Woolworth's

[Cousin Hepcat]

Don't think there were any Woolworth's' left when I was a kid, but hearing the descriptions sounds just like the King's department store, one of my few pre-preschool memories. Yes, with a lunch "grill", where Mom would get me a pan-fried-in-butter grilled cheese sandwich & a Reese's peanut butter cups 2-pack

I recall going to Woolworth's on 59th Street in NYC after school. Although I could choose from all kinds of eateries, I was always attracted to the lunch counter in there. It felt safe and removed from the rest of the city. In it, only "old people" would be eating or drinking coffee. I can still see the rail thin elderly lady working the counter in her uniform and hair net.

Hey, we had the same "old people" in polyester suits eating there, and rail-thin server lady, in Durham, NC

And 1950's-style diner tables and booths, with rounded stainless-steel-edged counters and tables, and ultra-thick indestructable ceramic dishes. Been kinda wanting a set of those since forever.

Even back then, loved music; King's had vinyl singles just sitting out, unsealed, in open paper sleeves, in the stereo section, on racks like this one, so you could just go over there and play records on units like this - the hilight of the weekly shopping trip

.

she'd usually let me pick out a favorite, still have some of those (Earth Wind & Fire, Cool & the Gang, Luther Vandross... when I went with friends to see Pulp Fiction when it first came out, kinda freaked them by singing along word-for-word with Jungle Boogie lol )

- C H

 

[John in Covina]

We also had McLellan's, which was sort of a downscale cousin to Woolworth's. It was smaller, and quite a bit darker inside, and didn't have that distinctive scent.

***********
I think there was a McLellans in Amityville.

Stores with wood floors, that i remember as a kid.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

"I aaaammmmm a maaaaaan of constant soroooow, I've seen trouble all my days"
"I bid fareweeeellll to ole' Kinteckeee, the place where IIIII was born and raised"
You all are makin' me want to watch this movie!! Great film

I had a Woolworth's down the street from the house I grew up in in Cranston, Rhode Island. I have so many memories of that place. Like Lizzie, I remember the smell. Except instead of Linseed Oil ours smelled like deep fried something or another. I remember going there with my mom, having lunch at the counter, then going shopping. In Cranston at that time it was the only store to buy clothes. Usually a few times a year we'd take a shopping trip to Boston for the clothes we needed, but for things needed during the in between time we'd go to Woolworth.
The original Woolworth building in our town is still there, with the big tiles by the front door that spell out Woolworth. The rest of the area is now filled with chain restaurants, chain stores, every modern day amenity imaginable. I'm not sure if the kids living in that neighborhood now realize that just 25 years ago the members of this once very small community had to drive over an hour to get to shoppes like the ones they now have in their back yard.
I miss the Woolworth My hometown no longer looks the same to me. Although there were a group of run down buildings from the early 1800's that they began restoring a couple of years ago. They kept the original structures and re-built them directly from pictures they had of the original buildings. They were lovely until Starbucks and The Gap moved into them. I wish they would have turned the area into a residential zone. It would have been so cool to live in one of those old places, and the neighborhood has enough fast food coffee joints and jean stores. In my eyes, urban planning gone wrong. I want my old town back!

Oh Daisy, I know how much you love Portland, but it keeps changing rapidly, and not for the best. I went downtown yesterday and counted four more locally owned shops that closed. One sold antiques, another collectibles mixed with newer items, another sold high end items for dogs, the other made candy and ice cream from scratch. I would chat with the owners whenever I stopped by, and they helped give Portland that small town feel to it. These four shops closing are only the most recent. The rents are so high that soon only chains will be able to afford them. Many former shops now have "for sale or lease" signs. Did you know a Hooter's may be placed in the arts district and that the state is thinking of removing an exemption of taxes from the museums that already have a hard time making ends meet? A number of historic inns have turned into condos. I can go on, but I don't understand why urban planning doesn't include community development.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I miss Woolworths too!

When I was in Jr. High we used to go there for a hot dog and soda after school. But this was in the early '80's and had all the cheesy plastic dining furniture, not the great soda fountains of days past...

