Shopping Days In Retro Boston

Get out those white gloves...Let's Get "Charmed" in Retro Boston!

2012-01-30T03:56:00.000-08:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

I cannot begin to tell you how often I get emails from blog readers, many of whom are women, and they speak of the long lost art of dressing up to go in town and shop.
Sadly, my friends....gone are the days of white gloves and heels for a stroll through the streets of downtown Boston whilst searching for just the right hat to wear to a wedding next month.

America in the 20th century was guided in social etiquette by the late, great Emily Post and out of this etiquette movement most of our great retro Boston stores began a mission to educate young women in the art of making favorable impressions in polite society.

Charm schools, etiquette classes or fashion guidance seminars were offered by most of the once great Boston stores. Beginning gently in the 1930’s R.H. White’s offered a short course from a visiting expert in the “field of charm” and then by the 1940’s Jordan Marsh began the Marsha Jordan Fashion Board (also called “fashion council” in some years) and Chandler’s began the Junior Charm School for young ladies.

The Jordan Marsh Marsha Jordan Contest phenomenon was a huge success for pre-teen and teenage girls and carried on well into the 1970’s. It had several divisions (Connie Cut-Up, Jan Jordan and Marsha Jordan) for different age groups of girls. The contest had girls from the entire city competing to be the youth fashion spokesperson for the store for a year. A group of these girls were then chosen to serve on a fashion board for the store and have the chance to model clothing at events during the calendar year of their time on the board.

Boston’s young women could join the Marsha Jordan Club (or one of the other Jordan Marsh clubs depending on their age) and have access to fashion shows, beauty tips and a whole host of other offers aimed at bringing out the “best” in a young lady.

Soon Filene’s, Gilchrist’s and even Sears offered their own version of a charm school but the icing on the etiquette cake would have to have been in 1970 when R.H. Stearns started offering the Marjabelle Young Stewart course entitled, White Gloves and Party Manners. R.H. Stearns offered the 6-week course (nationally syndicated in selected department stores) for $20.00 and your 5-11 year old girl not only got six special lessons in all the ways of young polite society but she got a special guide book and her own pair of white gloves for wearing while trying out her new found polite party skills. Mrs. Stewart had become an etiquette guru of sorts and had given several US presidents courses in the art of social graces.

Many of the charm/ etiquette courses also had elaborate graduation ceremonies with certificates and celebration teas to follow.

These courses and training events for the young women of Boston were most popular from the 1950’s through to the mid-1970’s when they were ultimately deemed “old hat” and “too quaint” and they were put away in the drawer.....along with those beloved white gloves.

The beauty and magic of these classes were the fact that they were open to all and not very expensive. The department stores had found a way to connect with young women and girls and involve them, engage them....maybe even inspire them. It was part of that great spirit of community that the stores of old used to foster and value. Everyone mattered and had a place...stores had a duty to society and made every effort to be seen as pro-active and caring.

I present today a little selection of what the various stores had on offer for the social training of Boston’s young women.

Enjoy!

Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

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AND.............

Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

Tickling Your Taste Buds in Retro Boston’s Once Great Stores

2012-01-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy New Year to all my retro Boston loving friends!

A recent article in the New York Times heralded the news that department store restaurants were coming back in-style. Great....wait....but what if you are in the shopping heart of Boston and all the BIG stores are just....Macy’s? Oh, well...not so great. Congratulations to the places like NYC that still have their own department stores to dine in.

Poor old Boston!!!

This article has brought about many questions to do with dining at and the purchasing of various speciality foods from our once thriving downtown Boston stores. I felt it was time to crank up the old retro Boston time machine and have a look back at this delightful, delicious and delectable part of our shopping past.

Many readers express parts of memories of eating this, tasting that... smelling something marvellous and mouth-watering. The truth is...any of us who shopped in downtown Boston during those wonderful heydays will recall vividly what a crucial role food played in those cherished proceedings.

So, with the help of my memories, memories of many readers and much research...I present a salute to dining and fine foods of the various stores from our retro Boston history circa the 1920’s to 1970’s.

I have limited this update to the geographical area I refer to as central downtown Boston....the once great, Downtown Crossing... as it is known today.

I shall start by saying that my readers are divided into two shopping groups. Those that dined at separate restaurants/diners/lunch counters and those that dined in a store housed facility.

The update today will focus only on the store housed facilities. The list of separate eating establishments from the 1920’s onward in central downtown Boston is massive and could be the subject of a blog all of its own!!!

The update includes our past department stores as well as the other large “chain” stores of days gone by.

The name of each store will be followed by any food related information or memories....enjoy!!!

Woolworth’s:

Downtown Boston was blessed with numerous locations of this giant chain from the 1920’s to 1960’s. The standard formula set-up for these small versions of the store did include the traditional soda fountain counter that served drinks and sandwiches. The closure in the 1960’s of the smaller locations and the merger in 1970 into one department store sized location on Washington Street resulted in many food options for the shopper. The original “new” Boston Woolworth’s of 1970...the largest in the USA at the time, contained a very large lunch counter (The Coffee Shop) on the street floor with an ample section of booth seating for those who wanted more elbow room. The lower level housed the 200 seat Harvest House Restaurant with full table service as well as further lunch counter service space. Both the street floor lunch counter and Harvest House Restaurant served similar menus but the restaurant downstairs provided a much more relaxed and intimate environment to dine in. The menu ranged from simple ice cream sodas to their famous hot turkey platter. A massive two-level kitchen complex was housed in the far corner to accommodate all the various preparing, cooking and serving tasks. The street floor also contained a large deli counter and gourmet food shop. The sound of clinking cups, clattering silverware and the smell of roasting chicken were all part of the multi-sensory experience of walking into Woolworth’s street floor from 1970 to the mid-1980’s when Burger King took over the area that used to be the large lunch counter and walled it off, thus ending the grand wide-open feel of the very large street floor. The Harvest House carried on until the bitter end in the mid-1990’s.
Eating in this new Woolworth’s was, as a child, a memorable experience. The menu at the Harvest House had something to appeal to every taste and the atmosphere was just a little fancy....but not too much. The same pleasantly attractive lady was the seating hostess throughout most of the early 1970’s and I always remember being in a line of patrons waiting along a velvet cordon to be seated. Another lovely touch I recall, after you finished your meal, a glass domed dessert cart was rolled by your table if you wanted something sweet. I can’t begin to say how many times my mother and I had Saturday lunch in there and how many Big W burger platters or fried clam plates we had between us....but for the money....it was a very nice lunch indeed!

Grant’s:

Grant’s on Washington Street had the look and feel of an old-style Woolworth’s (more or less) except that it was spread out over two large floors. The rear of the street floor housed a lunch counter with seating for 60 patrons and an additional 20 booths. They served a full range of items including hearty meals and daily shopper’s specials. A large candy and confection counter featured as a centrepiece in the spacious street floor, too! Grant’s closed in the spring of 1976.

Neisner's:

This wonderful 5&10 style store had a unique layout due to its L-shaped design that featured store fronts on both Washington and Bromfield Streets. The Washington Street side of the building was lower down due to the incline slope that occurs as you walk down from Tremont Street to Washington Street. The lunch counter (The Pilgrim Room) was located in the Bromfield Street side of the building on the street floor and contained a healthy counter area and some booth seating. Like Grant’s, Neisner’s served both hot and cold meals....but mainly was a great spot to stop and enjoy a cool drink after shopping. They had large signs over the counter displaying various treats for you to enjoy and they prided themselves on serving a knock-out Raspberry Lime Ricky.
During its long history in Boston, Neisner’s had a large candy selection and did maintain a deli during some of those years.
Our shopping trips, from the 1960’s until they shut in the late 1970’s , always included a final stop for a drink at the counter and quick look round the various levels of this classic store. I will always recall entering on the Bromfield Street side and looking down at the lunch counter area. You entered on a small landing and had to go down about ten steps on either side to reach the street floor below....a great architectural feature to help lessen the changes in level from one side of the store to the other.

Kresge’s :

The Boston branch of this large chain store was located on Washington Street at Temple Place. During the time period of the 1920’s until it shut in the late 1980’s, Kresge’s maintained a lunch counter, deli and snack bar. These were prominent features of the street floor and created wonderful smells that filled the entire store.
I vividly recall the rotisserie oven with hams and chickens spinning round as we wandered all over the colorful street floor. The lunch counter was always busy and very noisy...needless to say....mother never wanted to stop and sit.

Gilchrist’s:

Gilchrist’s was already a well established Boston legend in the area of selling goods by the late 1920’s and the introduction of baking golden almond macaroons on the street floor would become its most legendary act and remain a Boston enigma to this very day. The macaroon phenomenon with its secret formula was born in the late 1920’s and became a Boston passion soon after. It’s no wonder that Gilchrist’s soon opened its Marble Spa Restaurant in the early 1930’s....one good thing certainly deserves another! Visiting Gilchrist’s street floor bakery just off Winter Street became a must for celebrities who were performing in plays or doing movie promotional tours...Filene’s had the basement, Gilchrist’s had the macaroon!
The bakery and Marble Spa were next to one another at the rear of the street floor. One felt the Marble Spa was subterranean since it was located in the far rear and the incline slope from Tremont Street to Washington Street created the illusion of it being in the basement. The Marble Spa was a delightful spot to eat a full meal or have a simple snack. It was crowned with a polished, curvy marble counter....thus its name. You could sit at the classic counter or sit at private booths...a true retro Boston stunner!
The bakery also sold many other yummy treats including candy for you to enjoy...but the smell of those macaroons baking was priceless and just a little bit of heaven on earth! Gilchrist’s street floor was alive with the gentle aroma of flowery female perfumes and those golden macaroons baking. What a delightful and truly wild sensory combination!
This Boston romance lasted until December of 1976 when the specially designed ovens were finally switched off....and the secret recipe....poof....remains a sweet mystery!

Jordan Marsh:

The beloved Jordan Marsh Company was fierce, vast and mighty in Boston retailing by the 1920’s but rather slow in developing a lasting food niche.
It all began around the same time as the macaroon craze began across the street in Gilchrist’s. Who knows who did what first but competition is a powerful ingredient and Jordan Marsh opened its Spanish Shop for Candy. The first location was up on the fourth floor of the main store and featured a selection of sweets...made with distinction but not by Jordan Marsh, or so it would seem.
The Spanish Shop was bumped from place to place over the next few years and finally wound up....surprise....on the street floor of the main building. During the 1940’s, The Spanish Shop became a tea room with light lunches, beverages and sweet treats while the candy and speciality foods were moved to the annex building on the third floor.
The tea room with its Spanish theme lasted through the 1940’s and was phased out during the extensive rebuilding program of the 1950’s. The candy and food department made its way down to the street floor of the ever expanding annex building and by the 1960’s...a blueberry muffin was born! Finally, Jordan Marsh hit a winner in the food line...it took years but a lasting food tribute came into being and thrilled Bostonians completely.
Entering the famous annex building was a thrill for me as a child in the late 60’s and 1970’s. The crowds, the music...and the wonderful smells coming from the food department on that classic street floor were so mouth-watering! The relocation (and subsequent demolition of the annex) of the candy, bakery and food department to the basement of the “new “main store building was very sad. I do recall it had tables and the smell of coffee brewing but it was not the same feel at all....tucked away in the basement. But the blueberry muffins lived on in that way until the 1990’s when the smells faded away as Macy’s took hold.

Filene’s:

Filene’s maintained a unique and highly popular eatery of various themes during almost its entire run as a Boston magnet for shoppers once it moved into the elegant 1912 Burnham building. The eighth floor was the spot and the restaurant had it all...and many exciting extras as well. At various times over the many years, the restaurant hosted singers, theatre productions, magicians, orchestras, choirs and even Santa Clause...just to name a few attractions that graced the place. Yes, food items such as candy and quick lunch snacks (hot dogs, fresh pretzels, etc.) could be had elsewhere throughout the store including the basement but the restaurant on the eighth floor was the real treasure!
The high ceiling and spacious seating areas allowed for leisure meals with no clamour in a pleasant atmosphere. The restaurant had a major facelift in the late 1950’s and then again in the 1970’s when it became known as, The Greenery. A pleasing greenhouse theme with ivy and lattices prevailed and this is the way I recall it from the late 1970’s until I last visited in about 1990. Also an English style pub was featured as a separate venue serving up its own menu during the 1970’s and into the 80’s. So much variety!!
Freshly baked items could be purchased just outside the main entrance to the restaurant in a large glass display counter and added to the “festive flare” of the eighth floor.
The menu was full of variety and one could have lunch, dinner or a light snack depending on your desires. The main feature of Filene’s restaurant was its famous....chicken pot pies.
This delicate little pie became legendary by the 1950’s and remained a staple of the restaurant for years to come. The coveted recipe is contained, thanks to Filene’s of the 1950’s, in this update.

Raymond’s:

Raymond’s in its original location on the corner of Franklin and Washington Streets was housed in hodgepodge of antique buildings. The food shop....Unkle Eph’s....of course, was located on the street floor in its own store front on Washington Street. The food shop contained a variety of speciality foods, baked goods and a deli counter. In 1966, during the start of the realignment of Franklin Street, the entire store moved up Washington Street to the former Citymart (RH White’s former building) and inherited a large, fully fitted restaurant facility. The store carried on providing meals in the restaurant and also in a small snack bar...I heard rumours that the snack bar was in the shape of a barrel. This carried on until Raymond’s went out of business in the early 1970’s and the classic, old building was flattened in 1973.

RH White’s:

White’s had a long history of serving food in its well established flagship store on Washington and Bedford Streets. The restaurant (tea room) on mezzanine (second floor) was known as, The Elbow Room. A well-rounded menu was served for lunch and early dinners to lucky shoppers who decided on stopping by. A hallmark of White’s was its homemade candy and this was made daily in the large basement candy kitchen and could be viewed by plate glass observation windows by shoppers who wanted “sweet insights” into the mystery of why White’s candy was some of the best in Boston...at least until 1957 when the owners closed the flagship store.
Citymart came along in 1962 and lasted until 1966 and they maintained the tradition of serving food in The Elbow Room and in a snack bar located on the street floor.
The art of candy making never did return to the basement after White’s left...a long tradition that was sadly dying out in Boston.

Please keep writing...I value all your emails so much!!!

Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24334155@N03/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_163309760355786&ap=1

AND.............

Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

Christmas In Boston 1956

2011-12-06T01:37:00.000-08:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

I want to express my sincerest holiday greetings to each and every one of you!!
Christmas is upon us once again and it’s time for my traditional retro Boston holiday update...and this year is a knock-out collection!

Think of this update as a retro Boston Christmas stocking just bursting at the seams with SO many goodies for you to enjoy....a nostalgic blast of Boston’s past! This update includes numerous store print ads from downtown Boston as well as some stores located in other parts of the city, a few holiday themed articles, some inventive retro photos and a little touch of “other fun holiday notions” as well.

Requests come into my hands all year in preparation for this very special update. Some folks want a look at more of the smaller Boston stores that once filled the downtown and a taste of the Christmas shopping hours for the month of December in the year I have selected to highlight.

I aim to please....as always....so Santa, the elves and a few nimble reindeer joined me in the huge hunting and gathering exercise that hopefully will delight and touch all the many eager readers out there.

This year I have selected 1956 as the year our retro Boston Christmas time travelling machine will return to. Why 1956?

1956 was the last Christmas that downtown Boston housed seven...SEVEN (WOW!!!)...department stores to frolic in. In June of 1957, Boston would mourn the loss of R.H. White’s...a very beloved shopping paradise. December of 1956 press ads were heavy with R.H. White’s presence; one wonders now if this was a plea (that included some of the most generous extended evening shopping hours of all the BIG Boston stores) for extra business during their final swing downward?

1956 saw Jordan Marsh beginning work on the third unit (or section) of the new building that it had begun constructing back in the late 1940’s. Readers will note the words “unit” and “new” still being used to describe various sections of the new building in many print ads.

1956 was truly a year that Boston was alive with crowds, twinkling lights and festive merriment...still very much the shopping center for most of New England.

Now this year I toss you a challenge.....oh, yes!! Let the games begin!!
I know many of you will be lounging around, full of Christmas punch...and lots of good cheer...you need a little party game, of sorts. I have just the one...especially if you have some fellow retro Boston lovers in your midst.

Here it is...and I hope you are able to rise to my yuletide challenge!!

Find as many “taglines”...or store slogans as you can in these ads that I have lovingly plucked from the month of December 1956. These store slogans or holiday “taglines” may be just for Christmas or used more often during the whole retailing year. If you look very carefully...click on each for a better view...you should be able to locate a nice assortment. Be aware that some stores had more than one of these slogans or “taglines” in use at any given time...keep your eyes alert!!! Send me an email with your findings...and I shall publish the list that is the most complete on the blog in the New Year and crown that person (or team) as the “Retro Boston Store Slogan Master of 1956”.

Take your time...those nimble reindeer love to be sneaky in hiding slogans where you least expect to find them!!

I also tossed in another little Christmas treat for you to locate. I have included an ad from the shop I worked at part-time during my years in college (1983-6). I shall provide only a few small clues to the identity for you to use in your search. Now this shop was located in downtown Boston and was in the same classic building for all of the 20th century and closed just few years ago to become an online based retailer. Have a peek....where do you think I worked??? Send me an email if you think you found it!

Now enjoy this look back at Boston in 1956. Note the fact that many of the BIG stores had their own Santa to visit and Gilchrist’s even had a merry-go-round to ride...just for Xmas!

Other points of interest I enjoyed discovering from 1956:

*Filene’s invited choirs to come down to Boston and sing outdoors above the main doors on the corner of Summer and Washington Streets. They also provided a “red carpet” down the center aisle of the street floor to welcome the masses of Christmas shoppers with style!

*Jordan Marsh had a Christmas Caravan of jolly folks that visited children all over the city and provided gifts and good cheer to those less fortunate....yes....1956 was a time of giving as well as receiving.

*Jay’s on Temple Place had a “Jay Belle” to help you find the perfect gift...especially if you were a man lost in this feminine house of delights!
*Store shopping hours increased with added nights open as the month of December moved along to the Big Day!

*The crowds were record breaking and the streets were packed....glowing store windows were filled with displays....Boston held so many places to locate that “unique” gift for Aunt Harriet, Uncle Arnold or little Susie Swanson down the road.

Enjoy, read, remember, and most of all...celebrate the rich retro Christmas past of dear, old Boston!

Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24334155@N03/

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PS...Thanks to all my loyal readers....another wonderful year of participation and shared memories!
Keep writing....sharing.....YOU are keeping Boston’s retro history alive!!!

PPS....Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

Filene's Basement: A Retro Boston Tribute

2011-11-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!!

I want to thank all of you who sent me emails about the announced closure of Filene’s Basement Stores in 2012.

I have avoided a Filene’s Basement tribute for some time now. The 2010 documentary on WGBH got a great deal of press coverage and I felt I wanted that to pass before I tossed my hat in the ring.

As a retro Boston cultural historian, I must confess that Filene’s has the most widespread fame of all the beloved Boston department stores of our retro past. Filene’s also was the “last to fall” of all our BIG stores of yesteryear. So many memories have been shared and aired about this great Boston legend and now with the final closing of Filene’s Basement Stores in 2012, it seems to be time to share a few memories and pay tribute in the “Retro Boston” way!

For many of us, Filene’s Basement was lost in 2007 when Filene’s Department Store in Boston was closed for good. The basement store, although a separate company since 1988, lost its rightful home and we lost our treasured bargain basement bazaar.

The basement had its roots in the former location of Filene’s when it was located on the corner of Washington and Winter Streets. A brilliant idea that was launched in 1909 soon became a legend in Boston and in time, word spread all over the world. The basement grew larger with the move across the street to Filene’s new “state of the art” location designed by Daniel H. Burnham in 1912 and the incredible “Automatic Basement Markdown Plan” became part of a proper Bostonian’s education.

As the 20th century moved along, older buildings were razed and new ones were built as Filene’s Department Store became a block-sized complex that rivalled all the other BIG Boston department stores...and with each addition to this retail complex....the basement grew larger and larger!

The basement attracted a wide range of followers including many a celebrity who enjoyed stopping by if they were in Boston appearing in a show or attending an event.

My own memories of Filene’s Basement began in my later teen years.
I can recall my very first visit to the famed basement so vividly. I remember coming down the escalator from the main street floor above and surveying the endless rows of open bin style tables with crowds of people picking through the various wares. It seemed like sheer chaos....but I jumped in....and never looked back!
The beauty of Filene’s Basement was.....you never knew what you might find.....or how much you might pay....it was the thrill of the hunt that really made you feel alive.

All of Boston’s BIG stores had basements, but none carried the magic and mystery of Filene’s Basement!

Today I present a tribute to Filene’s Basement that spans from the very early days up until the late 1970’s and the opening of other “Basement” locations in greater Massachusetts.

Some things never changed about the basement....the logo remained fairly constant for decades with only the slight alteration to announce air conditioning from the late 1930’s through to the 1960’s, the unique automatic markdown scheme reigned supreme only in the main Boston store for many, many years and the basement decor was always no frills.....just open bin selling tables and hand-printed signs. That was Filene’s Basement!

I have found many treasures to share with you on the blog today but I think Nick DeWolf’s photos are the best tribute possible!

Nick’s perfect photos create a wonderful nostalgic peek into the soul of the real Filene’s Basement...only Nick could capture the true spirit of the place and thank heavens, for all of us.....he did just that!!

I must add that I love the photo that shows the entrance from Summer Street leading down the stairs to the two basement stores and the MBTA station. The other super shot that really rings my bell is of the signage in the subway lobby area beneath Summer Street and those classic signs leading to Filene’s Basement on one side and to Jordan’s Basement Store on the other. Now isn’t that just what true Boston shopping was all about at its retro best? Choices! And, boy did we have them!!

Enjoy!!!! Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24334155@N03/

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PS....Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

Looking Back at Lechmere Sales Company....Healthy Competition Just Outside Retro Boston!!

2011-10-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

Today we visit a great store once located just outside of Boston in East Cambridge...a place that became one of the “retail hot spots” in Boston to hunt for electrical appliances, household goods, entertainment needs, sporting goods and the list goes on....I present the one and only....Lechmere Sales Company!!!

I have had many requests to look at stores, like Lechmere Sales, that were located just outside of Boston and were part of the shopping circuit we all enjoyed on those shopping trips of yesterday.

Lechmere Sales gave the big Boston department stores some very healthy competition in those retro shopping days and I can recall being taken to Lechmere’s from the late 60’s onward to purchase various items that my parents decided were better buys than those to be had in the bigger stores in Boston.

The large floor layout and rows upon rows of top-name appliances made a visit to Lechmere Sales fun and exciting. Plus....that great conveyor belt coming down from the warehouse area above was great to watch and was a bit of a centrepiece in the original 88 First Street location. I used to love to stand near it and watch all the various boxes of goods come rolling down from above. It’s amazing how easy to please children can be! Oh, yes indeed!

Another memorable feature was the music department that included a plentiful selection of records and tapes....it rivalled the famous one in Boston’s Jordan Marsh Annex during the 1960’s and 70’s.

Lechmere Sales Company began its life back in the early decades of the 20th century as a harness-making shop. The shop grew from carriage needs to auto needs and then in the 1940’s.....the addition of electrical appliances came along.....and the name was changed to Lechmere Tire and Sales Company. The word “tire” would be dropped by 1950....and most of us would fondly call the sprawling retailer located just over in East Cambridge....Lechmere’s.

The original store was located at 4 Cambridge Street and moved into 88 First Street in 1956. The First Street location, a renovated bus garage, soon grew too small and was completely modernized and extended in 1963. The larger, brighter space with loads of free parking made Lechmere Sales a very dynamic competitor in the 1960’s Boston shopping scene. Another perk was its prime location at the end of the MBTA Green Line....not bad positioning at all!

The company was founded and owned for many years by the Cohens. The Cohen family remained in sole control of the company until the late 1960’s (the Cohens were in charge of day-to-day operations until the mid-1970's) when they sold it to a larger parent company in order to fund further expansion into suburbia. The store in Cambridge was the flagship location with the Dedham store added in 1965.
The change of ownership and increased capital led to rapid growth and by 1977 they had five stores and a very loyal following in New England....the amount of print ads for Lechmere Sales at this point in time was astounding!

Lechmere’s had a few memorable catch phrases over the years such as...
“Where you pocket the difference” and “the more store” being the most used in TV, radio and print.
The logo of the antique lamp post was very endearing and was first used around 1960 and lasted well into the mid-1970’s.

As I grew up and left home, I found myself using Lechmere Sales for purchasing my major appliances and other electrical goods well into the early 1990’s. The big stores of Boston had long since given up selling large household appliances but Lechmere Sales was still there....and provided that all important factor....great selection at reasonable prices!!

Sadly, like most of our original Boston retailers, Lechmere Sales was sold too many times to various parent companies and finally ended up in the hands of Montgomery Ward in 1994. The now legendary New England chain store was never properly managed after this last sale and all locations were closed down in 1997 as part of Montgomery Ward’s own financial woes.

Let’s enjoy this look back at Lechmere’s power years from the late 1940’s into the 1970’s.

Have fun!!! Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24334155@N03/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_163309760355786&ap=1

PS....Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

Shopping Days in Retro Boston presents.....A Proposal for Today

2011-10-05T02:09:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

Today I am pleased to present a rather unique and very exciting update!
Elizabeth Fuller contacted me a while ago and thanked me for all the helpful information contained on my retro Boston blog. She also spoke of a very creative thesis project that she was about to embark on at the University of Notre Dame....a new design for the old Filene’s site in Boston.

Well, I was thrilled! I told Elizabeth that my readers would love to see her ideas and to please share them as soon as her project was completed. She said yes....and now...here it is!!

I normally focus on Boston’s rich and wonderful past....but with the downtown Boston of today in search of its identity and roots....it’s time to look at new options. Options that are creative, provocative and....AND.....in keeping with its impressive retro tapestry of the past!!!

I know that some readers will view Elizabeth’s ideas as far too extravagant, but I feel the original Burnham building deserves every penny used to preserve and develop it and the adjacent area.

Look at the expense and labor that went into bringing the 1930’s treasure, The Paramount Theater, back from its decay and disuse.

Boston needs ideas....ideas that respect and preserve its past. Elizabeth brings to the table just that philosophy...and with a touch of delightful retro style that Boston so desperately needs!

Bravo, Elizabeth!! Thank you for sharing your insight and creativity. I have no idea what you grade you received for this well conceived and artfully designed project....BUT....I give you a well earned... A+!!!!

Here are Elizabeth’s own words and renderings to present here outstanding project:

The Franklin Shops
A Department Store for Downtown Crossing
Boston, Massachusetts
Spring 2011

I chose to design the Franklin Shops Department Store for my thesis at the University of Notre Dame because it is a real project that involves an additional challenge of historic preservation on the site. I proposed a building that respects the architectural character and scale of its surroundings.

The building is located in a dense urban area of Boston's shopping district, Downtown Crossing. It is adjacent to Daniel Burnham's Filene's Department Store. I chose this location because the partially demolished urban block is where a new shopping center will be built in the future and I wanted to offer an alternative to the proposed design.

The department store revolves around a dramatic progression on the ground level: a five-story atrium off of the main entrance, a one-story central circulation space, and a three-story stairhall with a curved staircase leading to the second floor of the Burnham building.

One of the design goals of the Franklin Shops is to make it a boutique department store with much more intimacy and permanence than today's warehouse department store design. Eight floors of shopping connect on each level to the adjacent Burnham building. The building also connects on the ground level to my design for the renovation of an early 20th century mid-rise on the site. I also designed a new subway entrance for the plaza on Franklin Street.

Boston planners and developers take note.....Elizabeth Fuller wants to your complete attention...invite her to your next meeting!!!

Charles:-)

PS....Don't forget....I am still working on my Jordan Marsh memory project. Write me!!!!

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Retro Lunch at Schrafft's in Boston....Very Tasty!!

2011-09-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow "HUNGRY" Retro Boston Lovers!

A recent email from Ed got me back in my “Sherlock” mode again and I began yet another investigation into the wonderful retro past of our dear Boston.

Ed recalled fondly the delightful concept of a full day shopping plus having lunch out while “in town”. He was keen to know more about the once legendary Schrafft’s and its various locations in the Boston area. So....I took a big bite into the retro world of "Boston at lunch"...and what a “sweet” mouthful it was!

Schrafft’s, for me, will forever be a box of delicious chocolates in fancy wrappings...for those older than me....it will be the Schrafft’s Stores which contained an amazing patchwork of soda fountain, full-service restaurant , bar and a huge candy and baked goods display. The various shops came in different sizes but each contained most of the above features in some way. In Boston, Schrafft’s on West Street was the main location. The 1920’s building, designed for the company, was a gold star example of what eating out “in town” was all about!

Note the wonderful scans of the plans for the West Street shop....nothing left out!
Schrafft’s Stores became the place in Boston to rent function rooms and hold annual meetings and be looked after in style.

