the usual mental prep is taking place.Until I spy a building in the distance, that is, one I’d previously seen only in photographs. It’s a CVS Pharmacy

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-28313120826188111232011-01-01T14:22:00.008-06:002011-01-03T07:35:07.381-06:00

The floors are washed and waxed, the checkout lanes fully stocked with paper bags, and the cash registers are loaded with change and crisp new bills. We’re ready to launch a new year of Pleasant Family Shopping, a look at the everyday places that make up a surprising share of our youthful memories, in part because we spent so darn much time at them! I’m referring to the chain stores – the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-34980983961004009482010-12-25T19:00:00.004-06:002010-12-27T10:46:53.742-06:00

Another evening of Christmas shopping winds down at one of America’s earliest and most famous shopping centers. This is Framingham, Massachusetts’ Shoppers World, pictured here all-decked out for the season in the early 1970’s.A two-story outdoor shopping center, opened in 1951 and anchored by a magnificent “flying saucer-like” Jordan Marsh department store on one end (which is visible in the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-37668193223634505402010-12-23T22:20:00.006-06:002010-12-23T22:27:36.096-06:00

… like Christmas!Ev'rywhere you go -Take a look in the five-and-tenglistening once againWith candy canes and silver lanes aglow It's beginning to look a lot like ChristmasToys in ev'ry store But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be On your own front door A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shootsIs the wish of Barney and Ben Dolls that will talk and will go for a walkIs

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-63389242501315457262010-12-22T22:29:00.007-06:002010-12-22T22:41:57.318-06:00

An elaborate nativity scene tops off a Northern California Sears store, in a circa 1962 photo from Display World magazine. King Herod’s palace looms in the background. In real life, the Herodium, as it was called, was only three miles or so away from Bethehem, so the artistic depiction makes sense. It’s a very nice contrast to the typical Santa/Christmas Bells/Snowflakes themes most often seen on

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-35196428120204754972010-12-21T21:14:00.007-06:002010-12-21T21:36:06.789-06:00

Eight-foot tall toy soldiers guard the facade of one of America’s most fondly-remembered malls, Phoenix’s Chris-Town, in this 1962 photo. The soldiers (and the candles, also eight feet tall) represent a type of decor element that is seen less and less today. Both the soldiers and the candles were manufactured by General Plastics Corporation, a Marion, Indiana-based firm that supplied Christmas

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-22679021089396976272010-12-20T19:26:00.000-06:002010-12-20T19:26:31.772-06:00

A pastoral holiday scene adorns the backwall of an IGA supermarket, circa 1968. It’s a tasteful depiction of a snow-flocked, apple-bearing cypress tree, standing proud while a lone reindeer looks askance from the side.Clearly, good taste wasn’t strictly confined to the holidays at this particular IGA - just look at the clean lines of the clock/light fixture/directory sign to the right. I’d love

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-13330083311365212492010-11-30T23:41:00.007-06:002010-12-08T07:11:31.558-06:00

A new field of study has emerged in the past several years. Our most esteemed institutions of higher learning – Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Triton and others - have been uncharacteristically slow to recognize it and develop the appropriate degree curriculums for it. This lack of formal recognition has not deterred those who carry on this vital work, however.I’m talking about the Retail

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-51948198051759756772010-11-06T01:35:00.011-05:002010-11-10T23:09:15.548-06:00

“Well the first thing you knowMobil had some bucks to spare,Kinfolk said "That drillin’s such a bear!"Said "Stores and catalogs are where you oughta be"So they loaded up the stockAnd they bought Montgomeryyy…Ward, that is…..”(With apologies to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. And anyone still reading this post.)To be sure, the biggest story of the 1970’s for Montgomery Ward was their

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-24394741649107909532010-09-30T20:43:00.010-05:002010-09-30T20:59:30.677-05:00

“Like, wow, Montgomery Ward!” read the headline in a March 1970 Business Week article. The article chronicled Wards’ quest for relevance with the coveted 18 to 34 age bracket, and by all appearances they were starting to break through. These efforts encompassed both of Wards’ main lines of business – the legendary catalog and the (now almost exclusively mall-based) stores.On the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-29704832353201982882010-09-09T00:57:00.009-05:002010-09-11T21:46:00.821-05:00

More than eight years had passed, and during that time Montgomery Ward had been largely successful in reinventing its image. Once best known for dowdy downtown stores with green awnings, few services and a highly eccentric company president, the public perception of Wards now reflected an operator of large, modern stores with auto centers, charm schools and fashion shows - a good fit for

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-43036819667042040272010-08-22T11:53:00.006-05:002010-08-23T05:43:24.386-05:00

Many of the retail chains featured on this site were known for an iconic look – a combination of architecture, signage and interior decoration that made their stores instantly recognizable. While this remains largely true today, one could argue that it reached a peak during the 1960’s.Among the foremost of these would have to be Safeway, with its “Marina” design. They had a handful of other

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-659366070477431872010-08-12T18:45:00.013-05:002010-10-04T10:25:42.030-05:00

I don’t know about you, but I find the gaudy retail signs of recent years to be a real turn-off. Today's four-foot tall wooden eyesores or stacked-stone monstrosities always leave me longing for a simpler time - when understatement was the word of the day.Take the sign shown above, for example. Notice how the gentle earth tones, orange and green, blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-63555053528587043002010-08-06T00:23:00.010-05:002010-08-06T12:53:00.074-05:00

A brief look inside some typical Montgomery Ward stores of the mid-60’s, as shown in some official publicity photographs. They’re staged, of course, but they provide a nice feel for the Wards shopping experience of that era. Much has been said and written about the services that most “fine” department stores once provided to their clientele. Home delivery (for even the smallest orders),

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-82260814751989930252010-07-19T00:04:00.010-05:002010-07-31T12:34:51.628-05:00

The circa 1965 artist’s rendering above shows the Montgomery Ward store that opened the following year at Huntington Center, an indoor shopping mall located in Huntington Beach, California, at the intersection of Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard, near the San Diego Freeway. Huntington Beach, located in Orange County, is officially nicknamed “Surf City USA”, a nod to its 8.5 mile long beachfront

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-19103129523650617852010-07-05T09:00:00.001-05:002010-07-05T09:00:01.463-05:00

One of the great things about our national holiday is the opportunity to enjoy a picnic meal and play games in the great outdoors. Something about that fresh air combined with the smell of good food – you just can’t beat it. Our family is no different – we love it!And where do you think we went yesterday – some lame state park or other place like that? No way!We went right down to our local 7-

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-59643645079829710432010-07-04T20:04:00.010-05:002010-08-06T02:00:21.688-05:00

For 85 years, Montgomery Ward had been a landmark Chicago institution. The irony was that after all those years, the company maintained only one retail store within the Chicago city limits (inside a portion of their home office complex) and a minimal presence in the greater metropolitan area (a medium-sized store in La Grange and a few others). In 1957, with Wards in an expansion mode for once,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-11577563982313040672010-06-24T19:49:00.009-05:002010-06-25T21:27:03.928-05:00

The weather couldn’t have been better on this sunny, sparkling Southern California afternoon. Excitement was in the air as the crowds gathered in. A speakers’ platform was in place, replete with the American flag and a group of men in suits, ties, carnations and broad smiles, beginning to take their seats near the dais. Soon the customary civic welcomes and corporate pledges would take place

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-76101400152085161222010-05-29T13:24:00.007-05:002010-05-29T13:44:34.999-05:00

Thought I’d give linear thinking another shot and resume this long-suspended series on the history of Montgomery Ward. We left Wards just prior to 1960, when they were a couple of years into an exciting new building program, opening sharp-looking stores in new shopping centers all over America. This burst of activity followed a disastrous 17-year period in which the company opened not a single

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-47199110858680565292010-05-20T21:06:00.009-05:002010-05-22T09:26:55.053-05:00

It happened only once, so despite the passage of time it stands out in my memory. It was the night our family broke from the routine. The night we ventured out and tried something new. The night we threw our grocery-shopping inhibitions to the wind. It was The Night of the Jewel Roadtrip.Sure, we had a Jewel Food Store right in the center of town. It was a late-fifties remodel,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-4918548031285911512010-05-02T23:30:00.006-05:002010-05-03T07:15:18.565-05:00

Here’s an idyllic view of the model 1957 kitchen. Everything is perfect - the gleaming, modern dishwasher, the sleek metal cabinetry and Formica, the diamond-pattern curtains – right down to the pink Telechron clock on the wall.The table and counters are laden with the finest Finast foods – proud house brand of First National Stores, the late, great New England (and select other regions)

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-15799113704057490282010-04-25T23:19:00.008-05:002010-04-25T23:51:01.703-05:00

