WOOLWORTHS or WOOLIES as it was affectionately known was a British institution, a hundred-ish years on the High street. People were shocked with the news that the familiar red fascia would disappear from shopping areas all over the land. Many had not been in a Woolies for years but it was a sense of loss of a name we had grown up with, also a lot of people, as they picked & mixed for the last time had no idea Woolworths was actually an American institution grown from one sucessful discount store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the heart of Amish country by former New York general store stock boy Frank Winfield Woolworth.
The Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway New York City
Thinking of doing some shopping related Clipcanteen posts after Christmas, one of the first things that crossed my mind was Woolworths! Growing up in the tiny West Cumberland town of Maryport there were two 'big' stores - The Co-op & Woolies, shopping with Mam in the dusty, run down Co-op with is doddery sales ladies & monotonous merchandise- I almost lost the will to live! But then Mam grabs my hand & we are off up Senhouse street to Woolies! Hurray! Big red letters F.W.WOOLWORTH & Co. become visible across the street & we push open the familiar wooden swing doors, Mam tells me she will meet me back here at the entrance in 20 minutes...Fantastic! The sweets & chocolate counter goes on forever! A huge toy counter with toys all year round (they only had toys in the Christmas run up at the Co-op) Friendly sales ladies behind wooden counters, exciting displays, they even made gardening stuff look exciting! 20 mins later my pocket money is gone & we head home & I am looking forward to my next Woolies expedition!
One day during a library visit I see a photo of The Woolworth Building in New York, I dont put 2 + 2 together at first, but much later realise that when i'm buying a war comic in the Maryport store, another boy is buying the same comic in a similar store thousands of miles across the Atlantic....WOW!
The Woolworth story is remarkably interesting for an everyday variety store chain - vast wealth for Frank Winfield Woolworth,The Woolworth Building a huge neo-Gothic skyscraper HQ that when first built was the tallest building in the world-Frank paying for the whole thing in cash (13.5 million dollars!) Winfield Hall, a vast 62 room mansion & estate on Long Island, one of his three daughters committed suicide, Franks granddaughter & Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton had a famously tragic life....Frank Woolworth died in 1919 aged 66, the Woolworth 5&10 cents store ( 3pence & 6pence in Britain ) format became a retail phenomenon.
Frank Woolworth (& brother?) outside the Lancaster, Pennsylvania shop.
Woolworths in the USA went into decline in the seventies & eighties & would eventually close all its stores there & in Canada. In Britain it relinquished control of its stores to a variety of different owners.
Things were never really the same again...Now Woolworths is an pleasant memory & I present some images which I love-American stores-familiar looking but in an unexpected (but fitting) location.
Left corner of Central Avenue, Alberquerque New Mexico. (1940's)
Same store different view. Today the building is still there but hosts a restaurant.
Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Same store, same street, the fifties. Currently the corner is being redeveloped.
Woolworths store on State Street, Chicago in the sixties...today U.S department store Nordstrom & Swedish fashion shop H&M occupy the space.
Phoenix, Arizona Main shopping drag in the forties.
West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee.
WOOLWORTH COFFEE - ALWAYS GOOD! Fifties Lunch counter menu......I first heard about the demise of Woolworths - reading the paper, enjoying a 'Full English', OJ & coffee, in the upstairs restaurant at Ashton under Lyne Woolworths....was stunned! I always hoped for a Woolworths rebirth!
Woolworths in America hoped for a rebirth too, here they try a sixties modern image - cool blue replaces the traditional red & gold,a lot of city centre stores were closed & more suburban mall stores like this one in Minnesota were tried.
Small town, Main Street sixties store.
The history of Woolworths is well documented in lots of places on the net - both American Woolworths &
British Woolworths - one of the best is - http://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/
Take a look at Dorothy Whitworths collection of Woolworth postcards - www.whitworthfamily.org/woolworths.htm In fact the whole of the Whitworth family website is fascinating!
The Woolworth Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx.
Whatever happened to the F.W.WOOLWORTH Co.? Its a long story, but the company is still selling across the world - its now called FOOTLOCKER...It still had its HQ in the Woolworth building, but in 1998 sold it & closed its branches on Broadway street level.
In the UK the Woolworth name survives online only http://www.woolworths.co.uk/ Its owned today by Shop Direct Group AKA Littlewoods! (whodathoughtit?) You can though, still pick & mix & fizzy dummies & rosie apples are still available - Fab!
