Woolworth's and Kresge's on State

Classic Downtown Erie. This looks like a scene that Tom Hanks would have used in the move "That Thing You Do." This is the west side of State Street. Woolworth's was located at 818 State, between 8th and 9th St. Kresge's was on the southwest corner of 9th and State, and Murphy's was to the south of Kresge. The five and dime stores attracted tons of shoppers, old and young. Woolworth's had a lunch counter where you could get a cup of coffee, a burger and fries, a milkshake or a cherry phosphate. The little kids thought it was fun to spin around on the floor mounted stools until their mother gave them "the look" and they stopped misbehaving immediately. Ahh, the good old days.

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Enjoy more fun facts about the history of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

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.