The company was a great Boston success story and began as a simple local candy making establishment in 1861. The company grew with the addition of new leadership and began the venture into the world of candy shops and restaurants in the early 1900’s. New York City became the place for the first few locations but Boston soon followed with two locations....one on Summer Street and the other on West.
New York City was filled with Schrafft’s locations by the late 1930’s and Boston would have further stores added as well, they included two on Boylston Street, one on Milk Street and another in Cambridge on Brattle Street. Another in Brookline would open during the next decade and that would be seven stores in total by 1950 in and around Boston!

The business boomed and eating at one of the Schrafft’s Stores in Boston was part of the “in town” experience for thousands of shoppers from the early 1900’s right up until the early 1970’s.

Schrafft’s was known as the kind of place you could see a refined old lady sipping a cocktail at one table, a group of suits lunching and talking shop at another and a gaggle of kids licking ice cream cones over at the counter....something for everyone and at prices all could afford.

It’s fun to note that all the Boston locations were shut on Sundays except the one at 356 Boylston Street in the Back Bay. Why? Back in those days the Back Bay was so full of church goers that needed lunch after all the many Back Bay churches released their crowds, that any restaurant in this area would have been foolish not to “make hay while the sun shines”!

Schrafft’s last big Boston venture was the opening of its Prudential Center branch in the mid-1960’s. The venture was costly since the Prudential Center did not really take off as planned....and like so many legends of retro Boston retailing...the 1970’s economy hit hard and business began to decline.
All the locations in Boston were closed by 1973 and the large space in the Prudential Center became The Ground Round in late 1974. New Yorkers would also see the demise of their Schrafft's restaurants & stores during this decade as well.

Please enjoy this fond look back at one of the most beloved eateries of retro Boston and thanks to Ed for making his request and sending me on a totally tasty trip back in time!!

Charles:-)

ps....A BIG THANK YOU to Jan for sending me this Schrafft's in Brooklyn
menu scan from 1931!!!! Tasty selections indeed!!!!

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Back To School in 1949 Retro Boston!!!!

2011-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!!

I really love to get emails and be asked tough questions....old Boston puzzles to solve...I feel like the Sherlock Holmes of retro Boston!

The other day I received a request from a person with a keen interest in 1949 Boston. I was asked for a general look at shopping places in Boston during this year as well as where the more "well-off" folks might have shopped. I replied that I felt a 1949 blog update formulating in the back of my mind and would love to further explore this special year in my own unique retro Boston shopping way!

But before I begin to share the various bits and pieces I uncovered during this latest sleuthing, I shall take a moment to step up on my handy soapbox and impart a few thoughts on the shopping habits of the 1940's Boston "well-off”.

Boston of 1949 had two types of “well-off” groups (more or less)....old money and new money.

The old money came in the form of long standing, deep rooted Boston families with each generation passing the family wealth forward to the next and each believing in the long sacred slogan.... “The Thrifty New Englander”. The money was carefully invested and never frittered away....well, not very often.

The new money was made by a recent generation who had not really had much family money to speak of before and thus, it was flaunted and spent more rapidly.
Having grown up in Boston, I was aware of both types from an early age.
I was neither old nor new money, that vast and over crowded place in the middle was the ocean I swam about in....so my view is based solely upon observation and delicious gossip told to me by my mother and grandmother.

The old money folks proudly shopped Boston, very loyal indeed. They used all the stores....they loved bargains because they were very thrifty and cautious in all things money. Quality was of supreme importance and items purchased should last....a very long time....fashion be damned!! It if had a trustworthy brand label sewn inside....it was always in fashion. These folks used the big department stores and all the smaller shops. Yes, certain shops did have more affluent regular customers than others. R.H. Stearns, C. Crawford Hollidge, Slattery’s, Peck and Peck and Plotkin Brothers were just a few that had “good names” for the more wealthy shoppers of Boston....but in truth....many regular folks shopped in these places with ease and pleasure. Why?
All good Boston stores had sales....and bargains could always be snapped up by just about anybody with speed, a keen eye and a bit of spare cash or credit.
The more “exclusive” shops of 1949 Boston, for lack of a better term, were often located on Tremont, Boylston or Newbury Streets and many were found dotted along the edges of the Boston Common and Public Garden. Copley Square to Kenmore Square was, for those younger blog readers, very much NOT in the shopping scope of the "well-off" and was filled manly with a huge rail yard....that would later become the Prudential Center in the 1960’s.

New money was..... “naughty”.... “wasteful” ... “extravagant” .... the old Boston born and raised used to say things like that.
They shopped via mail order, still used custom dressmakers, frequented shops that were NOT of Boston derivation such as Bonwit Teller and went off to New York, Chicago or...heaven forbid... Europe for their shopping flings...those rebels!
New money never felt loyal to the Boston stores....they may have been forced to shop them in their “poorer” days....but now they graduated to a more classy situation outside dusty, old Boston.

Those are just a few quick thoughts on the “well-off” of 1949 Boston. One who is new to Boston or too young to recall may not be aware of the way Boston looked in 1949. World War 2 was over and Boston was still very much untouched by lavish city planners. For many...that Boston was the “real” Boston and it held magic and character. Boston was not glitzy but it held thousands of places to shop and eat. Variety was the word for most streets in downtown....dusty, dark...a bit tacky....but oozing variety from every brick and beam. Downtown Boston of 1949 was still the premier place to shop for all of New England and regardless of your wallet size....Boston had a place for you to browse, buy and box your wares.
The suburban malls had yet to take off and Boston in 1949 was still the place to be.

I selected August and September of 1949 as the setting for today’s update.
Back to school shopping was almost as big as Christmas in those post-war days of 1949....everyone...in school or not...could get new clothes! The August sales gave way to the “new Fall look” sales. The big stores and numerous smaller ones all wanted you to come in and see what they had on offer....plus....many encouraged you to shop in the “cool” since the warm, late summer days were still upon us...air conditioning is not common in our homes but a much welcomed relief in the Boston shops!

In 1949, Jordan Marsh was busy building its new “super” building after having taken over the Hovey Company buildings and RH. White’s was competing with its own brand of renovations and modernizations.

The update is loaded with store ads from all over Boston.
A few 1949 treasures to note...look how many stores still sell cloth by the yard for home clothes making and also notice that Woolworth’s was very prominent in and around Boston, just look at all the locations it had!!

Also enjoy these two wonderful 1949 photos of a busy....dusty.....exciting Boston!
The photo snapped looking down Temple Place shows a great view of the way Jordan Marsh looked before the large, new section of building was completed. The huge building project had started by this time (the big 100th anniversary was looming)....but only just and the Avon Street side of Jordan Marsh still contained the old Hovey buildings and the charming, original Annex Bridge (see the pink dot) built in the 1930’s and connecting the middle of the Annex to the side of the old Main Store on floors three to five. Once the new building was completed by the mid-1950’s, the bridge would be greatly expanded and the Hovey buildings only a memory.

Enjoy this look back at 1949 Boston and please.....keep asking lots of great questions!!!

Charles:-)

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High Stepping in Retro Boston with Wilbar's

2011-08-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Retro Boston Lovers!
Happy Summer 2011!!!

Today we step....in our fancy shoes....back to a much loved women's shoe emporium that thrived in Boston from the early 1900's to 1976, Wilbar's!

Wilbar's was a Boston based chain of speciality stores that catered to women's footwear needs with skill and style. It all began in a small shop at 85 Summer Street in Boston just down the street from Jordan Marsh. The store grew and began to open other small shoe shops all around Boston and beyond. The Wilbar shoe became a symbol of quality, comfort and style.....at a reasonable price as well!

The main store moved to 455 Washington Street in 1924 and had a very stunning art deco look....check out the wonderful photo on this page!

And by 1930, the store was growing so rapidly that it moved into an even larger building at 166 Tremont Street that it maintained into the 1970's as far as I can tell. That area of Tremont Street was being completely rebuilt from the mid-1960's, but I think it carried on until the 1970's before it was vacated and demolished.

Wilbar's history is wonderful because it shows just how a small, successful company can blossom and sprout new locations in almost forty spots!
The advertisements are a record of the various Boston area locations as well as the new shopping mall craze that began sweeping the area from the 1950's onward.

The move into the "new" Prudential Shopping Plaza in the mid-1960's was the beginning of the end...the Prudential Shopping Plaza was very slow to take off and business was slow...very!
And by the early 1970's, the company began to suffer from the "too many cheap shoes made elsewhere" phenomenon and bankruptcy hit in 1976....and Wilbar's closed forever.

I want to thank my dear blog friend, Maryellen for asking me to find out more about Wilbar's....I hope today's update will bring back many memories of high stepping times shopping in good, old... Retro Boston!!

Enjoy!!!!

Please keep writing to me....I love it!!!

Charles:-)

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The Shepard Stores in Boston...A Retail Legend from 1865 to 1937

2011-06-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hello, Retro Boston Lovers!

Today, I share with you some history about that once great department store in Boston, Shepard’s! Many folks have asked me to explore Shepard’s here on the blog and so today...we find out more!

The Shepard Stores in Boston...also located in Providence, Rhode Island, was a Boston shopping scene mainstay just upstairs at Park Street Station and housed in a collection of buildings that had frontage on Tremont, Winter Street and Temple Place. The business was always a family run company and Mr. Shepard Jr. was mainly the one in charge of Boston since his father founded the original business back in a small storefront in 1865. Mr. Shepard Jr.’s two sons were very much involved with the profitable company from the 1920’s on and instrumental in establishing a very early Boston radio station in the Tremont Street building in the early 1920’s.
The business originally called, Shepard Norwell & Company, grew steadily over the years. More buildings were added to its layout until it acquired the handsome building that is still standing on Tremont Street at number 132 next to St. Paul’s Cathedral Church in 1913(the lower floors at first and then the rest by 1915). The name changed to The Shepard Stores during the 1920’s and remained that way until it closed in 1937.

