Grants and Peach Street from 8th to 10th Erie PA

Taken from the top of the parking lot at 8th and Peach by Jeffrey
George in late 1967 or early 1968. Photo ©Jeffrey George 2012.

Postcard of the Second National Bank on 9th & Peach.

The photo of the W. T. Grant Co. in Erie, PA (shown above) was taken in late 1967 or early 1968 by Jeffrey George from atop the parking lot at 8th and Peach. Cars in the bottom right side of the picture are traveling north on Peach Street. The back of the old Lawrence Hotel is clearly visible on the right side of the photo.

Grants was a huge retail store that had entrances on West 8th Street, Peach Street and at 18 West 9th Street. You could cut through the building instead of walking outside in the rain or snow and come out on the other street. Sounds like a nightmare for security.

To help with the orientation, I've included a postcard of the old Second National Bank, which was located on the southeast corner of 9th and Peach. It was still standing in 1967 and was used as a women's clothing store. You can see the side of the old bank in the top photo. The postcard also shows the back and side of the old Lawrence Hotel, which was demolished around 1968 (the Avalon Hotel currently occupies this site). Peach was a two-way street when the postcard was released.

The side of the Baldwin Building/Renaissance Center is also visible in the photo above; it's the second tall building from the  left. The side of Kresge's is visible directly below the Renaissance Center building. (The building that housed Kresge's still stands, but it is covered in mirrors.)

Here is a shot of the front of the Lawrence Hotel: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/10/jfk-kennedy-at-lawrence-hotel-in-erie.html

The old Grants building still stands at 18 West 9th Street. It's now the home of GECAC.

Grants Outdoor Furniture 1972

Grants ad from Erie Press June 24, 1972.

Grants Fights Inflation

Nothing says summertime in Erie like a webbed aluminum chaise, a redwood picnic table, and an olive green hammock. And jarts. Everyone played jarts in the yard in the seventies, right?

Grants was located in downtown Erie on Peach Street, with entrances on West 8th and West 9th Streets. The store was so big that people would use it as a path to cut through to get from one street to another, especially when it was raining or snowing. 

The chaise lounges and chairs had webbing that scratched your legs if your wore shorts. If you had a worn out or frayed piece of webbing, you could go to practically any hardware store and get a replacement. And you could chose several colors, such as white, blue, green or yellow. 

Oh, and the aluminum chairs were light enough to throw in the back of the station wagon, ready for any picnic or drive-in movie!