I think most people would agree that where movies are concerned, sequels are rarely better than the original. Oftentimes they aren’t nearly as good. They tend to do well at the box office, however, because they usually feature well-loved characters and/or tried-and-true themes. Once in a while, though, a sequel will rise above the norm by adding a new, exciting dimension to the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-11302923218876803382010-04-07T17:28:00.013-05:002010-04-07T17:52:59.608-05:00

"1. The neon pylon and background wipe on and silhouette the letters." "2. When the wipe on is complete, the letters scintillate.""3. Then the neon wipes off, leaving only the scintillating letters.Scintillating letters go out and the cycle repeats."Yup, born too late.This is the Publix Super Market at Britton Plaza, 3838 Dale Mabry Road in Tampa, Florida, as depicted in a 1959 ad for

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-76071192554249378642010-04-02T21:14:00.008-05:002010-04-02T21:32:24.182-05:00

…and when they look you over, I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter Parade. *The “softer side of Sears” is very much in evidence here, many years before they adopted that as an advertising slogan. These photos, from Display World magazine, depict two of Sears’ 1961 Easter Season window displays as they appeared at the company’s larger stores (called class “A” units internally), which by

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-77472942465308614932010-03-21T20:43:00.009-05:002010-03-21T23:19:17.184-05:00

From 1975. Of course, three weeks later, these folks were covered with a foot of snow. But when the new Kmart finally opened, doggone it, they were first in line!You have to admire that kind of tenacity.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-69766490591373683032010-03-15T20:08:00.007-05:002010-03-16T14:06:32.463-05:00

Here’s a Chicago-area night scene from the late 1960’s as depicted in a Foster and Kleiser promotional photo. Foster and Kleiser was a major outdoor advertising company. The billboard shown was hand painted, as many were as late as the 1980’s. Before that time, it was a very common thing to see billboards in various states of completion as one drove by.The product advertised was Tab, a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-22640340082598635892010-03-09T23:25:00.009-06:002010-03-15T00:11:39.356-05:00

If any grocery store could lay claim to the term “landmark”, the one pictured above would certainly qualify. It’s the legendary A&P at the corner of Royal and St. Peter streets in the “Vieux Carré” (known to most of us as the French Quarter) section of New Orleans. Untold numbers of shoppers – locals and tourists alike – have filed past that red marble corner column through the decades.The store

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-38033379019854556592010-02-27T23:30:00.007-06:002010-02-28T13:54:06.446-06:00

On May 2, 1930, A&P opened nine stores in the greater Los Angeles area, their first units on the West Coast. Seventy years after the company’s founding, the famous name – The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company – became a statement of fact, and of the long-awaited realization of a dream. An article in the previous day’s Los Angeles Times quoted A&P president John Hartford, who had

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-61373918864021092542010-02-15T18:36:00.003-06:002010-02-16T16:55:11.345-06:00

At last - the snow is all but melted, save for a few somewhat dingy looking piles here and there.Oh, I don’t mean today, when half the country has been covered with record snows. That could go on for weeks yet! I’m referring to the scene above, a 1967 snapshot photo (thanks to Mark) of the A&P supermarket in tiny Millerton, New York. Millerton is some 60 miles northwest of Hartford, very close

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-52188829313057861062010-02-09T20:15:00.007-06:002010-02-09T20:45:52.902-06:00

...Harlem Avenue, that is. The photo above, from a 1976 issue of CTA quarterly, shows a group of people about to catch a southbound West Towns bus as it stopped on Harlem Avenue, directly in front of the North Riverside E.J. Korvette store and across the street from Berwyn’s Cermak Plaza. As mentioned in a series of Korvette posts on this site a while back, as a kid I found this circa-1965

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-19014558670792778312010-02-02T01:12:00.018-06:002010-05-13T11:15:44.857-05:00

What in the world would ever cause a strip mall to become famous? Thousands of them have been built over the last 60 years. Because of their utilitarian nature and the relative ease of facelifting, remodeling or expanding them, a high percentage of them still stand. Over time, the "lucky ones", if such an analogy makes sense, continue to house "Class A" retailers - well-known

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-5774601353201451722010-01-08T21:38:00.008-06:002010-01-08T22:16:42.602-06:00

Last year at this time, one of the sites I follow on a regular basis, Jess Cliffe’s Vintage Seattle, ran a very cool retrospective highlighting the more popular posts of the previous year. Upon reading this, the second thought that came to my mind was “Wow, he’s covered some great stuff this year!” The first was “Dang, I wish I’d thought of that!”So in the interest of originality, here goes – a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-6584264940857356792010-01-01T16:58:00.010-06:002010-01-02T00:54:45.969-06:00

