Boston Store Before the Big One 718 State St

Old Time Erie: Boston Store (Erie Dry Goods Co.), 718-726 State Street.

Here is a photo of the Boston Store before the Big One was built. By Big One, I mean the building at 716 State Street that is so beloved in the memory of so many Erie natives. The one with the restaurant, the decorations, and several floors of merchandise. The one where you met your friends 'Under the Clock' at 716 State Street in Erie, PA.

The Boston Store was housed in the building shown above, at 718-726 State, before the one at 716 State Street was finished around 1931.

The Boston Store which was known as the Erie Dry Goods Company. The original retail store was located at 1604 Peach Street when it first opened in Erie, PA in 1885. At that time, the store had eight clerks and 2,175 square feet of floor space. Quite a bit smaller than the behemoth building that people remember shopping in on State Street, where there was a department (and sometimes an entire floor) for each category of items, such as toys, cameras, jewelry, ladies blouses, men's suits, children's back to school clothing. You name it and they probably had it in stock. 

The statistics from 1926 were impressive: "The present organization, in peak times, reaches a total of nearly 1,000 employees and more than 210,000 square feet of floor are now used. The Boston Store occupies the larger portion of an entire city block and has entrances on four streets. That the Boston Store meets all of Erie's needs in a fully satisfactory manner is apparent when its great progress is considered." This was one of the biggest employers in Erie County in the twenties.

Click here to view a shot of the Boston Store from 1932. If you would like to see other photos of the store, type 'Boston Store' in the search box near the upper left hand corner (to the right of the orange B). You'll be glad you did.

Enjoy more fun and fascinating historical facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie