New Grant's Store at 9th and Peach

The new Grant's store at 9th and Peach Street in Erie, PA opened on August 5, 1954. W. T. Grant, the store's founder and namesake, was in town for the grand opening and Erie Mayor Thomas W. Flatley cut the ribbon. 

"Curious crowds, anxious to witness the new landmark in Erie's downtown shopping center pushed against the doors this morning in an effort to be among the first to take advantage of the many unique bargains planned for family shoppers during the opening week."-Erie Dispatch, Aug. 5, 1954.

Grants no longer has any stores in Erie; there were 500 locations in the chain in 1954. The store at 9th and Peach was built by the Henry Shenk Co. According to the Dispatch, this building was the largest in the Grant's chain, and it had a mile and a half of counter space. Grants was close to the Gannon College campus and easily accessible to shoppers by car and local bus routes at a time when people regularly shopped in Downtown Erie.

Grant's opened its first Erie store in 1916. Here's a more recent item about the store: Grant's 1972 ad

Learn more about the history of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie