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Drug store hangouts
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There
was a time in the distant past when many, if not ALL, drugstores had a
soda fountain or lunch counter. Obviously, this predates most of the
fast food eateries. What was YOUR favorite drugstore fountain?I
have two, one each from opposite of the then-corners of Tucson.? SE
side, Craycroft Drug at the SE corner of? Craycroft/22nd St...at the
edge of civilization when it opened in County Fair shopping center in
the mid to late 1950s.From the NW edge of Tucson... Mead's
Pharmacy at the NE corner of Flowing Wells/Prince Rds...the one which
replaced Jack Mead's Del Norte drugstore in the 1960s.Both
stores had sit-down counters, where you could grab a bite or something
cold to drink after school.? There weren't really any "malt shops" in
those parts of town as I recall.How about your favorite hang out? |
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My favorite, simply because it was close to home, was Wilmot Plaza Drug, in Wilmot Plaza, on the NE corner of Broadway and Wilmot Rd. We used to grab a bite to eat while waiting for the school bus to pick us up for the afternoon shift at Palo Verde HS. That was in the early 60's and the fountain counter was replaced shortly afterwards by more merchandise.
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Azbluewhale
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Glad you asked!
Below is from my mystery novel, "El Con," on Amazon, written under the name of Ashley Kent. Broadway Village Drug Saturday Morning April 24, 1949 I do my best thinking at lunch counters, especially when there¡¯s nobody around and the counter girls gossip while they go through the motions of wiping down the stainless steel on the back bar. That makes them easy to ignore and provides the proper atmosphere for serious thought.? If I made you a list, my places would be all over town. I know them all, like a Parisian knows his caf¨¦s. Walsh¡¯s, way out on Broadway, a mile or so beyond El Con; Broadway Village Drug at Country Club; Ft. Lowell Drug on Ft. Lowell Road¡ªbig surprise; Park Avenue Pharmacy over by the University. Each has something to savor at a particular time of the day, depending on who might straggle in. If a drugstore A-bomb hit and wiped them all out, I doubt if I could keep my head on straight Downtown, I¡¯m partial to The Owl. It¡¯s open late¡ªhence the name. Their counter is open really late too. My favorite thing about that one is that it carries vet supplies so it attracts worried looking ranchers who sit and stir their coffee while they¡¯re waiting for the pharmacist to mix something up. They stare into space and think about horses and cows, I guess. Maybe they have a sick kid. I never ask. One place I try not to go to is Woolworth¡¯s downtown, at any hour. It¡¯s big and always busy. Lot of women shoppers, hunting in packs. There¡¯s never any space to read the paper without somebody bumping into it so you lose your place. And forget about getting quick service. The girls are run off their feet. That¡¯s where they all want to work, though. Lots of traffic means lots of tips. Four or five bucks a day off the record can make the difference, especially if you have a couple of kids and no husband, for one reason or another. Anyway, I was installed in the back booth at Broadway Village with my leg extended, which tells you that this place is pretty deluxe as lunch counters go. It was about mid-morning and had I placed my order for a coffee, lit up and had started thinking grand thoughts, such as, how in the hell to make sense of what Angela told me and, more important, where to go from here.? ?? |
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John H. (n7iqv), In Tucson, my favorite drug store counter was actually downtown in the Walgreens on Stone & Pennington (recently renovated and being used by UA Architecture).? I don't remember much of the store itself but the counter and associated dining area was immediately to your left as you entered off Stone.? The counter was towards the back and the booths were all located along the windows fronting Stone & Pennington.? Most of the time my family would take up a booth and I remember being able to sit there, eating my BLT or a breaded cutlet and watching all the people as they walked by the windows.? Downtown Tucson in the late 50's and even the early 60's was fantastic.? Sometimes, when my mother and sisters were knee-deep in shopping at Steinfeld's or Jacome's, my dad will take my brother and me over to the Walgreens and we would sit at the counter and have a Coke or a milk shake.??Just us men.? Great times!? Alex Cook Southern Arizonan since 1954 |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýThe mother lode of drugstores was the one at Congress an Fifth, SE corner. Ryan Evans I think. It was open all night, had a huge Fountain, books, magazines, and the largest collection of downtown weirdos. ?In the 50's when my father worked at the newspaper, and got off at midnight, I would stop at the drugstore on my way to pick him up.? Bill Ahrens THS Class of 1960 On Aug 18, 2014, at 1:39 PM, "agcook@... [vanishingtucson]" <vanishingtucson@...> wrote:
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I spent a major portion of my childhood at Wilmot Drug from 1969-1974 and the soda fountain was still alive and well when I was there. I would order a frozen Coke, grab the latest "Superman" from the rack and sit in the corner for half an hour at a time, trying to avoid my older brothers and their latest plans for me.
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