When I was elementary school age, I remember going to a larger "city" Woolworths that had 2 dining areas. The lunch counter and booth area where we ate burgers and fries and a more "elegant" area that had real tables and chairs, carpeting and even a chandelier I think they served more of a buffet meal there. Being a little kid, I thought this was where the "rich" people must go!

That is so cute!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Don't think there were any Woolworth's' left when I was a kid, but hearing the descriptions sounds just like the King's department store, one of my few pre-preschool memories. Yes, with a lunch "grill", where Mom would get me a pan-fried-in-butter grilled cheese sandwich & a Reese's peanut butter cups 2-pack



Hey, we had the same "old people" in polyester suits eating there, and rail-thin server lady, in Durham, NC

And 1950's-style diner tables and booths, with rounded stainless-steel-edged counters and tables, and ultra-thick indestructable ceramic dishes. Been kinda wanting a set of those since forever.

Even back then, loved music; King's had vinyl singles just sitting out, unsealed, in open paper sleeves, in the stereo section, on racks like this one, so you could just go over there and play records on units like this - the hilight of the weekly shopping trip

.

she'd usually let me pick out a favorite, still have some of those (Earth Wind & Fire, Cool & the Gang, Luther Vandross... when I went with friends to see Pulp Fiction when it first came out, kinda freaked them by singing along word-for-word with Jungle Boogie lol )

- C H

I would have loved going there, too!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

When my family moved to Hilo, Hawaii when I was 9 in 1970, the only departments stores there were Woolworth's and S.H. Kress. There was a Sears, but it was just a small storefront and anything you wanted had to be ordered and it would take months to arrive.

Woolworth's had a lunch counter which Mom and I frequented, at it had a great selection of model kits and HO scale model trains.

Now that I think of it, it had a distinctive smell, too, but I can't recall exactly what it was.

When I worked for H&R Block in Hilo in the 1990s, one of the veteran tax preparers was a Woolworth's retiree.

I wonder if there are kids that still make model anythings. I actually recall making a model Herbie the Lovebug from a kit I got from a Five and Dime in the 70's! lol

"Woolworth retiree." Wow. I wonder how many will be able to say "Walmart retiree." Not many.

I am depressed now.

 

[Viviene]

Woolworth's. Mid 60s were filled with my mom taking either my sister or I out for school shoes. We'd go to Peekskill, NY to the shoe store to get our Buster Brown shoes. After that we'd head over to the Woolworth's for lunch. A hot dog, french fries and a fountain soda were the lunch of the day. Mom always carried a small pair of scissors in her purse to cut my straw shorter so I wouldn't spill my soda. After lunch we would walk up and down the aisles. I especially liked looking at the parakeets in the pet section.

Fast forward to lunch out with mom and my girls in 2001 (ages 3 and 2) (mom died in 2003). We're sitting in a diner in New Jersey after shopping for shoes at Stride Rite. The drinks come and I reach into my purse for my scissors. I look across the table and my mom has a pair of matching scissors in her hand ready to cut straws. We look at each other and laugh.

Woolworth's always meant spending time one on one with my mom. I loved going out with her alone. Hopefully some day when my girls and I go out to lunch with their children we too will have a moment like my mom and I did.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Woolworth's. Mid 60s were filled with my mom taking either my sister or I out for school shoes. We'd go to Peekskill, NY to the shoe store to get our Buster Brown shoes. After that we'd head over to the Woolworth's for lunch. A hot dog, french fries and a fountain soda were the lunch of the day. Mom always carried a small pair of scissors in her purse to cut my straw shorter so I wouldn't spill my soda. After lunch we would walk up and down the aisles. I especially liked looking at the parakeets in the pet section.

Fast forward to lunch out with mom and my girls in 2001 (ages 3 and 2) (mom died in 2003). We're sitting in a diner in New Jersey after shopping for shoes at Stride Rite. The drinks come and I reach into my purse for my scissors. I look across the table and my mom has a pair of matching scissors in her hand ready to cut straws. We look at each other and laugh.

Woolworth's always meant spending time one on one with my mom. I loved going out with her alone. Hopefully some day when my girls and I go out to lunch with their children we too will have a moment like my mom and I did.

