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

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.