This department store was a store of “stores”…..the Shepard idea was to treat each department like a small specialty shop within the larger parent store. The idea was popular and made Shepard’s a very successful and respected department store in Boston and also in Providence, R.I. The early radio station venture that would come in 1922 (and remain in place until it relocated in 1929) and a very stylish multi-leveled restaurant were some of the highlights of the store once it fully occupied the Tremont Street building by 1915.
The Shepard Stores buying up and taking over as much of its block was very reminiscent of the way Jordan Marsh Company was consuming its own neighbors just down the street during these same years.

The Shepard Stores was still very successful when it ceased operations in late 1937. Mr. Shepard Jr. was getting quite old by this point and his sons were very busy with many new radio broadcasting ventures and the running of the large store in Providence...so the Boston store was closed for good.

Filene’s came along and bought the huge stock to sell off in its basement during the early months of 1938...Raymond’s and Filene’s were both masters in the art of mopping up the aftermath of a shuttered or failed stores.

The Shepard Stores in Providence carried on until mid-1973 and then joined the growing list of long, lost department stores.

John H. Pray and Sons Furniture Store would be the next occupant of 132 Tremont Street and last until nearly 1970 in that location before vanishing into a purely suburban existence. The other “Shepard” buildings on Winter Street and Temple Place would become homes to other offices and business establishments as the years went by….I would not be surprised if R.H. Stearns did not occupy some of the Temple Place holdings for a time.

Enjoy this collection of ads, articles and photos celebrating the once great Shepard Stores in Boston!

Charles:-)

News...News...News...

The Jordan Marsh Memory Project carries on! Please contact me with any memories, photos or thoughts on this HUGE topic. Love to hear from you!!!

Today’s update is dedicated with much love to the memory of Mrs. Madden.
Mrs. Madden will always have a very special place in my heart. I will forever see her as that quiet, warm and caring person who raised six wonderful children and lived just down the street from me during a large part of my childhood. Her strength and compassion were inspiring to all who had the pleasure of knowing her.
A blessing to us all!

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Looking Back At C.F. Hovey's of Boston

2011-05-06T04:17:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

Today, I share the tale of a store that has the distinction of being the first department store in Boston.

This legendary store also had the pleasure and ultimate bad luck to share (for most of its life) the same city block as my beloved, Jordan Marsh Company.
Many an older Bostonian recalls with anger the loss of this once popular and trusted retail friend to Jordan Marsh’s growing hunger to expand, thus swallowing it slowly...bit by bit during the years 1947 to 1956.

Let us now pay a call on the historic C. F. Hovey Company of Boston...a store that even survived the great fire of Boston in 1872 with its stone building proudly standing amid the wreckage of old Summer Street.

Hovey’s was started by Boston businessman, Charles Fox Hovey in 1833. He was a wholesale dealer in dry-goods and soon went into partnership and opened a small store in the downtown area. In 1848 the store was called, C.F. Hovey and Company and soon found its way to Summer Street and a larger newly constructed premises by 1857. Mr. Hovey was an innovator and believed in profit sharing schemes for his workers and early closing hours so employees could have some quality leisure time outside of the store. He wanted to know what his workers thought and encouraged them to speak up. His death in 1859 caused great sadness in Boston and he was always remembered as that kindly, hard-headed Yankee entrepreneur with a fine store on Summer Street named after him.

The account of how a team of loyal employees back in 1872 grabbed woolen blankets from the counters inside the store, soaked them with water and then placed them all over the roof and front of the building to protect it from flying cinders is such an amazing and truly courageous event from that tragic fire that claimed so much of old, downtown Boston.

The store grew and prospered on Summer Street, expanded to several buildings of various heights and in 1914 officially became The C.F. Hovey Company...the & was dropped.

The store maintained a series of connected buildings having ample store fronts on Summer, Chauncy and Avon Streets. The buildings had a large renovation in the mid-1930’s just after the 100th anniversary celebration and the store was considered at the time to be very much “up to date” and keeping with the times in retailing trends. I love the way they call their basement...“Hovey’s Downstairs”...a touch of class!

It is interesting to note that in 1925 the Jordan Marsh Company did manage to take over Hovey’s and take complete control of all their buildings and land in a very well orchestrated move. Jordan Marsh swore at the time to keep Hovey’s a separate store and not alter its identity. This promise was kept and Hovey’s was truly its own store right up until 1947.

I must confess that I am very much a Jordan Marsh “lover and devoted fan” but this tale of Hovey’s proves that Jordan Marsh Company did have ulterior motives in the acquisition of this great old, Boston enterprise. Jordan Marsh spent many years taking over buildings one by one on the famous city block of Washington, Summer, Chauncy and Avon Streets. Jordan Marsh, like all the other larger Boston department stores, had their eyes on size and expansion. By the 1940’s, Jordan Marsh wanted to build the largest store in New England (and beyond!)and that meant…they needed to swallow all the rest of the buildings left on the block...chiefly...Hovey’s!

In early 1947, Jordan Marsh Company quietly began to break a few walls down (literally) inside the two stores and in a grand announcement in May...Hovey’s and Jordan’s were to be united as one super store with the snip of a ribbon. Hovey’s lost its independent status as Boston’s oldest department store and was absorbed into Jordan Marsh Company and that was that. Jordan Marsh moved into the newly acquired buildings and reorganized staff and merchandise. All employees were more or less retained and customer charge accounts were converted to Jordan Marsh Company ones over time. The familiar “Hovey’s” logo was used less and less as the year moved on...Jordan Marsh replaced all the exterior store signs with their own...and the store ads for the Jordan Marsh Company began to fondly refer to the “Hovey Building” as if it were just a department rather than a store. By 1948, Hovey’s no longer used their original logo in any print ads at all and the Jordan Marsh Company had begun the largest and most aggressive store building project that Boston had ever seen.

Jordan Marsh now had control of the entire city block that its main store was housed on and the large ultra modern “super store” it had been planning for years began to emerge. The first “unit” of three was begun when the former Hovey Company building on Chauncy Street and a few smaller ones were razed in late 1948.

Jordan Marsh used the remaining Hovey buildings, including the original one that bravely took on the great fire of 1872, until the second “unit” of the new super building along Summer Street was about to be built...and then in mid-1950...the wrecking ball got busy again.

All that remained of Hovey’s was a section of one of its older buildings that fronted on Avon Street. This section of building was surrounded by the new “units” one and two of Jordan Marsh on two sides and a section of the older Jordan Marsh main building. Though now chopped in half (it used to go completely through from Summer to Avon Street with store frontage on both) and connected to Jordan Marsh in various ways...it was still known as...“The Hovey Building” in the press and by all the employees at the time. Stories were told of how it used to vibrate and wobble because of all the heavy construction going on all around it...and under it! A complaint about its safety was even lodged in the mid-50s. The customer who complained was told not to worry...it was due to be knocked down in 1956 to make way for “unit” three of the new “super” building! And it was.

So, Hovey’s thrived in Boston from 1833 to 1947. Another interesting note...early ads place the date of the store founding in 1841...then in the late 1920’s...it suddenly became 1833. Possibly records of Charles Fox Hovey’s early career came to light and moved the date earlier...or maybe celebrating the BIG 100th before any other Boston stores did was behind this change of date. I can only conjecture...who knows?

But Hovey’s was here. It played the retail game well and made a name for itself.
As time goes by, all the names fade and we begin to forget that where Macy’s now sits used to be a place called Jordan Marsh Company...and inside the belly of that formidable whale sits not Jonah...but the C.F. Hovey Company.

So, if you are in Boston and walk by the 1949-1951 building(units one and two) of Macy’s down along Summer to Chauncy Street...Well, you are standing where the oldest department store in Boston once stood! Neat fact! Tell a friend!

Enjoy!! Charles:-)

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The Man Behind Unkle Eph...A Raymond's Department Store of Boston Legend

2011-04-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!!!

It is always my pleasure and utter joy to be contacted by readers of the blog who want to share their personal stories, memories and connections to the wonderful stores of Boston’s rich, creative and diverse past.

Raymond’s Department Store will forever remain the most outlandish and unique of all the Boston stores of yesteryear. I have had so many emails and comments about this store and am thrilled to present a look behind the myths and memories of this great Boston legend.

Unkle Eph became the living icon for Raymond’s and there was a time in Boston when this figure was known and celebrated...sadly, today...Raymond’s is becoming hazier in our recollections and Unkle Eph is even foggier.

Enter David Little.
He is the grandson of the real Unkle Eph and his mother wrote a research paper during time spent at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill back in 1962 about her father and his intimate connection to Unkle Eph.

I present the paper here pretty much in its entirety but have not used the type written letters and attempted to locate the newspaper clippings instead as this was something Agnes Little wanted to do in 1962 but could not in those pre-internet days of old.

David not only shared the paper of his mother’s but also some wonderful photos, too.
I have put together a salute to Unkle Eph and used articles and ads from the 1920’s to 1940’s. Unkle Eph was played by others after the original stepped down, I have found a bit about one gentleman who took on the tradition in the 1960’s.
I have also tossed in a great photo of Unkle Eph and Frank Dorr in an open carriage during an early Unkle Eph Day in the 1930’s. These celebration days when Unkle Eph, Ant Mary and the rest of the gang would come to town...well, it was a unique parade with much whim and fancy for the hundreds of spectators that lined Washington Street.

Boston with its prim and proper reputation…famous for stores with that elegant, refined look such as R.H. Stearn’s...Beacon Hill society attending symphony on weekday afternoons...institutions of higher education on every street corner. Boston high brow and stiff lipped.

And yet, corny Unkle Eph spoke and Boston listened. His spelling was outrageous but his messages were clear. Not only did he speak of the store and its values…he spoke from the heart.

