Sears Grand Opening 134 E 10th St in 1948, Erie PA

-ad in Erie Daily Times, Wednesday, May 12, 1948 for Sears at 134 East 10th St., Erie, PA.

-ad in Erie Dispatch, Sat., May 8, 1948.

The new Sears Roebuck and Co. retail store opened for business at 134 East 10th St. in Erie, PA on May 13, 1948. Sears moved from its old location at 1018 State Street into a much larger brand new building. No need to pump the meter full of nickels and...the Tenth Street location had plenty of free parking.

In addition to 24 newly enlarged departments, Sears now had 23 brand new departments. The old store did not carry clothing; it was featured prominently on the first floor of the new bldg. A farm store filled most of the basement. Sears hoped to get away from catalog orders and have stock on hand for customers, leading to more impulse purchases and increased sales.

Sears increased its staff from 100 people at 1018 State Street to about 350 employees on Tenth Street. It is not known how many people worked at the original Sears retail store at 1612 State Street in the late twenties.

Sears moved to the Millcreek Mall around 1975 and the old building at 134 E. 10th Street was later demolished. The site is now Jerry Uht Park, the home of the Erie Seawolves, the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Construction started on the Uht in 1994.

What was underneath Sears on East Tenth Street? Read about it here: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/10/whats-underneath-jerry-uht-park.html