Happy 2010, and welcome as we launch a brand new year of Pleasant Family Shopping, where we take a look back at the destinations of everyday life – supermarket and discount store chains, department stores, and maybe even one or two of those wild new "indoor malls"!The thing is, even the “everyday” can be fascinating, when you look back at it and see how much even basic things have changed through

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-1131777698445325222009-12-25T18:33:00.002-06:002009-12-28T15:58:19.275-06:00

It’s early in the day, and the crowds haven’t formed yet at Macy’s famous flagship store on Herald Square in the heart of Manhattan. You can be sure that they will, though, because it’s Christmastime, and for many people, shopping at Macy’s has long been an integral part of the holiday. Macy’s was a national name long before they became a national chain, a notoriety that grew immensely with the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-30751506588551701412009-12-24T19:00:00.006-06:002010-02-16T21:23:14.264-06:00

It’s a minute before 9am on a morning close to Christmas, as a Walgreens store manager opens up for business. All is quiet now, but things will get busy as the day rolls on. Then as now, Walgreens was super busy at Christmastime - and the perfect place to pick up that Old Spice or Jean Naté gift set for that special relative, so they could store it next to the one you got them last

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-67482987954670230352009-12-23T22:36:00.004-06:002009-12-24T19:54:16.376-06:00

...after I stop at the grocery store for the 17th time. Here are a few scenes of supermarket Christmas displays from the early and mid-1960’s, as pictured in Progressive Grocer magazine. The first is from a Stop & Shop store, with a “festive Christmas painting…executed by store personnel” below the store directory and above the meat display case. Had I worked at the store, I would have

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-31504122653897591372009-12-22T23:44:00.004-06:002009-12-22T23:49:27.810-06:00

You know, it just wouldn’t be Christmastime around here without stopping in at Sears. So, in keeping with our age-old (ok, three year-old) tradition, here we go! And a welcome sight this is – the brand-new Sears at the Tri-County Shopping Center in Springdale (Cincinnati), Ohio, as it appeared during its first Christmas season in 1967. The store still exists in what is now called Tri-County Mall,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-60404509272157426612009-12-21T23:44:00.012-06:002010-01-15T14:33:35.223-06:00

Anniversaries were always very important to the A&P. Every year for much of the 20th century, the company’s stores held a special anniversary sale, proclaimed with banners in the stores and trumpeted in newspaper ads. “Come celebrate A&P’s 87th Anniversary” – that sort of thing. Five year anniversaries were an even bigger deal. Ten year anniversaries – huge. Twenty-five or Fifty years,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-35099156951033484572009-12-18T19:00:00.015-06:002009-12-19T14:43:13.670-06:00

Okay, I'm sure that some of you who've been following our series on A&P have been thinking "Good grief, what's with all this black and white 1930's and 40's stuff? Where are the Centennials?" Well, my friends, not to worry! Your long national nightmare is almost over.For those who may not be familiar with the term "Centennial" as it applies to A&P, it refers to the colonial-styled stores that A&

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-47306028225331450532009-12-16T23:13:00.010-06:002009-12-18T18:26:25.598-06:00

Taking a brief detour from our current story to honor a true retail pioneer. It has been my plan to do a set of posts on FedMart early in the New Year, but I wanted to make note of the passing of Sol Price this past Monday at the age of 93.Price is probably best known as the founder of Price Club, a San Diego-based chain of stores that pioneered the membership warehouse store concept in 1976. In

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-23860432319088213522009-12-11T22:49:00.007-06:002009-12-12T09:18:07.652-06:00

Probably not the war you’re thinking of, although World War II fits in at roughly this point in the timeline. No, this was a war of A&P’s own – one that started earlier and ended much later. As far back as the mid-1920’s, there were grumblings about the growing power of “the chain stores”. Most of this concern, understandably, was on the part of independent grocers, who by the mid-1930’s

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-5537675167846502412009-12-01T23:39:00.005-06:002009-12-02T07:04:56.682-06:00

Two classic American institutions - one at the tail end of its run, and one with a few more miles to go. This photo was taken on April 26, 1953 at the intersection of Hamilton and Second streets in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Five weeks later, streetcar service would end for good in Allentown, as it would in most American cities before the close of the 1950’s. The overhead wires would be torn out,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-39906177150363033292009-11-25T23:48:00.020-06:002009-12-05T12:29:36.361-06:00