Stride Right?! By chance were you in Englewood? My mom used to take me there for me to buy specialty shoes! I still can see the elderly rail thin MAN in a suit measuring my feet. The diner- was it Baumgart's?!

http://www.baumgartscafe.com/

Maybe the Fort Lee diner? Both places have lots of memories for me. (I lived in NJ for a few years before moving to NYC).

I'm sorry about the passing of your mom.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Woolworth's. Mid 60s were filled with my mom taking either my sister or I out for school shoes. We'd go to Peekskill, NY to the shoe store to get our Buster Brown shoes. After that we'd head over to the Woolworth's for lunch. A hot dog, french fries and a fountain soda were the lunch of the day. Mom always carried a small pair of scissors in her purse to cut my straw shorter so I wouldn't spill my soda. After lunch we would walk up and down the aisles. I especially liked looking at the parakeets in the pet section.

Fast forward to lunch out with mom and my girls in 2001 (ages 3 and 2) (mom died in 2003). We're sitting in a diner in New Jersey after shopping for shoes at Stride Rite. The drinks come and I reach into my purse for my scissors. I look across the table and my mom has a pair of matching scissors in her hand ready to cut straws. We look at each other and laugh.

Woolworth's always meant spending time one on one with my mom. I loved going out with her alone. Hopefully some day when my girls and I go out to lunch with their children we too will have a moment like my mom and I did.

I completely forgot about the parakeets! Golly, thanks for bringing that memory back. I loved strolling through the pet aisles, and usually spent the rest of the afternoon trying to convince my mom that a pet bird or gerbil was indeed a great idea!

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Oh Daisy, I know how much you love Portland, but it keeps changing rapidly, and not for the best. I went downtown yesterday and counted four more locally owned shops that closed. One sold antiques, another collectibles mixed with newer items, another sold high end items for dogs, the other made candy and ice cream from scratch. I would chat with the owners whenever I stopped by, and they helped give Portland that small town feel to it. These four shops closing are only the most recent. The rents are so high that soon only chains will be able to afford them. Many former shops now have "for sale or lease" signs. Did you know a Hooter's may be placed in the arts district and that the state is thinking of removing an exemption of taxes from the museums that already have a hard time making ends meet? A number of historic inns have turned into condos. I can go on, but I don't understand why urban planning doesn't include community development.

Oh my, I can't believe the doggie supply store closed down!! For some reason my late dog Mina (Carmina) absolutely hated Portland. We haven't any idea why, but every time we took her on a road trip there and left her to go into a store, mind you unleashed with a handful of treats and a bowl of bottled water!, she would whine and howl and just make the saddest noises. It got to the point where one of us had to wait with her to keep her calm while the other went in and shopped. It's so strange, she never did this anywhere else, and Portland is such a dog friendly town! Anyway, she LOVED that doggie store! She would go in and roam the aisles sniffing everywhere. I bought her the cutest red bandana printed collar and matching leash. That was the last leash I bought her I can't believe that place is closed, it looked like it always did such a great business. I guess with my sweet Mina gone, there was no reason to stay open! The dog treats were a pip, they looked like actual cookies that a human would eat, very gourmet! I can't believe the ice cream and candy shopped closed as well. If I'm thinking of the same one, i know exactly where that is, being the candy expert that I am I got lots of bags of "yummy's" there. (speaking of Yummies, ever been to the candy shoppe "yummy's" in Kittery, wowza, what a place!)

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Oh my, I can't believe the doggie supply store closed down!! For some reason my late dog Mina (Carmina) absolutely hated Portland. We haven't any idea why, but every time we took her on a road trip there and left her to go into a store, mind you unleashed with a handful of treats and a bowl of bottled water!, she would whine and howl and just make the saddest noises. It got to the point where one of us had to wait with her to keep her calm while the other went in and shopped. It's so strange, she never did this anywhere else, and Portland is such a dog friendly town! Anyway, she LOVED that doggie store! She would go in and roam the aisles sniffing everywhere. I bought her the cutest red bandana printed collar and matching leash. That was the last leash I bought her I can't believe that place is closed, it looked like it always did such a great business. I guess with my sweet Mina gone, there was no reason to stay open! The dog treats were a pip, they looked like actual cookies that a human would eat, very gourmet! I can't believe the ice cream and candy shopped closed as well. If I'm thinking of the same one, i know exactly where that is, being the candy expert that I am I got lots of bags of "yummy's" there. (speaking of Yummies, ever been to the candy shoppe "yummy's" in Kittery, wowza, what a place!)