A great example of this was in the late 1920’s when Unkle Eph spoke of the need to close all retail stores on November 11th and think about the true meaning of Armistice Day. This outspoken position was saluted and valued by thousands of servicemen and their families. An Armistice Day letter from Unkle Eph would become a regular feature in the Boston press for years to come.

Today it may all seem very silly to those who are young. And yes, Raymond’s did have its critics who found it all “too, shabby”, but Unkle Eph was a magnet and served Raymond’s very well.

And the minister behind the character also got a chance to speak out and touch all those who read his words. I cannot think of a more wonderful tale in all the chronicles of Boston retailing history as this story presented here by Agnes Little.
I say....where are the Frank Dorr’s and Harvey Eastman’s of Boston today??
Boston needs spirit in the downtown area...who will inspire a new wave of creativity today?

The job is still open. Any takers?

*******

A COLLECTION OF UNKLE EPH LETTERS

This collection of letters is from a series of letters published as part of their advertising by Raymond's Department Store in Boston, Massachusetts from 1919 until the late forties. They were written by my father, Harvey M. Eastman.

This store had been started by George J. Raymond in 1870. At first, the business was conducted in a tent situated on a vacant lot. Here, Mr. Raymond sold hats by the hundreds of thousands. He later moved to a store on Washington Street and added other lines of merchandise to his hats. One slogan still used by the store came from this early venture. It is "Where you bot the hat." Mr. Raymond had unusual and original ideas of merchandising. He wanted to sell quality goods at the lowest possible price for cash. All advertising must be truthful and the customer was always right.
Much of the stock for the store was purchased from stores going out of business or from stores which were overstocked. The name of the store from which the stock came was usually mentioned when it was advertised. If for some reason the store name could not be used, the ads would say “You can see where we got the stuff when you read the tags." A common practice was to leave the original tags on and sell everything at half price.

Many stories are told about Mr. Raymond's original methods of selling. One told by an associate follows:
“Sometimes he surely did scandalize the highbrows. Once, I remember, he bought a whole lot of those useful household articles politely known as chambers. As a matter of fact, he got a whole carload of them, all family size. Even though it was in the days when bathrooms were not very numerous, for some reason or other, the public didn't rush to buy them. So, after waiting what he thought was a reasonable time, he had one of the store windows piled full of them. There were big price cards reading `2 cents, no wrapping." In a short time, Washington Street was full of them and his window display got many a laugh and advertised the store, besides moving a lot of chambers."

Mr. Frank I. Dorr joined the staff of the store in 1895. Soon after Mr. Raymond's death in 1915, Mr. Dorr purchased control of the store. Mr. Dorr continued the policies of Mr. Raymond and added a few ideas of his own. They are best expressed in the Raymond's Code of Honor, which was painted on the walls of the Men's Department and used often in advertising.

The notice follows:

Only A Store

Where all the people can buy merchandise, that's all. Merely a store, not a lottery, BUT A STORE, the results of years of hard work catering to the interests of the people. NO STAMPS, no tinsel shows, no catchpenny schemes of any nature, NO BAD CHARGE ACCOUNTS (for you to pay for), NO FANCY FIXTURES, NO Expensive Delivery Systems, no P.M.'s to clerks to force you to buy unusable merchandise, no Turn-over men so you can't get out with a whole suit if you don't buy, no Fancy Expressions, no Hired Brains to write mushy, slushy advertising, no High Salaried Wallflowers - - NOTHING TO PAY FOR BUT THE GOODS YOU BUY - - on the Express Condition that YOU'RE THE BOSS and MUST be satisfied or Get Your Money Back quickernlitenin.
Yours truly,
RAYMOND'S

In 1919, my father ordered an overcoat from the store. It was advertised to be a revolting color, but of such good material it would wear until you were sick of it. If you thought you could stand the color, you were invited to come and "lugemoff” at ten dollars apiece. My father was so delighted with his coat he wrote to the owner of the store saying the color certainly was horrible, but the material was all the store had advertised it to be. He included an order for two more coats for friends. The letter was written in a combination of fractured grammar and backwoods spelling. Soon there was a request from Mr. Dorr to use the letter in the Raymond's advertising. This request was granted and other letters followed.

After a while, Mr. Dorr wrote my father that he would double any salary he might be getting if he would come to work full-time on advertising for the store. My father replied that he was a Congregational minister and was unable to accept the offer. Mr. Dorr's answer to this letter was that he didn't believe my father could be a minister. He said he didn't care much for preachers, but that maybe if he had known some like my father, he might have liked them better. One day when he was in Boston on ministerial business, my father appeared at the store in his 'preaching clothes" and convinced Mr. Dorr of his profession.

This beginning of the Unkle Eph is based on stories I heard my father tell. Eph is pronounced 'eef". It is short for Ephraim, a common old New England name. Why it was used here, I never heard.

Because the Boston papers in which the letters appeared are not available in this section of the country, this is a random and incomplete collection from the scattered letters saved in my father's scrapbook. Unfortunately, few of the letters are dated, The letters may be divided roughly into three categories. There are letters about the policies of the store. There are letters about current issues of the day. The largest number of letters recount the happenings in a mythological town. The town was called Toonerville for over thirteen years. The name was then changed to Smugginsville after a protest from Fontaine Fox, creator of the Toonerville Trolley cartoon, that he had been using the name longer that Raymond's, and was the creator of it.

A group of village characters was developed through the letters. These included Eph's wife, Ant Mary; Mr. and Mrs. Si Toiler; Algy Perkins, the city farmer; Ez Donlin; Mis Baskum, who was over three hundred; and Bat Conner, the village drunkard.
So much interest was created in Unkle Eph and his village friends that in 1926 Mr. Dorr decided to have them visit the store in person and hold a gigantic sale while they were there. This first Unkle Eph Day was such a success, that it became a semi-annual event until 1942. The village characters were all dressed in costume and made up in character. The celebration included an early-morning parade through the downtown Boston streets, complete with a hayrick drawn by oxen, village cops, and a band. The Toonerville inhabitants spent the day at the store greeting their friends. My father was, for all these years, Unkle Eph at these celebrations.

The advertising for Unkle Eph days was always extensive. Often, it was a separate section of the Boston papers set up to look like a different newspaper. This section would be entitled 'The Toonerville Trumpet - It Blows Its Own Horn.' Occasionally, The Trumpet would be completely separate from the newspapers. On one such occasion, several thousand copies were sold for a cent apiece by the regular newsboys. It was done as a stunt, but it is probably the only time a store sold its own advertising.
The employees of Raymond's, the people in the town of Slatersville, Rhode Island, where my father preached, and family friends knew that my father and Unkle Eph were the same person. However, the fact was not published and the usual assumption was that the letters were the creation of either Mr. Dorr or of an advertising agent. In 1934 a book about Raymond's was published. It was `Hayseed and Sawdust, The Story of Raymond's, Where U Bot The Hat' by Frank I. Dorr. This book was largely ghost-written by my father. This book never says that Mr. Dorr is Unkle Eph, but when one Boston paper reviewed the book, the headline read, 'Unkle Eph Finally Tells His Story.' It was not until the early forties that Unkle Eph was identified by name as a Rhode Island minister in the Boston papers.

My father never compiled a glossary to guide himself in the spelling or words he used in the letters. He just sat down and wrote the letters. Apparently the letters were not edited before they were published. There are many inconsistencies in the spelling of the same word. Uncle and Unkle are used interchangeably, sometimes in the same letter.

By Agnes Little (1962)

Thank you, David!! Long live innovation and the spirit to be UNIQUE!

Charles:-)

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E.T. Slattery's...a retro Boston legend from 1867 until 1957

2011-03-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Fans!

Today I present a closer look at yet another one of Boston’s many fine women’s specialty stores, E.T. Slattery’s.
I am pleased to share a collection of photos, articles and advertisements that span much of this very beloved store’s history.

E. T. Slattery’s story is pretty amazing. One of the few Boston stores founded by a woman...Ms. Ellen T. back in the year 1867. She began her modest but fashionable shop on Hayward Place, more growth and a move to 631 Tremont, on to Boylston Street for a few years, another relocation to 84 Beacon Street and finally to 156 Tremont Street in 1901. By the 1930’s, Slattery’s took up three entire adjoining buildings overlooking Boston Common. For generations of Boston women, E.T. Slattery’s was the place for fashion and accessories plus a healthy selection of children’s clothing and an assortment of men’s furnishings as well! Slattery’s in Boston had grown into a large store with a very classy reputation indeed!

Mr. P. A. O’ Connell was the store general manager and president from 1908 onward. A man with ideas and drive that continued the steady growth of the business and introduced branch expansion...a new concept back then! Slattery’s was one of the early Boston based stores to look to the nearby suburbs to further serve their loyal shoppers. Slattery’s opened its first branch in Wellesley, Ma. in the early 1920’s and then another in Brookline in April of 1927. A perfect spot...the street floor of Coolidge Corner’s new Pelham Hall! Slattery’s in Pelham Hall was an eye catcher for the shoppers of Brookline with its prime corner location and large windows showing off the latest fashions.

The Brookline location was given a make-over in 1940 which expanded the shop into the lower level as well as creating new lighting methods to display the merchandise. The Wellesley branch moved from Washington Street to Central Street in 1940 and unveiled a new, larger store to serve the eager customers.

E.T Slattery’s had success and fame by the 1940’s and all signs pointed to a long, healthy retail life. One of my favorite Slattery’s traditions was, “The Ball and Chain Club.” This exclusive club was opened at Christmas time each year for those worried men who just needed some extra guidance in shopping for their wives and lady friends. It was a huge hit...with very memorable press ads as well!

The 1950’s was not kind to Slattery’s. Boston was losing its retailing life blood to suburban malls. Brookline was becoming too expensive and also lacked decent public parking areas. In a measure to save the store from closure, Brookline was shut in January of 1957, leaving the once elegant space to become a foreign car dealership for the next several decades. Slattery’s mission was to focus on the Boston location and the Wellesley branch for the future...a short future. R. H. White’s and Slattery’s both ended their long runs in June of 1957. White’s to move out of Boston and Slattery’s to close up completely.