Quick, name for me the one private label brand that through history has been most closely associated with A&P. Ah, “Ann Page Pickled Pigs Feet”, you say? Sorry, I’m afraid that’s not it. (Great guess, though!)Even though the company started out as solely a merchant of tea, and 150 years after its founding still features the word “tea” in its name, the answer, of course, is coffee - “Eight O’

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-56324685479032243802009-11-20T00:10:00.013-06:002009-11-21T11:44:34.202-06:00

The 1930’s were the setting of a notable paradox in American life. On the one hand, there was the Great Depression, which spanned the entire decade and left a tremendous amount of hardship and suffering in its wake. In extreme cases, people were forced to stand in soup lines or sell apples on street corners, scenes that were captured in a plethora of haunting film clips. Though the majority of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-70646096544977561082009-11-13T23:24:00.033-06:002009-11-15T00:09:03.041-06:00

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company is a New Jersey-based, and for the last thirty years, German-owned supermarket chain. As of today, according to their website, they operate 435 stores in six Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states (including a lone Washington, D.C. unit) under a number of different banners, including Super Fresh, Food Basics, The Food Emporium, Waldbaum’s, Pathmark and of

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-64351467403778338032009-10-31T22:28:00.012-05:002009-11-03T23:12:26.083-06:00

A&P, celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2009, still officially goes by its full name – The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Although the “Pacific” part applied for a relatively brief portion of that timeframe, roughly the 1930’s through the 1960’s, and the company’s current geographic footprint is far smaller yet, A&P’s status as an American business and cultural icon is beyond

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-65458874341429005802009-10-29T02:56:00.007-05:002009-10-29T22:25:10.169-05:00

At the end of 1973 there were 22 Murphy’s Marts in operation, most of which were in G.C. Murphy’s western Pennsylvania home territory. Even in this core market - the “Heart of Murphyland” as it were, the company’s late entry into discounting had put them at a major competitive disadvantage, especially in relation to Kmart, whose presence in all of Murphy’s key areas now well established.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-33545356467897515202009-10-18T20:04:00.007-05:002009-10-18T22:08:13.460-05:00

Totally changing the subject for a one-post break before I finish up the final installment of the Murphy’s Mart saga. Between just starting with a new company and the tons of stuff we’re busy with as a family right now, I’m just not feelin’ it. I value your readership too much to put something half-baked on here. Thanks for understanding.So instead, we’ll revisit E.J. Korvette, the beloved “

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-89524583669809311862009-10-11T22:21:00.006-05:002009-10-13T06:37:53.239-05:00

Seven long years after their largest variety store competitors had launched discount store formats, S.S. Kresge’s Kmart and F.W. Woolworth’s Woolco, the G.C. Murphy Company was now in the thick of planning for a discount store venture of its own. The following year, 1970, the first two “Murphy’s Marts” would open. One of the most interesting aspects of Murphy’s planning, as detailed in

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-53545280205736807782009-10-07T00:14:00.030-05:002010-04-27T21:49:47.465-05:00

From the moment of its founding in 1899 until the curtain came down nearly 90 years later, the G.C Murphy Company was first and foremost one thing – an operator of variety stores. Known colloquially as “five-and-tens” or “dime stores”, variety stores were giant forces in American retailing throughout most of the 20th century. Virtually every retail chain that sells general merchandise at “

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-82835379907973747262009-10-01T01:49:00.011-05:002009-10-01T17:58:45.293-05:00

The sun sets on the Appalachian Mountains on a crisp, beautiful evening in early 1971. In the foreground is the Murphy’s Mart (yes, there’s an apostrophe-s in there, mind you) at Laurel Mall, which was located on Route 119 South between Uniontown and Connellsville, Pennsylvania. This store was the third Murphy’s Mart, opening on February 24th of that year.“Murphy” of course was the G.C. Murphy

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-73822413191124264232009-09-22T23:08:00.032-05:002009-10-06T09:17:49.391-05:00

…and now for something completely different! Here’s an overview of the chain retail scene from a single suburban town from the year 1976 – the town in this case being Addison, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Since the majority of the chains shown in this post are (or were) national or at least multi-regional, many of you will probably get a kick out of this. If you’re from the Chicago

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-48879286985473532612009-09-16T16:29:00.006-05:002009-09-17T11:58:53.221-05:00

