SS KRESGE

Nick, a child's first stop when visiting these retail meccas would doubtlessly be the toy department, as intended by their proprietors. Your correct in that there was a magic in retail, culture in general, that has long since been lost. Truly a shame. I fear that we have become a society of jaded consumers.

Here's a Woolworth's menu insert with your favorites. Even the menu comes with gravy!

Ken, What is the building in the center?

Fond memories of all these 'five and dimes'.  Mention was made of the Pittsburgh Kresge's - the building still stands - you can see the S. S. KRESGE carved in stone above the entrance.   I think it's a CVS store now.  The Murphy's, Woolworths, McCrory's, et-al were always great places to shop.  Sad that they all turned into mega-stores and then went belly-up.  I miss the fifties.  Always had to worry about dying in a nuclear blast, but otherwise the times were great:>))

Ken, What is the building in the center?

That was the old Prudential Insurance headquarters.

That structure was replaced by a modern building in the early 60's that is still

the HQ of Pru today.

Ken    

Thanks. I prefer the esthetics of the previous structure to the new one...

You'll be pleased to hear (or maybe not) that the Woolworth name is still alive and well in places like Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia.

Originally Posted by John Korling:

You'll be pleased to hear (or maybe not) that the Woolworth name is still alive and well in places like Canada, the UK, Germany, and Australia.

807 "Woolies" have recently closed in the UK.

The picture of the women holding the doll and the station wagon caught my attention.  She sure looks to have a Rambler in her hands.  Remember riding many miles in one of them.  The back was the best place to be, further away from the old man smoking up a storm as he drove....

Considering the existence of Woolworth's in America now, which is nil,  I'd say that's still alive and well by comparison.  There's still those other aforementioned countries where the name still lives on, not just the UK.

Woolworth's in Canada went under in 1994. There are Woolworth's in South Africa but they are pricey department stores.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...A982A42&index=44

Considering the existence of Woolworth's in America now, which is nil,  I'd say that's still alive and well by comparison.  There's still those other aforementioned countries where the name still lives on, not just the UK.

True. However, considering the brand has been circling the bowl for some time, I don't think the remaining locations, as we know them, are long for this world. Unfortunately, love alone of a brand cannot Guarantee success.

Kresge's was just off public square around the corner fro Woolworths, and Kresge's became K Mart, at least in my neck of the woods, the Wilkes-Barre area. I don't remember trains there, (Jack's Hobby Shop in Edwardsville was our place for trains), but I sure did like the pizza! Pizza and a soda for 35 cents. 

Don

Woolworth's and Kresge's were simply and generically referred to as "The Dime Store" by my parents.  When we moved to the burb's, we discovered G. C. Murphy's in the 22nd street plaza in Berwyn. By then we started calling the stores by name.

The only McCrory's I knew of was on Windsor Avenue, also in Berwyn, right across from the Berwyn CB&Q commuter depot.  It was a small store, replacing the equally small  Woolworth's that burned down in the mid 60's.  (It was quite a blaze. We were coming back home from my grandmother's that evening and saw the smoke from the bridge at Ogden and Cicero, so we went to go watch.)

One thing we could do back then and probably can't do nowadays, was I would plant myself in the toy department of any store and just look around while my parents would shop elsewhere in the store.  When they were done, they'd come and get me.

Rusty

Here in Western Pennsylvania, we called all of them 5 and 10s, short for 5 and 10 cent stores.  Actually the one I knew best was Woolworth's on Main Street, Butler.  They closed a long time ago, and it was torn down maybe 10 years ago.  Finally, Rite Aid is going to build this year on that lot and that of another building being torn down even as I write.  I had been in all of the stores mentioned on this thread at one time or another over the years, mostly in Pittsburgh, but also in Richmond, where I worked in the '70s.

Ooops, you're right, I totally forgot that Woolworth's in Canada tanked about the same time as they did in the U.S.

I believe that Woolworth stores also exist in Mexico as well.

When a Woolco had an after Christmas (or maybe closing sale", I stocked up on HO

engines and cars, which have sat in boxes ever since, as I moved on from HO.  I was

trying to think of that name, and the two local discount stores...oh, one of them was

"Consolidated Sales", from which I helped my grandmother bring home a TV at a

then good price.  I don't remember it for trains or hobby stuff, though.  Unlike today's

big box stores, it did not have a very large parking lot and you usually had to park

on the street.

The Woolworth company is alive and well, although much smaller, they renamed themselves The Venator Group and in 2001 to Foot Locker.

Much smaller indeed. From the worlds largest department store chain in 1979 to a shoe store.

The Kresge & Woolworth stores in Harrisburg, PA (1950s) used to have a counter of variously colored (dyed) baby chicks for sale ($.35 each) during the Easter season.  Also rabbits.

A few HO trains were offered, but only at Christmas time.

Tom B

I enjoyed browsing the counter where small toys were placed in bins made with glass dividers.  Mostly metal cars, trucks, and figures.

These are great reflections.  What I'd give to be able to walk into one of these stores and see again the glass dividers partioning off Japanese-made toy autos, Marx novelties, hand-scooped candy, etc.

