Mail call: A letter about downtown theaters and more
I recently received a letter and some pictures from Allida Carroll of York.
Allida writes in response to our comments about shopping on West Market Street, as well as other downtown shopping experiences and movie theaters and car dealers of the past. (This works out well, because I recently received an “Ask Joan” query from Janie Leik, asking if anyone remembered some of these same theaters!)
She says, “Talking about car dealers in York, was Doll’s Pontiac on West Market St. where the book emporium is today?” I had some confirmation on this, too, from Marlene Synder, who writes, “In the 40s there was a Pontiac dealership on the north side of the 300 block of West Market St. in York,” and that would be about where the York Emporium is today. Sounds right to me!
Anyway, then Allida says, “Continuing west was Carl Beasley Ford, in the 700 block right next to the Hiway Movie Theater, and heading back to the 500 block of East Market Street was the Holiday Movie Theater. Sometimes they had specials: 3 Bowery Boys movies for 50 cents. Those were the days. That now became Honeywell.”
She continues, “I’m also sending some pictures of Mike’s Nut Shop and the Brooks Hotel that was on South George Street around where the Fulton Bank is today. And I believe the original Maple Donuts was on North Newberry St.”
Allida’s photos were excellent – they showed some parts of downtown that I had not seen past pictures of before.
The Holiday Theater is seen in a 1968 photo.
The Brooks was an 85-room hotel on South George Street.
The Hiway Theater was around the 700 block of West Market Street, Allida Carroll reports; at the top right, you can make out the logo of a Ford dealership that was right next door. It’s a shame about that Laurel and Hardy misspelling!
The original location of Mike’s Nut Shop downtown.