Our final look at Publix, for now. In the nearly 30 years since Publix celebrated its golden anniversary in 1980, it has not only continued to be one of the most respected companies in the supermarket business, but also has become one of the largest. Much of this can be credited to the carefully cultivated reputation for service the company has successfully maintained through the years.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-75027432027425635182009-09-12T23:52:00.014-05:002009-09-13T23:07:00.366-05:00

No sooner had I hit the “publish” button on the last post than I received an email with these excellent Publix photos. Taken in 2002 and 2006, these photos show some of the classic 60’s and 70’s Publix style that was still kicking in the 21st century. Ironically, the storefront pictured, the Tallahassee, Florida Apalachee Parkway store, is a near match for the prototype pictured in the 1972

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-84867914577729366242009-09-10T21:16:00.005-05:002009-09-10T22:21:41.584-05:00

Three decades removed, opinions are divided about the styles of the 1970’s. Some call it “the decade that taste forgot”, while others appear determined, consciously or unconsciously, to duplicate the 70’s look with every single outfit they wear. One thing I’m sure of based upon my memories of that time and on seeing these pictures (and other 70’s stuff on this site and elsewhere) today

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-36883347929011329062009-09-07T21:13:00.006-05:002009-09-07T22:18:25.714-05:00

At the beginning of the 70’s, Publix had nearly 60 stores in its burgeoning Southeast Coast (Miami and surrounding counties) division, but none in oh-so exclusive Palm Beach, where retailers were only allowed to locate “by invitation”. When that invitation finally came in 1971, Publix rose to the occasion with a superb Spanish Rococo design, shown here in a photo taken shortly after opening, in

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-42600200656076028452009-09-05T22:22:00.013-05:002009-09-06T21:45:23.512-05:00

By the early 1960’s, Publix’s reputation for elegance and service beyond the supermarket norm was widely known. Having established a strong trademark with the “winged” facades introduced a few years earlier, the interiors of the new Publix stores were becoming more opulent than ever. On top of that, the stores themselves were becoming larger, with new stores averaging well over 20,000

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-14198691166557039162009-08-31T17:12:00.011-05:002009-09-03T22:06:54.260-05:00

In the world of mid and late 20th century retail architecture, there are a number of store exterior designs that are indelibly, inextricably linked with one company. Where supermarkets are concerned, it’s a fairly small number. Two of those that immediately come to my mind are the Marina style stores (glass-front, arched roof design) of Safeway and the Centennial stores (Early American/Colonial

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-16920927038985863712009-08-25T23:19:00.004-05:002009-08-25T23:47:02.770-05:00

A look at some of the colorful interior scenes (actually from several different locations) that would have greeted shoppers of the Publix stores featured in the previous post. By the time these pictures, from 1956 and 1958 promo pieces, were taken, Publix had a firmly established reputation for attractive decor and well-thought out displays, nearly as elaborate for their realm as the nicer

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-57682142251310037292009-08-21T16:37:00.006-05:002009-08-24T20:29:11.739-05:00

Nearly four years after the opening of the Winter Haven, Florida Publix market, “the most beautiful and most modern grocery establishment in Florida, and one of the finest in the United States”, it remained the company’s only store. Successful though it was, the economics of operating a single store were daunting, due to the inability to buy in volume and the very high cost of advertising per

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-57655056963398912062009-08-15T16:13:00.017-05:002009-08-16T12:47:58.796-05:00

America’s greatest business stories are the result of gigantic mergers and acquisitions. Just look at the titans of our time – AOL Time Warner, Daimler Chrysler, Suxco…an impressive group, don’t you think? These companies all were the product of grand executive vision – to create synergies, to optimize efficiencies, to be proactively active, maximizing core competencies and enhancing

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-34719756074531090042009-08-06T17:32:00.012-05:002009-08-06T19:29:28.429-05:00

It never fails. Oh sure, ask almost anyone about a store chain they grew up with, and you’re likely to get a heartfelt, nostalgic response. This can be seen time and time again in the comments on this site and a multitude of other places. But if you mention the word “Publix” to someone who grew up in Florida and has since moved away, be prepared for a reaction that tops them all, in my

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-58124767118064016462009-07-31T20:27:00.023-05:002009-08-20T09:21:26.150-05:00

The early 1970’s found Woolco in serious need of an image makeover. The stores’ appearance had remained more or less static for years (the basic exterior design was now ten years old, and the main elements of the interior package had been in place since day one), despite the sea change in the American sense of style that was taking place.In 1973, Woolco embarked on a plan to change it all,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-24954034885222001292009-07-20T21:58:00.006-05:002009-07-22T17:45:09.760-05:00