Tremont Street now had three prime buildings sitting vacant and another was soon to join them.

Filene’s came to the bankruptcy auction and bought all the remaining stock to sell off in their famous basement.

C. Crawford Hollidge and Gilchrist’s both published advertisements proclaiming the tragic loss to Boston’s women and urged them to drown their sorrows at their stores. Each promised to support and nurture the newly abandoned female consumers of the city...fear not...retail therapy was there to help:-)

Once Coleman’s Boston store (right next to Slattery’s) was closed, not long after Slattery’s, four building sat aging and empty...all facing the scenic Boston Common. Money was to be made in demolishing these once proud buildings and creating something new and “exciting” for Boston...enter the dreamers with a wrecking ball.

For your consideration and possible dismay, I present articles and images in this update that show the rise of “Tremont on the Common” from 1961 until it was completed several years later.

By 1963, the permission to demolish was granted and the last of Slattery’s Boston location and Coleman’s vanished into dust.

When I was growing up, my mother would recall Slattery’s fondly. She would walk past the big windows of the car dealership in Pelham Hall and speak of a very fancy shop that was once located there.

She had trouble recalling just where Slattery’s used to be in Boston along Tremont Street...“It’s all so different now!” she used to say.
And she was right...Tremont Street had a whole new look...out with the smaller, unique buildings…in with the big, block long structures.

Enjoy this look back at E.T Slattery’s from the 1920’s until it closed in 1957...with an additional bonus of the aftermath of the development of the Tremont Street site it once occupied.

Charles:-)

PS...Please feel free to contact me about the Jordan Marsh Memory Project! I would love to include your memories and scans in the collection!! So....Join in!!!

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Spring Shopping Trip In Retro Boston During March, 1941

2011-03-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

Today we stroll back to a spring shopping trip in Boston during the month of March, 1941.

War was raging across the Atlantic and Pearl Harbor was still some months away.
The Cocoanut Grove tragedy had not yet scared the city.
Boston went about her business in this pre-war calm.
Boston still had a West End teaming with life.
Scollay Square still had a reputation.
Boston had yet to be redeveloped by the experts.
Boston was rough, frayed on the edges, and very much alive!

The Boston of 1941 was packed with stores and shops… the choices seemed endless.
Vacant shop fronts were very rare…the 1940’s merchants still held downtown Boston as fertile ground.

The big department stores were thriving and beginning to look to the suburbs for further growth opportunities. Boston still even had the wonderful department store, C.F. Hovey’s in 1941. Although owned by the Jordan Marsh Company since 1925, Hovey’s was still a separate store with a very loyal customer base and a fine reputation for quality goods and services.
Hovey’s was located in a collection of well worn buildings where the three new buildings (begun in 1949 and finally completed in 1957) of the former Jordan Marsh Company are now located.

You will also note that the Boston branch of Bond's in 1941 was located on the corner of Washington Street and Essex...just beyond R.H. White's. They would later move to Summer Street just beyond Kennedy's.

For a bit of flavor, I have added a look at a few smaller stores as well as what Gilchrist’s had as lunch specials in both the Marble Spa and basement lunch counter. I just love the Gilchrist Company signature logo of the early 40’s...so stylish!

Also take a look at what was playing on the screens and stages of Boston’s many fabulous theatres during mid- March of 1941. In these early days of the 1940’s, all the live venues as well as the cinemas seemed to have bookings week after week. Nights out offered countless options.

These were the days when my mother and father were young and found Boston to be a place so vibrant and colorful...it captured their imaginations and each loved to be taken round the many stores and shops as a Saturday treat!

Browsing more than buying...saving up for the occasional, special treat...cutting out the many newspaper adverts, wishing and planning how to spend your very tiny allowance.

Yes, 1941 was a simpler time...and downtown Boston was a playground to be explored with pleasures a plenty!

Enjoy...Charles:-)

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Conrad & Chandler's: The Story of a 1958 Retro Boston Merger

2011-03-03T03:19:00.000-08:00

Hello, Retro Boston Lovers!

As many of my readers fondly recall, Boylston, Tremont and Washington Streets plus many of the smaller connecting streets were blooming with a host of smaller specialty shops to cater to the whims and fancies of the retro Boston shopper.

The big department stores worked very hard to meet all the needs of the average shopper but many folks loved to be looked after in slightly less “busy” surroundings. I think anyone born in the last twenty years in Boston can not possibly understand or imagine the fact that one could start a shopping spree at 10 AM in Boston and be exhausted, bag laden and have visited countless shops by 4 PM.

The stores in Boston, like most cities, came in four sizes…small, average, large and very large.
The very large stores like Filene’s, Jordan Marsh, Gilchrist’s, Raymond’s and RH. White’s carried vast amounts of stock and had departments upon departments.

The large stores like C. Crawford Hollidge and Conrad & Chandler’s were shops that specialized in outfitting women of all ages plus had other departments thrown in for good measure.

Today we shall focus on Conrad & Chandler’s and how they came to be one united store in 1958.

Conrad’s on Winter Street and Chandler and Company on Tremont Street each had a strong client base and had long histories dating well back into the 1800’s. Both stores grew larger and added on departments such as infant and toddler goods, a small selection of men’s apparel, beauty salons, and some children’s toys and clothing. A woman could have her complete wardrobe provided by either shop and also do a great deal of her family Christmas shopping there as well with ease.

Conrad’s became known as… “That distinctive store on Winter Street.” A slogan that would be carried into the merger in 1958.

Both had impressive buildings. Chandler’s on the corner of Tremont and West Street was by far the larger of the two. It had eleven floors and its location facing Boston Common put it in the class of RH. Stearns and C. Crawford Hollidge’s. History and accessibility made both stores survivors of the Boston retail scene and by the 1950’s, Chandler’s had a branch store in Belmont proving financial viability.

The shocking closure of two of Boston’s well known stores, White’s and Slattery’s in the summer of 1957 gave Boston retailers a chance to look at some bleak facts.

Boston was not the magnet for shoppers that is used to be, keeping up with the times was crucial and investing in suburban branches was a race that needed to be won!

The two store heads looked at the situation and decided on a course of action.
Merge and grow stronger…no more competing against one another…unite and go from strength to strength. They selected Winter Street as place to retain and merge their stores. The beautiful building on the corner of West and Tremont Streets was to be sold and converted to mainly offices. The branch in Belmont would carry on christened with the new name…Conrad & Chandler’s. The announcement of the merger came in late 1957 just as the Christmas shopping frenzy began. By January 1958, both stores were united on Winter Street with a sign above the doors proclaiming this new partnership.

Also in the works by this point was a new branch in the North Shore Shopping Plaza in Peabody. The merger was providing the much needed capital to back this suburban expansion that each on their own might not have been quite able to manage.
Boston had a new, stronger store and 1958 shoppers seemed to be pleased with the news.

The store would carry on and expand further into the suburbs over the next decade before things began to slide downward.

Today we are celebrating the merger…enjoy the look of the ads and articles before, during and after the merger. I also include a look at the former Chandler and Company building on the corner of Tremont and West Streets. The handsome building still stands today and is part of Suffolk University.

More information on Conrad & Chandler’s can be found at:

http://shoppingdaysinretroboston.blogspot.com/2010/08/look-at-some-smaller-shops-in-retro.html

Enjoy!!

Charles:-)

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Getting To Know Timothy Smith's of Retro Roxbury

2011-02-17T04:04:00.000-08:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!

I so enjoy maintaining this blog for many reasons. Two reasons come to my mind instantly.
First, I am thrilled to have met so many wonderful people who have a passion for Boston’s retro past and vivid memories to share so that the pages of the blog can come to life.

Second, I love learning more and more about Boston’s rich, colorful past and finding out about places that now only survive in photos, ads and happy reminiscences.

A new blog reader and friend from Facebook made a request…as many readers do and for which I am always thankful…since that is how I discover more about the wonderful places that Bostonians used to shop away the hours. She spoke of a store I had never heard of and said her mother was very fond of it…way back when. My inner investigator jumped to life and I began to search high and low for details on this mystery store of retro Boston. Soon a history began to unfold and with it, a tale of a legendary department store stepped out from the shadows for me to share with all of you.

I dedicate this update to my new reader and Facebook friend who pointed me in this direction. I love new directions and oh, they are so worth the trip!

Today we wander up Washington Street…or take the old “el”…the once famous elevated “Orange Line” to Dudley Station and visit the Timothy Smith Company.

The Timothy Smith Company was a department store located in Roxbury and was housed in a three building block on the corner of Washington and Vernon Streets. The store was founded in 1862 by a young retailer named, Timothy Smith and began in just a small section of the handsome building block. By the early 1900’s, the store had grown to fill the entire three buildings completely. The store had grown into a vibrant retailing feature of early 20th century Boston.

The Timothy Smith Company was very successful and was active in the Boston retailing scene for almost one hundred years. Ads proclaimed it a “complete” suburban department store with plenty of ample parking on site, extra nights open later for the working folks and the very accessible public transit system right on the doorstep.
It would seem that Timothy Smith’s was one of the first complete department stores to be located just outside of Boston and placed itself up there with Jordan Marsh, Houghton & Dutton and Filene’s. The print ads shouted out about extra value, fair prices and plenty of stamps and coupons to be used towards purchases. The store may have been slightly “suburban” but it was close enough to be a competitor to the big names of downtown Boston.

Timothy Smith’s was a main feature of the Dudley Square shopping area in Roxbury and a great source of pride and healthy commerce. The store weathered the Great Depression and remained strong through the 1930’s but the changing habits of shoppers being drawn further away to places even more suburban eroded the business in the early 1950’s. The store seems to have ceased operations by 1953 and the famous, century old structure became smaller shops and warehouse space.

