DC Places Of Years Past

[WES]

I remember when I was young we used to head downtown to Hecht's and Woodward and Lothrop (Woodies) and used to shop at Richfood, Grand Union and Woolworth, were all places we got food and other good stuff.  Now today it is Walmart, Walmart, Walmart, Target, Macy's, Best Buy........Walmart.  I remember when People's Drug was the biggest drug store along with Dart Drug in our area and there were more Roy Rogers around than there are now Five Guys.  We old fogies (sp?) remember the stuff you youngin's only hear us talk about.  Here are some of the stuff we remember that are now gone.

Woolco(gone over 20 years)
Woolworth (gone now almost 10 years)
Zayre's(gone almost 20 years)
Ames(gone a while now)
McCrory( gone a while)
Bradlee's (left the DC area a while back, gone for good for a while, where's Mrs. B now)
Caldor (gone almost 10 years)
Woodward and Lothrop( gone for a while)
Garfinkel's(before we knew of Saks and Neiman's, gone a good while)
Grand Union(probably became something else, what I don't know)
Basics Supermarket(I think absorbed into Shopper's)
Makro(little known warehouse club, had better crap than the warehouse clubs have now)
People's Drug Store(now CVS)
Waxie Maxie's(gone a while-a music store)
Kemp Mill Records(Is is place actually gone-it came back then apparently left again)
Superstars(A Footlocker wannabe-I applied here when I was a teen, but didn't get the job)
Children's Palace(Nice exteriors but couldn't compete with Toys R Us, later Walmart)
Hecht's (now Macy's)

I know I rememeber a lot more, but why should I have all of the fun.

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

I remember when I was young we used to head downtown to Hecht's and Woodward and Lothrop (Woodies) and used to shop at Richfood, Grand Union and Woolworth, were all places we got food and other good stuff.  Now today it is Walmart, Walmart, Walmart, Target, Macy's, Best Buy........Walmart.  I remember when People's Drug was the biggest drug store along with Dart Drug in our area and there were more Roy Rogers around than there are now Five Guys.  We old fogies (sp?) remember the stuff you youngin's only hear us talk about.  Here are some of the stuff we remember that are now gone.

Woolco(gone over 20 years)
Woolworth (gone now almost 10 years)
Zayre's(gone almost 20 years)
Ames(gone a while now)
McCrory( gone a while)
Bradlee's (left the DC area a while back, gone for good for a while, where's Mrs. B now)
Caldor (gone almost 10 years)
Woodward and Lothrop( gone for a while)
Garfinkel's(before we knew of Saks and Neiman's, gone a good while)
Grand Union(probably became something else, what I don't know)
Basics Supermarket(I think absorbed into Shopper's)
Makro(little known warehouse club, had better crap than the warehouse clubs have now)
People's Drug Store(now CVS)
Waxie Maxie's(gone a while-a music store)
Kemp Mill Records(Is is place actually gone-it came back then apparently left again)
Superstars(A Footlocker wannabe-I applied here when I was a teen, but didn't get the job)
Children's Palace(Nice exteriors but couldn't compete with Toys R Us, later Walmart)
Hecht's (now Macy's)

I know I rememeber a lot more, but why should I have all of the fun.

Jr Hot Shoppes
Farrels Ice Cream
Weilies Ice Cream (1 location Langley Park) (I know u remember this Perry!!)
Drug Fair
Jumbo Supermarkets (Also absorbed into Shoppers Food)
Hechingers hardware
Atlantic hardware
Montgomery Wards
A&P supermarkets
Kroger Super market
Acme/Super Saver supermarket
Soda Fountains inside Peoples Drug Stores
Memco department store
G.C. Murphy
Kemp Mill Records (the very 1st one, in the Kemp Mill Shopping center)
Peaches records & tapes
Dream Dresser boutique (Georgetown. . Wisconsion Ave betweek K street & the canal)
Shakeys Pizza
Trolley Car Pizza
Hot Shoppes cafeteria & restaurant
The DOWNTOWNER bus route. . ran Downtown only.
Marshall Hall amusement park
The merry go round (clothing store)
Cabin John amusement park
Sidney Lutz Drive in theater Beltsville (Now a costco)
Queens Chapel Drive in (now the West Hyattsville METRO)
Rockville drive-in (Now the school board HQ building)
4 corners elementary school (Now a senior citizens old folks home)
Stone House Inn (now the 4corners 7-11)
Highs Dairy Stores (is main street in Laurel the last one?
The Bobs Big Boy Statute at PG Plaza


Any more oldies & goodies??

