The Detective Agency...

                                    ...where we figure it all out!
 The Case:                                                   The Evidence:

...of the Missing Main St. Stores             ...1953 Photo--Jane Asbury Hills

But First,...What's wrong with this picture??
The Caption's Wrong! ...We're looking east all right,at the north side of Main St.,but the photographer's standing a full block closer to the center of town. He's probably at the corner of Prospect (?) St, in front of the Episcopal(?) Church. As a result, there' s a lot missing on the left side of this picture as you move toward West Neck Ave, and a whole block behind him as you move back toward ST. Pat's. But we'll come back to that! Meanwhile, the year 1953 seems about right..looks like a '53 Packard (no big fins like a caddy)moving down the middle of the street,and a '52 Buick with sun visor parked across the street ( What year did they bring those big portholes out?)--and half a '51 Merc? moving past us out of town...the car directly ahead of us looks like a Chevvy ('51 ?

So let's look at what we have got in stores,at least for this block--we can worry about further blocks in a partial blowup below.

On the near left, Abbott Auto Supply an seat cover store--then Harvey Camera and Al's Modern Home Appliances sharing the white facade. Then Bohack's--we can see the sheen from those yellow metal tiles they used with those big red letters. Next Woolworth's,with the big gold letters on a bright red background we all remember. Woolworths had a big lunch counter--anybody remember where in the store it was?....Finally, next to Woolworth's on the corner of Clinton St. was the Long Islander (shame that it's a pizza parlor now, given that Walt Whitman was its editor!).

Now, as you ( or your mom--in '53 we were in Toaz) drove down Clinton (no one-way then) and crossed Main at that light there, you entered (??) Street. At that corner --on the photographer's side--was a Gulf (remember them?) gas station whose apron and pumps took up the whole corner. Then, moving back toward the photographer,there was(??) a small store or a set of stairs to the second floor: Then, Frangione's Stationery. After that,coming back to where we're standing, were a few stores,but for only half the block before running into the Church property.Was there a Hunt's here? a shoe store? what?

Here's a...

...little blowup!

before the stores,a couple of notes---look at the plate on near car. Remember when everybody's plate seemed to start "9G"?

--that does look like a Packard in the middle of the street!

-- That clock says 3:35-probably works since it is later PM (tree-limb shadows on Bohack's awning).

--Think it's early spring since no limbs in gutter in big pic,small leaves on trees...April '53??--the 300th anniversary??

..after Woolworth's, the Long Islander on the corner of Clinton St....then, crossing Clinton into...

The next block: ...there's the United(?) Methodist (?) Church complex. Was the corner building (white shutters on black wall on ground floor) part of the church? Note the steeple set back from the street, and the large stone steps after the corner building leading up to the church landing before the church proper...any of you attend here?

After the church were a string of stores...Griffith's Meat Market was the first one...not sure after that...wasn't there a sporting goods store?...and?...and?...think Aboff's Paint was somewhere in the mix!..near Griffiths Meat???

Then note the big white building with "Television" painted high on the side..as we know from "The Case of the Mystery Parade", the other white side of this building has "Edstrom TV" painted on it--so we guess that Janet's dad Carl had his storefront in this building...after that there was a low building on the corner of Wall St that had a liquor store (?) right on the corner...and wasn't there a barber shop just before the liquor store?...it's name??
But what's missing behind the photographer in this picture??

Coming back past the photographer,on the north side of Main...

..after Abbott's Auto, there was a lot, a diner we always went into(with parking??), a big Firestone Tire place with bays facing east and a parking lot...

On th corner of West Neck Ave. there was an A&P,that later moved to a new building facing old St Pat's Church(?)--there's still a supermarket there?-- Before the old A&P there was a big furniture store(Lyons??) but that may have come later--seem to remember Lyons earlier further east along the same side of Main...

Sometime in the 50's(?) a small strip mall was built on the corner of West Neck Ave facing St Pat's School...on the corner it had a hardware/gift store and a laundromat...and what else?

Now back over the photographer's shoulder

on the south side of Main...

...he's standing on the east corner of prospect(?) St...Across the street behind him was the big red brick NY Telephone Building (now the town library)...speaking of telephones, remember the numbers? First there were numbers like Hunt297... ..later there was Hunt4 as an exchange...and party lines (my first phone no. was Hunt4-0807-W)...can you remember yours?...then there was HAmilton1, then HA 1,3(?),5 and 7...now you have to dial multiple area codes!

After the phone company, there was a house,I think,then a wooded lot to the corner of Woodbury(?) Rd.--somewhere in '50's a bank was built on the corner, in the brick colonial style--Security Bank(?) ...then across Woodbury St Pat's school, the rectory,old St Pat's Church,another street,then ST. Pat's playground (isn't the New St. Pat's Church there now?.....)

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