The store was "Bark-N-Roll." Planet Dog is still open. There's another store, I think it's called Fetch, I believe that's still open.

I haven't been to "Yummy's." It sounds dangerous!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I completely forgot about the parakeets! Golly, thanks for bringing that memory back. I loved strolling through the pet aisles, and usually spent the rest of the afternoon trying to convince my mom that a pet bird or gerbil was indeed a great idea!

Now there's a flashback -- I loved the pet aisle too! I'd get a paper cup of Coke from the fountain, and wander thru that part of the store sipping and watching the animals. I really wanted one of those turtles, but my mother drew the line at having reptiles in the house....

 

[Viviene]

The mall was the Rockaway Mall in Dover/Rockaway, NJ and the diner was The Rockaway Diner. My DH grew up in Weehawken, NJ and he tells me stories of their Woolworth's as well.

 

[Big Man]

... Woolworth's always meant spending time one on one with my mom. I loved going out with her alone. Hopefully some day when my girls and I go out to lunch with their children we too will have a moment like my mom and I did.

This is what "family" is all about. It's funny how seemingly small and relatively insignificant things can have such a strong and long lasting impact.

 

[Miss Sis]

Yes, Woolworths is still open in the UK. I bought something there just last week but they don't have lunch counters or anything like that. Mainly housewares like crockery, cushions, bathroom stuff. Some small electricals, CDs, kids toys and clothes etc.

We also had Woolworths in New Zealand when I was growing up but they are all closed now. Most of my clothes came from there, the things that my Mum didn't make me like underwear, tights, pyjamas. Right opposite there was another shop called McKenzies. It was just like Woolworths, but a bit nicer. You'd always go there first!

 

[dhermann1]

There was a nice Woolworth's on 125th St in Harlem for many years. It had a big lunch counter. There was a Jamaican girl at the lunch counter named Winsome, which I always thought was a lovely name.
Anyone remember Schrafft's and Chock full o' Nuts? The was a Chock Full o' Nuts at 57h and 6th in Manhattan for centuries. You could get a cup of coffee and their famous brown bread and creme cheese sandwiches.
I also remember the Schrafft's in Boston. It had beautiful red wallpaper, as I
recall. It was a chain, but had a nice classy, "old lady" atmosphere. Genteel.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

There was a nice Woolworth's on 125th St in Harlem for many years. It had a big lunch counter. There was a Jamaican girl at the lunch counter named Winsome, which I always thought was a lovely name.
Anyone remember Schrafft's and Chock full o' Nuts? The was a Chock Full o' Nuts at 57h and 6th in Manhattan for centuries. You could get a cup of coffee and their famous brown bread and creme cheese sandwiches.
I also remember the Schrafft's in Boston. It had beautiful red wallpaper, as I
recall. It was a chain, but had a nice classy, "old lady" atmosphere. Genteel.

Do you mean to say that Chock Full O' Nuts is gone? Yes, I have been to that one.

I just adore old lady joints!*

Well, I do hate when they give me aches and pains, but the other kinds of eatery joints are great.

 

[Novella]

Yes, Woolworths is still open in the UK.

I'd never been to a Woolworths until I came here.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

The store was "Bark-N-Roll." Planet Dog is still open. There's another store, I think it's called Fetch, I believe that's still open.

I haven't been to "Yummy's." It sounds dangerous!

I'm glad to hear that some of those stores are still open. The one Carmina loved was right on the main street, the one that faces the water. I still can't bring myself to go up there, it brings back too many memories.

Yummies is very dangerous. They have a huge outdoor sign in the parking lot that says "Over 10,000 pounds of candy on display"

 

[Absinthe_1900]

We still have one original 5 & 10 store in my neighborhood.
Variety Fair is still a fun place to find something interesting

http://www.varietyfair.com/