Hillcrest, NY, a suburb of Binghamton, had an absolutely wonderful independent 5 & 10 up through the 60s.  Trains, lichen, records, dresses, shoes, toys, paint, bicycle parts, toothpaste, candy, you name it. It's where I first heard Bobby Darin's Mack the Knife.  Wow. 

Growing up on the north side of Chicago by Lincoln Square the toy department was my favourite place at Kresges.I still remember the wood floors and the smell.

I grew up in a small town in northwest Iowa and we had a Woolworth's and a Kresge.  I liked them both, but maybe the Kresge a little more.  It seems that they had more cheap plastic toys and that was about all that I could afford.  I know that I got my first Lionel from the local Coast To Coast store as well as my bicycle.  Great memories!

Art

Hey guys,

     We had SS Kresge store up here in Canada as well. I grew up in Windsor, Ontario which is just across the border SOUTH of Detroit. I loved going to Kresge as a boy in the 1970s and their toy department was where I got most of my toys. My trains however came from Toys R Us over in Detroit and Windsor hobbies.

My favourite part of Kresge's was going for shopping trips with my Gramma who would always buy me lunch at the counter and then a bulk bag of Hersheyettes from the candy counter. Thanks for bringing back some great memories Rockstars!!

Jay in Ottawa

Living in Pittsburgh, I recall Authurithe (bad spelling been too long ago.) They were 5& 10 but never had trains as far as I could recall.  Not sure if they were local Pittsburgh area or not.

We here in Baltimore had all those wonderful stores that have been previously mentioned

but we also had any store 5 and dime named "Tommy Tuckers" that was very similar to Kresges. I was wondering if it was located in any other city?

Did Kresge evolve into K Mart store?  Or are these two different things with only letter K common?

Not to hijack the 5&10 memory thread, but noticed several replies talking of PA area, so those who live(d) in western PA particularly Pittsburgh know of company called Doubleday-Hill (now probably out of business or new ownership(s))?  Dad bought all things Lionel through them and they did repair work on trains.  AFAIK, they had no showroom but apparently were a Lionel dealer/distributor of some sort.

Two in the same. I believe K-Mart was launched in 1962, along with Woolco, Wall Mart, and Target.

Thanks Jon!  Thought so but wouldn't be first time I assumed something (wrongly).

RRMan,

I remember Authenrites, but I do not know where the one or ones I saw were located.  I did a search but did not find anything specifically on it.  All the search results were folks' posts in forums or obituaries mentioning the store.  New Kensington, Ambridge, Coraopolis, Brownsville, were some that were mentioned.  It must have been a local Pittsburgh store.

Originally Posted by Mill City:

Originally Posted by KRA:

If you went to see Santa at Kresge-Newark, you could join the "Drink Your Milk" club, chaired by the big-man himself.

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine"  What, a crummy commercial

 

 

Ovaltine! Yuck!  My mother made us use that as a substitute for chocolate.  Not the same by a long shot!!

Yup, the Kresge's and Woolworth were only two blocks apart on Springfield Av. in Summit.  Guess Newark had a better selection !  Out big Lionel source was right in between... at Summit Sporting Goods store.   Can still remember the 2350 EP5 NH being in the sale case for a mere $22.00 !   6464 Boxcars on sale at the end of Lionel going for two bucks each !  But if ya wanted to really see some chooch, it was time to grab the DL&W / M&E over to Millburn and see Bob and Irv at Millburn Train !

Still use Kresge yardstick on layout.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02...ss/12kirby.html?_r=0

Here's a link to an article about one of the heirs of Woolworth's Dept. Stores. The Kirby family has a lot of historical ties to the Wyoming Valley, (aka Wilkes-Barre Pa). The name is everywhere, including a theater, clinic and an estate in Glen Summit just south of W-B.

Don

We had Kresge stores all over town.  Also had Woolworth's.  We called this type of store "Dime Stores" regardless of brand name.  And there were others, too.  In the late 1930's and early 1940's, some of these chains had their larger stores close to the big department stores.  In Milwaukee we had Boston Store, Gimbels and Schuster's.  And right across the street from any of them could be found a number of "Dime Stores".  We would go into Schuster's basement at Christmas, look at the Lionel and American Flyer train displays, talk to Santa Claus and then the folks went over to the cheaper places and bought Marx trains for a fraction of the money.  i never cared much about train makes, just as long as I had a train to run.  Eventually I got two Marx trains to run around the tree.  Dad probably never paid more than $10 bucks for both of them.  And I was happy.

Paul Fischer

Well, Well, Well...Are we not showing our ages? . We had one street here in my home town. This street was featured in George Lucas' first movie. It seems almost like yesteryear..Wow! Within two blocks we enjoyed six of the most wonderful "Dime Stores". Including all those mentioned. How many out there remember all the plastic cars, trucks that carried the same name? How about Mom & Dad buying a complete Marx Train Set for less than $3.25. Sometimes we had to go to Sears & Roebuck for a Joyline Set. The same set but much cheaper. Yes, I do remember the days, however, those were not, "The Good Ol' Days" .

Pappy,

Yes we are showing our ages.  While I am not as old as most who have replied, I'll just say I am a few years older than I look in the photo and leave it at that.