The Last of the Boston Giants

Thanks again to Nick DeWolf and his camera. These photos of Filene's are mostly from 1970 and act as a great reminder of what the store was like on the main floor and in that world famous basement. One photo is from 1958 and it shows the street just outside one of the main doors. 

I look at these photos and I am still in shock that this place is no more. It joins all my other stores on this blog and becomes a place to visit only in our memories.

Enjoy these and thanks again to the family of Nick DeWolf.

Charles:-)

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

A Dedication

Hello Friends! It has been a while since I updated and I felt a great inspiration this past week.

The inspiration was my dear, old best friend from my hometown of Brookline....one who has known me longer than anyone living or I am in touch with now at this point in my life. Mike....Thank You!!!!

Mike contacted me via one of those high school reunion sites and we have been emailing and chatting by phone again. It's wonderful and we have so much fun remembering Boston and Brookline together! Mike is still based in the Boston area and is just as hooked on "old" Boston places as I am. He took time this week to go and do some key research for me and has sent me all I asked for.  AND is enjoying it soooo much.....he will do it again:-) WOW!! 

So Mike, this update is for you!

These ads are from local papers in the areas around Boston but give a good feel for the type of goods on offer in the 1960's in Woolworth's and WT Grant's. Now I learned that WT Grant's in some locations sold large appliances. I had no idea! The Grant's in Boston did not, at least not big ones when I went in in the late 60's- early 70's.

Let me know what you think!!!  Charles..........

charles65ofboston@yahoo.com

Lots of Interest

I am pleased to say that folks are responding and contacting me with some great ideas and questions about the great old Boston department stores we all loved or at least heard about:-)

Two photos today of Woolworth's in Boston. Some questions have come up about locations of Woolworth's before the BIG new store of 1970.

This was a pre-1970 location along Washington Street right next to the Annex of Jordan Marsh.

This shot was done from West St. and is just below the corner of the former Avon Street that ran between the Main Store and the Annex of Jordan Marsh Company.

I do not recall this location as a child. I think this must have closed early to mid- 60's.

Jordan Marsh filled out these side stores in the 1960's and they became part of the large Annex Building. A posting on this blog of a few days ago shows this location as shot by Nick DeWolf in 1970.

In that photo you can see the Jordan Marsh sign covering over where the Woolworth's sign would have been located.

Enjoy and keep asking!!!!!!!!

Charles..............................

Boston Department Store Ads From The Past

Here are a few Boston store ads that I have found or have been given.

I would love to put more of these up on the blog.

Any other exciting finds out there to post would be SO WONDERFUL!!!

Enjoy!!!

Charles.......................

Looking At A Photograph

A bit of fun! I came upon this photo some time ago and wanted to post it.

The Bostonian Society has this in its archive and has said it is a photo of Washington Street.

I am very sure it is not! The photo was taken in the early 1950's on the corner of Bedford and Chauncy Streets. This photo shows the Bristol Building of Jordan Marsh and the rear of the Annex. You are looking up towards Washington Street and at the rear entrance of RH White's.

You can see RH White's flag(celebrating the 100th birthday) up near the top of the photo.

Note the 1928 ward map and see the way I have marked it with blue. This shows the Jordan Marsh complex of buildings and the "X" marks the spot of the photographer's shot.

During the time my grandmother worked for Jordan Marsh(1920's to 1950's), the various Jordan Marsh buildings were called by the names Bristol, Hovey, Main and Annex by both the shoppers and workers alike. Each building being known for the specific range of items it sold.

The use of the Bristol Building decreased with 1949 wing which replaced all of the old Hovey Buildings along Summer and Chauncy Streets.

All of the buildings were connected by tunnels and there was also a sky bridge over Avon Street connecting the 1949 wing to the Annex Building.

By my time in the late 60's, the Bristol Building was still there but used for extra office space by Jordan Marsh. I think...and I may be wrong...but the photo I posted today of the rear of the Annex was where the book department was....I think. Am I right???

Let me know:-)

Charles.............................

An Hour In the Boston W.T. Grant Store

Nick DeWolf spent a quality hour doing some great photos of Christmas shoppers in Grant’s back in December 1970. Grant’s had a long history on Washington Street and it was one of the shops my family had been visiting for years as part of a routine shopping trip into Boston.
Grant’s began operating shops of the five and dime variety back in 1906 and carried on all over the US in most cities until 1975 when it failed.
Grant’s in Boston had always done well but by the early 1970’s the effect of suburban shopping malls and the new “BIG” Woolworth’s across the street took a serious toll on business. Grant’s was the first big store of it’s kind to fail in the downtown area during my childhood. Others had closed before my time but this was the first of the newer closings and it seemed rather sad to my 10 year-old mind.
The photos show the typical layout of these type of stores. I am very fond of the shot showing the candy and nut counter. I can still smell the aroma!
Grant’s in Boston had a two floor plan with a staricase and escalator connecting the levels.
After Grant’s was closed and renovated in 1975, Barnes and Noble held the location for nearly 30 years. Note the excellent hair styles and the Bobby Orr record on offer that year with a free wall poster. I had one.....Oh, well:-)

Also there is a great view taken under the Orpheum Theatre door looking towards Grant's. You can just see the base of the wall sign above the main door.

Enjoy......

Charles:-)

A Man Named Nick DeWolf

I was feeling a bit low:

Putting a blog together about Boston department stores of the past is no easy task! The task is extra hard when you consider I do it from England.
My hope of offers of photographs and memories of the once very exciting Boston shopping area have been few and far between. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for some eager folks out there who would enjoy a chance to share their own memories or have a burning desire to visit the BPL and scan some classic adverts from the large newspaper archive to put up on the blog.

A wonderful discovery:

The other day I was thrilled to come across the photographic work of the late Nick DeWolf.
Nick spent a large part of his adult life shooting photos that span a wonderful assortment of subjects.
Nick and his family lived in Boston for many years and the life and times of the city from the late 1950’s to the early 1970’s are captured in his fine photographic work.
Seeing the beautiful archives of Nick’s work gave me new inspiration to carry on with the blog!
I am pleased to have received permission from Nick’s wife to present on my blog some of his brilliant shots taken in 1969-70 in and around Washington Street.
I also wish to thank Steve who is working hard to post all of Nick’s photographic work on Flickr.
Thanks so much! It is a wonderful tribute to Nick.

The photos I include today show various sides of the old Jordan Marsh buildings including a view of the Annex taken from West Street looking up towards Avon Street. These photos are perfect and reflect the feel of the Boston I knew as a little child in the late 60’s. Nick DeWolf had a keen eye for catching the moment and saving it on film for us all to enjoy again and again.