When I was growing up every town had at least one iconic department store that did Christmas right: fabulous back-lit and magical Christmas displays, often animated, gracing all of their street level windows. In a time before kids were so wired into their iPhones and “social” networks that they missed much of the amazement of the real world, there were all these fabulous windows of mystery and wonder, free for the taking. All it took was a dime bus ride downtown.
I was very lucky as my hometown, Grand Rapids, MI, had three such emporiums of merchandise, all founded in the late 1800’s:
All now long gone. One of them, Herpolsheimer’s, however lives on as it has been memorialized in the film version of Chris Van Allsburg’s book The Polar Express.
The old Herp’s, as the locals called it, had what was called the “Santa Express” – a monorail that ran around the entire basement level of the store during the Christmas season to keep kids occupied as mom and dad shopped.
It is said to have served as the inspiration for Van Allsburg’s popular book.
The old Herpolsheimer’s building,
Print found on Pinterest but tracked down to ArleneFaye
which once housed the inspirational train and window wonders currently houses the Grand Rapids Police Department. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you probably wouldn’t want to take your kids there for a festive Christmas pot pie lunch in their tea room.
And don’t even get me started on the “dime” stores, of which Grand Rapids also enjoyed three:
Print found on Pinterest but tracked down to ArleneFaye
Woolworths, above, at the foot of Monroe, Grants, right next door, and Kresge’s just up a block to the east.
Print found on Pinterest but tracked down to ArleneFaye
Also all gone.
What about your town’s locally owned iconic department stores? Do any of them still exist? Are any of them still in the downtown area? Or is your downtown comprised of restaurants, bars and clubs these days? Just wondering.