The fate of downtown department stores reached out and claimed yet another victim.
Roxbury lost a legendary store and the area cried out for business ventures to come and take up the many vacant storefronts along Washington and Dudley Streets.

Sadly, the historic retail block survived only until 2002 when a huge fire swept away the last of the Timothy Smith Company’s physical traces.

What lives on today?
Timothy Smith loved Roxbury and in his will (of 1918) he left a great deal of money to be used by “Old Roxbury” to benefit the highest number of residents. The money (The Timothy Smith Fund) is still being used for good and has funded some exciting projects around “Old Roxbury”. Plus many folks still lovingly recall shopping in the north, south and center buildings of a wonderful place called, Timothy Smith’s!

Enjoy this look back and many thanks to my new friend for showing me the way to Dudley Square!

Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

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PS....The Jordan Marsh Memory Project!!!!!!

Here is what I said about it on my Facebook page:

This blog has been so popular and generated much discussion around many of the stores of the past but one store really has become a true legend. Filene’s has many fans that are true to its dear memory….but The Jordan Marsh Company seems to have a wonderful nostalgic aura that surpasses all the others for so many Bostonians. For this reason, I have decided to begin a very special project dedicated just to The Jordan Marsh Company and a key part of this project will be the gathering of as many memories from the public who loved to shop there over the many years it ruled the Boston shopping scene.

The Jordan Marsh Memory Project could become a book or booklet of some type in the future…at this point I am just gathering all the information and research materials I can find about this great store of Boston’s past. I encourage anyone who would like to participate in the project to write to me at:

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

R. H. White’s Turns 100…It’s 1953 in Retro Boston!

2011-02-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

Hello, Retro Boston Fans!

All the Boston stores loved to have BIG celebrations to honor or mark their humble beginnings. Birthdays, Founder’s Days, Anniversaries…you name it…the big stores of retro Boston celebrated and the public came to enjoy the spectacle each provided. Remember that all the big stores tried to outdo one another with each year’s festivities…so the new celebrations had to be bigger and better than the year before. Much money and creativity was poured into these events and they were very memorable indeed! Newspapers featured them all and gave that VERY welcome publicity.

Today we slip back to 1953 and have a look at how legendary R. H. White’s celebrated its 100th year in Boston.

R. H. White’s was a leader in the Boston retail scene and had a very loyal following. So in 1953, all the stops were pulled out and White’s put on a year of events to mark their BIG 100th anniversary.

The store was given a make-over of sorts both in and out. The old electric sign on Washington Street with a clock (used for many years) was removed and soon replaced with a more modern looking store signature sign. The outer lower walls were given a brick over in white and the store boasted of wider aisles, escalators from the first to sixth floors and bright fluorescent lighting on every sales floor. White’s was old in Boston retailing tradition…but modern and ready for the changing market place of the 1950’s.

A Patriot’s Day Parade was held in honor of their 100th year and many store window displays were featured throughout the year as a way of marking this very special occasion. The most famous window display of the year was done in February 1953 and recreated shops of 1853 Boston all along the Washington Street side of the store. Each window became a shop of old and had frames built outside that looked as if the store was sitting right in front of the viewer.

The new “W” logo was introduced this year and replaced the standard logo that had been in use for many years. The new “W” logo was also introduced into the popular Christmas slogan, “Make it a White Christmas!” I just love that!!!

The store was excited and eager to expand into suburbia and the Lincoln Shopping Center location was due to open in the near future as well as a modern, new distribution facility.

In 1953, no hint of what was to come in 1957 was in the air. R. H. White’s was moving ahead and the Boston store was their flagship and their main focus. White’s management was very vocal during these early years of the 1950’s about wanting to limit traffic in downtown Boston and encourage patrons to use the public transport systems to shop rather than use the family car. BUT even White’s would bend a bit by vacating a warehouse building it used nearby so that it could be razed for a public parking garage…anything to save downtown Boston from losing those precious customers.

White’s was trying desperately to keep patrons flowing down to their end of Washington Street and the use of their store windows as a “lure” became crucial for survival. The 1953 anniversary did achieve many onlookers who did stop in to shop and for the next few years White’s would carry on.

So enjoy this 1953 celebration and raise a glass to R. H. White’s and 100 years of shopping delights!

Charles:-)

FYI...If you want more information on R. H. White's history, visit this earlier blog update:

http://shoppingdaysinretroboston.blogspot.com/2009/03/rh-white-companyanother-giant-of-old.html

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

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PS....The Jordan Marsh Memory Project!!!!!!

Here is what I said about it on my Facebook page:

This blog has been so popular and generated much discussion around many of the stores of the past but one store really has become a true legend. Filene’s has many fans that are true to its dear memory….but The Jordan Marsh Company seems to have a wonderful nostalgic aura that surpasses all the others for so many Bostonians. For this reason, I have decided to begin a very special project dedicated just to The Jordan Marsh Company and a key part of this project will be the gathering of as many memories from the public who loved to shop there over the many years it ruled the Boston shopping scene.

The Jordan Marsh Memory Project could become a book or booklet of some type in the future…at this point I am just gathering all the information and research materials I can find about this great store of Boston’s past. I encourage anyone who would like to participate in the project to write to me at:

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

Valentine's Day 1960: Retro Boston Feels The LOVE!!

2011-01-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

Hello, My Fellow Retro Boston Lovers!!

Valentine's Day has had a special place in the US retailing scene for many years now.
Today we take a trip back to February 1960 and enjoy what Boston department stores had to offer those who wanted to share in the "love" and give a gift that said those three magic words...cash or charge....NO.....I Love You!!!:-)

Filene's was the winner of 1960 advertising space devoted to gifts for both "him" and "her" set around the Valentine's Day theme. Filene's was also very creative in the way that they dressed up their lower-case "f" logo and gave it Cupid's outfit...very sweet indeed!

The gifts on offer were jewels, perfume, clothing, china...and men's boxer shorts with lovesick characters depicted on them. Much to charm your sweetheart with!!

But I love practical Gilchrist's approach...Custom-made slipcovers!! Yes, note the happy couple enjoying the look and feel of those slipcovers...who knew they were so romantic??
Gilchrist's did, of course!!

Enjoy....Charles:-)

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PS....I feel the love, too!!!! Thank you all for visiting this blog so often and for your wonderful support over the last three years!!! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

The R.H. Stearns Company: Prim and Proper Boston Retro Shopping

2011-01-25T05:48:00.000-08:00

Hello, Retro Boston Lovers!

Gilchrist’s had crisp style and smooth layout!
Jordan Marsh had scope and size!
Raymond’s had Unkle Eph!
Filene’s had a world famous basement!

But R. H. Stearns had class and simplicity.

R.H. Stearns was founded in 1847 by Richard H. Stearns. Like many of our Boston stores, it grew and became a name known for quality goods. The company expanded and took over the old Masonic Temple on the corner of Tremont Street and Temple Place in 1886. The wonderful old temple and former US court house was renovated and became the new home of the R.H. Stearns Company Store. By the turn of the century, this building was becoming too small and in 1909 a new, larger building was erected on the same spot. This wonderful building still stands today although no longer the home of R.H. Stearns but remains a proud reminder of the rich history that brought it into being over 100 year ago.
R. H. Stearns was never trendy. You did not go hunting for bargains there…its basement never had sale bins like the other large Boston department stores did. Oh, no!!
Stearns was prim and very proper…no frills and no gimmicks allowed!
Stearns maintained a very loyal shopping clientele and they were very much, by the 1960’s, older ladies of the city and local Boston suburbs. Changing times did not change Stearns…well, not until 1975 with a new owner and some very modern ideas. Sadly, even with all this new identity and five modern branches by 1970, the store folded by 1978. Boston lost its “grand” store…the last really old style Boston store left…and with it died the vision of the “little old lady from Beacon Hill” image.

R.H. Stearns was well known for women’s clothing and accessories. It also carried men’s accessories as well as clothing for infants and young children. The items for the home were fine linens, bedding, china, silver and crystal…no vacuums here! Toys were also of the better quality…lots of wooden items crafted by hand. The motto of “less is more” comes to mind as I think back on my visits to both the flagship store on Tremont Street and the first branch located in Chestnut Hill. They had a way of showing off fewer goods and making them look very desirable and classy!

I have had so many requests from blog readers to do an R.H. Stearns update thus proving the love the city had for this legend of Boston retailing.
I have tried to include the various high points of the company as well as the first three branch openings that took place in 1950, 1962 and 1968. I also found out that the company opened a little children’s specialty shop in Newtown Center in the 1920’s and that remained open until it merged into the new store in Chestnut Hill in 1952.

As a treat, I have added a few building permits to this update. In 1946, the store changed the revolving door arrangement to reflect fire safety changes brought about by the tragic Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942. I also managed to locate a 1978 permit to convert the building into 140 apartment units. I believe it was the first of many and the actual conversion was done a few years later.

Please enjoy this fond look back on this dear, Boston legend. This store that still remains in our midst and frames a vision of times lost but not forgotten!

Charles:-)

PS……
The Jordan Marsh Memory Project

Here is what I said about it on my Facebook page:

This blog has been so popular and generated much discussion around many of the stores of the past but one store really has become a true legend. Filene’s has many fans that are true to its dear memory….but The Jordan Marsh Company seems to have a wonderful nostalgic aura that surpasses all the others for so many Bostonians. For this reason, I have decided to begin a very special project dedicated just to The Jordan Marsh Company and a key part of this project will be the gathering of as many memories from the public who loved to shop there over the many years it ruled the Boston shopping scene.

The Jordan Marsh Memory Project could become a book or booklet of some type in the future…at this point I am just gathering all the information and research materials I can find about this great store of Boston’s past. I encourage anyone who would like to participate in the project to write to me at:

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

Charles……………