Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Hills Fireworks Ad - July 3, 1962

If this was Tuesday, July 3, 1962 (50 years ago today), then you would have seen this ad in your Lorain Journal promoting the annual Fourth of July fireworks display at Hills Department Store. Remember those great fireworks?

Vintage Hills sign (courtesy Wikipedia)
Things like this are some of my warmest and fuzziest memories of growing up in Lorain... the whole family piling into the car to head to South Lorain to see those fireworks at Hills.

We shopped there too, regularly. My mom bought us a lot of clothes and toys there, usually putting them in layaway for a while (never charging them). And I've mentioned the frozen Cokes and popcorn that she bought us on the way out as an occasional treat.

I still remember staring at the wild display of blinking lights on the Hills sign as they chased themselves across the front of the building. It was almost hypnotic.

It's sad to drive by the building on Route 57 today and see it all closed up (below).

May 2011 photo

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6 comments:

  1. -Alan D HopewellJuly 3, 2012 at 1:55 PM

    I remember going to that display, along with the one at Sheffield Shopping Center.

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  2. LisaJuly 3, 2012 at 6:13 PM

    My great grandma lived along the high tension wires right of way on East 35th between 57 & Palm, so it was like having front row seats every year. My husband says the Hills in Amherst used to have fireworks too, but I don't remember ever going there. Vaguely remember going to George Daniel for fireworks, but I think those stopped when I was very young.

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  3. Bob KovachJuly 4, 2012 at 5:46 PM

    How great was it to be a kid in those days!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wireless.PhilJune 7, 2014 at 11:28 PM

    You sure the photo is from 2011?
    Wasn't Lowes home center built by that time?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dan BradyJune 8, 2014 at 2:36 PM

    The old Hills building is still there on Route 57.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JayNovember 25, 2018 at 12:15 AM

    Why did this location close?

    ReplyDelete