Only in York County

Franklin Discount is a store of the past that is definitely still well-remembered! It turns out there were two locations – one in York on Pine Street, near Boundary Avenue, and the other in West York on Market at Overbrook, where the Giant now stands; West King Street ran behind this one.

Jesse E. Spangler asks, “Was the Franklin Discount on West King St. located inside what once was the Joseph Black and Sons Co. Inc. factory?”

Jim Knaub says it was; he described the location as on Market Street at Overbook Avenue, which confused me until I took at look at the map and saw how those streets all lined up. He describes the Black and Sons company as a hosiery maker.

And another Jim, Jim Stauch Jr., writes to confirm that location. “I’m born and raised West York. Still here and another great place to have grown up in. Franklin Discount stood where the current Giant Food store stands. It fronted on Market street facing Memorial Hall at the fair grounds along the railroad tracks. It had a long stairway to the main sales floor.”

Commenter Grandpat agrees and writes, “Franklin Discount started out on West King St. where the Giant is today. It was in an old factory with wood floors made up of narrow boards that rattled your cart as you pushed it along. The one on South Pine St. was Miracle Mart.. in a new building… but was bought by Franklin Discount.”

That answers a question posed by Skipper, who wrote, “Somewhere I read about the store on corner of Pine and ? as Franklin Discount. I believe that was Miracle Mart. Franklin Discount was in West York near the fairgrounds.” Indeed, there was that one, but it turns out the former Miracle Mart also became a Franklin.

Joann Hano brings up another related memory. “Next to Franklin Discount was Robert Hall’s clothing store. All the ads sang ‘School bells ringing, children singing, it’s back to Robert Hall’s again.’ ” She continues, “I do remember that Franklin’s was a first for discount clothing and household items. It made a big impact on buying in York.”

Thank you all for those great discount shopping memories! When I first started crafting this post, I was vague on the exact location of the Pine Street store, and I was missing dates when things changed from one business to another. For instance, when did Giant take the place of Franklin in West York?

But then, I got a letter in the mail from John N. Fishel of Dallastown. John was a treasure trove of exactly that type of info.

He writes of the Franklin Discount in West York: “Now that was a neat/cool/far out (whatever term you want to use) store. As a kid, I fondly recall walking up the long set of steps (for a kid anyway) from the parking lot to the store. The store fronted W. Market St., but the parking was in the rear and most customers entered and exited that way.”

“The Franklin Discount was an old factory building, which had been converted into a store. It was fairly large. I will never forget walking across the creaky old wooden floor. That store had a charm about it that is unforgettable,” he says. “It later became known as King’s Franklin Discount and closed around 1973 or 1974. The building was torn down sometime after that and replaced by the Giant store there now (W. Market St. at Overbrook Ave.) The Giant is positioned differently on the lot than the Franklin was though.”

Then, he shared some info on the York location. John writes, “The other Franklin Discount was on the north side of E. Boundary Ave. between S. Pine St. and Edgar St. We called it the ‘new Franklin’ because it was a newer building (and may have opened later than the West York store – of that I’m not sure).”

He says, “My sister and I used to have fun running down the long ramp from the upper floor to the lower floor of the new Franklin where the toy department was located. There was an entrance on that lower floor which faced Edgar St. The main entrance, however, was on the upper floor and faced north onto the parking lot.”

Regarding the whole Miracle Mart/Franklin Discount issue, John’s memory varies slightly from some of the other memories above. He says, “I recall that the shopping carts at this location in later years said Miracle Mart. So the name of the store may have changed to that at some point, but I think that this was just a case of the store getting carts with that name on it from a store that had closed somewhere else. I only ever knew it as Franklin Discount or King’s Franklin Discount.”

“Unlike that (West York) location, this building is still standing. I have many pleasant memories of my parents taking me to both of these interesting stores. They still live on if only in my mind’s eye. Those were the good old days – never to return. … Thanks for listening!”

John, thank YOU for writing. I hope you and many others will continue to share even more memories with us. Now I’m wondering: What exists now along Pine and Boundary, at what was once Franklin?