[WES]

Also include:

Best Catalog and showroom Stores
Service Merchandise(Even though it really wasn't considered a "DC" area place it was here for a few years).
Hahn's Shoe Store
Crown Books(Survived a few years after Dart Drug went under, I think was bought by B. Dalton--which I think too has went under)
Lechter's Housewares
Let's not forget the recent closure of Circuit City(though the website business is still going)
Then you throw in Landover Mall (it used to get as busy as Tyson's, but crime killed it)

[Scrabbleship]

I happen to like how some of these stores didn't go belly up, but merely left DC (Acme goes as far south as the Bay Bridge on the Eastern Shore, Kroger comes as north as Harrisonburg and Richmond). I can think of one that only changed its name, A&P into Superfresh, though there are a LOT more former A&P's than Superfreshes.

I know it's not a store but a brand, but when did Wilkins Coffee go under? I remember reading that their factory was a victim of the construction needed for the Metro (on the current site of Rhode Island Avenue).

[btconet]

I don't remember too much specific to DC, aside from what I might have heard on commercials way back when.

Is Riggs Bank still around?

Also, there was some radio jingle
"You can give so much more when you make Evans your Christmas Store!"

I do remember People's as well as Church's Fried Chicken, which still exists in other localities.

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

Home delivery of the following products:
Utz potatoe chips
sealtest dairy
good humor ice cream

is trash auto still around? (Track Auto)
they owned by same people as Crown Books (Haft Family)
(the only winners of that familys break up between Father/Son/Wife/Mother were the lawyers)

[LandoverDivision]

No one even mentioned Ames and how about the Jeeper's that use to be at Beltway Plaza?
What about Adventure World?

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

Chesapeake Bay Seafood House
Beef Steak Charlies
E.J. Korvettes
Landburghs (Downtown & langley park)
S. Klein (Beltway Plaza)

Wes mentioned AMES on the 1st posting

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

The Evening Star newspaper!

[LandoverDivision]

Whoops missed that one. Anyways, I'm young so I don't remember much stores that are now closed or changed.

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

FONTANNA Bowlarama
(a 2 story duckpin house (bowling) at Piney Branch Rd & University Blvd.)

Silver Spring Bowling Alley
Cameron St. .  it died twice. .  was once a 2 story bowling alley ducks downstairs & tenpins upstairs. .  it sat for like 10 years before re-opening in the 80's. .  I understand now its a GYM?

The Capri Theater
Across from SS bowl. .  you entered street level & went downstairs.

Eddie Leonards Sandwhich shopps (again, across from SS Bowl)

Silver Spring Taxi (merged into Barwood Taxi)
Takoma Langley Taxi (merged into PG Yellow Taxi)

Plain & Fancy Doughnuts (adelphi)
Jack in the Box (only 1 location I remember, across from Plain & fancy)

Montgomery Doughnuts
(those chocolate covered glazed doughnuts were to die for)
(met my hi-school g/f at the Silver Spring location. .  also met the woman who would then become the wife & ex wife there, so its a mixed blessing)

Billy Boy Carry out

Villa Rosa Italian restaurant (Ellsworth drive between Fenton st & Spring st)
the TRAILWAYS terminal at the corner of Fenton & Ellsworth

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

I KNOW mentioning this, will bring a smile to many many guys:

Shephard Park Night Club
(Georgia Ave at Eastern & Alaska Ave)

The STARLIGHT Inn
US route 1 at Greenbelt Rd next to terripan (terrible) tacos

The CAPITAL CENTRE !!!

[WMAveteran]

On the last day of MCPD rookie school my entire class went to the Shepherd Park for lunch to celebrate.  We arrived early but the girls started to dance for us anyway as part of the graduation celebration! 

[Scrabbleship]

A modern one for the UMD crowd: Central Perk on Route 1. How College Park now lacks a coffee shop amazes me.
(on the same vein for those who go around DC, any independent coffeeshop that has gone under in the last few years, the U Street area alone is where coffeeshops go to die).

[DCT S9Z4Z6]

Wheaton Triangle Bowling lanes

Wheaton Fairlanes (Behind/under the Grand Union)
At Wheaton Plaza

Bambino's Pizza
<singing> Oh Bambino's, Oh Bambino's, the pizza people Bambino's, eat it there, or carry it out, find out what pizza is all about, at Bambinos, Oh Bambinos, the pizza people, Bambinos.
BAMBINOS

The Anchor Inn (Wheaton)

The REDSKINS Stadium Store (Wheaton)
(Did it disappear the same time as Danny Snyder bought the Redskins??)

The CASINO ROYALE Theater
(14th street near where McPherson Sq station now sits)

Are there ANY "Adult themed" businesses left on 14th street??