We used to have GC Murphy Co., Woolworth’s, and TG&Y’s. I always enjoyed visits to those kind of five-and-dime stores. The atmosphere, the ambiance. The Murphy store had a lunch-counter whose architectural motif reminded me of “The Jetsons” in its space-age, early-60s style. The one at the Woolworth’s dated to the 1940s, and still retained that appealing look. Miss all that visual variety, that shopping used to offer.
The tall-ceiling, warehouse style of the big-box stores like Wal-Mart just depress the hell out of me, for some reason. Dismal, bleak, and tacky. Add stores like Best Buy, with ear-splitting music and dvd-films being run all around you, simultaneously. Ugh.
The lunch counters were cool. My first job was in a building across from a much smaller five and dime called Grants. At lunch time, I would scurry across the street to Grants for a bowl of soup and a sandwich for 75 cents. In the summer, Grants would set up a hot dog concession stand near one of the side doors. 25 cents for a hot dog. 35 cents if you wanted chili or cheese on your dog. Decent food, cheap.