By the end of the 1960’s, Woolco had finally picked up the pace of new store openings, with 33 stores opening in 1969 alone - adding up to 92 Woolco stores in the United States and 33 in Canada at the close of the decade. A few more multiple store markets, so critical for market presence and maximizing advertising dollars, were now part of the mix, including Atlanta and Houston (3

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-67934789802682903922009-07-13T15:09:00.004-05:002009-07-13T15:12:57.649-05:00

A more resolute group you’ll never find than this Woolco store crew from 1966. Focused on maximizing your discount shopping experience, they don’t suffer fools gladly. The “captain of the ship”, the store manager, stands at the fore, clipboard in hand. His look-alike deputy (hair excepted), who I like to call “the enforcer”, stands to his left, ready to address any Woolco playbook infractions.

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-9836922717425313562009-07-05T12:02:00.011-05:002009-07-14T08:05:49.847-05:00

I hope that everyone has had a great Independence Day weekend so far! There’s still a bit of it left – definitely time for another grocery store run. One of the great things about summer is being able to wear shorts nearly everywhere you go, just like these ladies hangin’ out at an L.A. area Market Basket store in the above photo, which was taken for a 1956 Saturday Evening Post article.Wait –

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-4377464814059792022009-07-02T21:28:00.003-05:002009-07-15T20:01:14.182-05:00

The photos above, dating from 1964 through 1966 and showing scenes from several different stores, paint a fairly complete picture of the typical Woolco store from the chain’s 1962 launch through the early 70’s, when they introduced a new image. When these publicity photos were taken, the look was fresh and clean, and although simple, was in keeping with the style of the times

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-65544345395529838162009-06-27T13:54:00.010-05:002009-06-29T21:31:47.077-05:00

The photos above provide an in-depth look at one corner of a typical Woolco store from the mid-1960’s. Pictured is the “Auto Center” portion of the brand new Woolco at the Southroads Mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which opened in 1966. This, of course, was during the peak of the American car culture. Auto Centers, then as now, typically consisted of an auto accessories section and

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-51133666053524707632009-06-23T00:49:00.014-05:002009-06-23T12:09:17.854-05:00

Within a five-month span in 1962, the modern discount store industry was born. In March, S.S. Kresge Co. opened the first Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan. In May, the first Target store was opened in Roseville, Minnesota by the Dayton Company, an old-line Minneapolis department store firm. In June, F.W. Woolworth Co. opened the first of its Woolco discount department stores in

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-25282270893002787912009-06-18T01:10:00.014-05:002009-06-19T08:45:36.267-05:00

On an icy winter’s night in 1963, the downtown Denver, Colorado Woolworth’s provides a warm oasis for shivering Christmas shoppers. Newly expanded to a huge 174,000 square feet, this store scarcely fit the traditional five-and-ten/dime store image with gold-lettered “red front” signboards above a quaint storefront that the name Woolworth’s conjures up to this day. (This impression

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-3663753482706227742009-06-10T16:38:00.003-05:002009-06-10T16:42:11.028-05:00

On this special occasion, we’ve asked the distinguished gentleman in the foreground to introduce a new series of posts about Woolco, that stalwart oak in the discount store forest. (Long since cut down, sad to say.) After his opening remarks, he will present the new Miss Woolco to the world. Look at her – she’s practically bowled over with the excitement of it all! Or maybe it's just nerves.I’ve

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-31296822740726947662009-06-08T23:12:00.008-05:002009-06-09T01:12:37.085-05:00

Remember the early 1980’s? Big hair? Shoulder pads? Skinny ties? Huge eyeglass frames? New Wave music? Cellphones the size of cinderblocks (for the few who were lucky enough to own ‘em yet)? The smell of “Love’s Baby Soft” wafting through the air?Well, the 80’s brought about changes in many aspects of American life, and after a couple of years had begun to make their mark on the lowly

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-69996908120254143422009-05-31T17:05:00.004-05:002009-05-31T18:07:05.001-05:00

A billboard flies past as cars streak down the highway at night, sometime in 1970. Instead of the exit number for the nearest Holiday Inn, or a pitch for a tourist attraction such as Weeki Wachee Springs, we see a great big steak, the stock-in-trade of Winn-Dixie and Kwik Chek supermarkets. Uncooked, no less – a practice that thankfully is rarely (no pun intended) the case in supermarket

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-18250185014251940752009-05-23T22:51:00.014-05:002009-05-24T00:37:38.240-05:00

A set of views from the 1960’s, an exciting time in the history of Winn-Dixie. By the early sixties, Winn-Dixie was impressing the socks off of the financial community, and as Forbes magazine put it in 1962, was “the envy of the nation’s grocers”. In an industry that has always depended on gargantuan volume at a tiny profit percentage (typically 1 to 1.5 percent after taxes), Winn-Dixie, at

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-82204908200549243702009-05-14T19:06:00.015-05:002009-05-14T19:59:15.455-05:00

“Not much time for banjo strummin’For the mills are busy hummin’Pine tree crops – citrus, cattle –And chemicals, too,Cover Dixie like the dew!Our food business, too, is zoomin’‘Cause this NEW Southland’sreally boomin’!”- advertising verse from 1955Up until the mid-20th century, it would be accurate to say that the industrial production of the Southern states lagged behind other parts of the

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-17173266464902615022009-05-03T21:40:00.019-05:002009-05-11T07:22:04.728-05:00

The roots of Winn-Dixie’s “family tree” can be traced back to two small grocery stores in 1920’s Florida. The first of these was a wholesale grocery unit in northeast Florida, purchased by E.L. Winn and W.R. Lovett in 1920. From that humble start, Winn and Lovett built a chain of “small neighborhood-type” stores, reaching a total of 65 units by the end of 1928. On Christmas Eve of that

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-21700813315182816432009-04-28T20:48:00.006-05:002009-06-04T10:54:39.144-05:00

It’s a beautiful, sunny day somewhere in the South, 1966. A pretty lady (with way-cool shades) and her two kids wait patiently as a courteous Winn-Dixie employee in black tie and Brylcreem is about to load their groceries into the family Buick.At time this photo was taken, the wonderfully profitable Winn-Dixie was the envy of the entire supermarket industry, with a greater return percentage on

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-79313920479834568872009-04-25T21:48:00.007-05:002009-04-25T22:22:26.212-05:00

These are some of the scenes that greeted customers of the new Montgomery Ward stores in the late 1950’s. A far cry from the stodgy interiors that shoppers had grown to associate with Wards, they represent nice examples of fifties modern design, color styling and craftsmanship.Just as the exterior design and materials differed from store to store, the new Wards interiors varied as well,

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-21525944166733129812009-04-21T16:57:00.004-05:002009-04-21T22:40:40.207-05:00

The photos above, taken in 1956, show the large, newly remodeled Montgomery Ward store at the corner of 9th and K streets in Sacramento, California, just prior to its “grand reopening”. Originally opened in 1935 and designed to Ward’s Georgian architectural standard of the day, the Sacramento location was one of the company’s first units to be revamped after the tumultuous leadership

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-15982069865060018142009-04-17T12:54:00.014-05:002009-04-18T20:17:10.128-05:00

Shown above are some Montgomery Ward stores from the late 1950’s. They are among the first stores the company opened after a 17-year moratorium on new construction. Radically different from the quaint, outdated stores that Wards shoppers (a steadily decreasing cohort through the 50’s) were familiar with, they represent a herculean effort to reintroduce and redefine Montgomery Ward in the eyes

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-3264964281026996862009-04-10T01:06:00.010-05:002009-04-22T22:54:26.304-05:00

Students of classic architecture are well familiar the Georgian Period. The term “Georgian” is used to describe a style of architecture that was originally popular from around 1720 to 1830, during the reigns of British monarchs George I, II, III (who was in power when America declared and fought for its independence) and IV. Some of the distinctive features of the Georgian style are a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-8712331436908895292009-04-02T21:50:00.007-05:002009-04-04T12:00:01.709-05:00

(With apologies for yesterday’s horrendous post.)Pictured above, in a circa 1953 photo, is the Montgomery Ward store in San Luis Obispo, California. This photo was taken during the La Fiesta de las Flores parade, an annual event in San Luis Obispo from 1925 to 1995. The clown/cowboy’s horse is equipped with a shovel, a necessary accessory depending on the length of the parade. At least he has a

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-12279580945889842892009-04-01T00:12:00.005-05:002009-04-22T12:45:44.894-05:00

Hi, and welcome back to Pleasant Family Shopping, where we’re all about the “two RM’s” – Retail Memories and Revenue Maximizing! Time for another look at good old Montgomery Ward!You know, the crowd scene in that first photo reminds me of the scene that breaks out at my local Target whenever they introduce another one of their cool designer collections, like their great line-ups from Orla Keily

Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.com11