Gold Circle Opens – March 1971

Mention ‘Gold Circle’ to a newer Lorain County resident, and they’ll probably give you a blank stare. But many of us who grew up in this area in the 60s and 70s remember this discount department store well from the outlet located across from Midway Mall.

It was fifty years ago this month that the Gold Circle there opened. Here’s a small article making the announcement that appeared in the Lorain Journal on March 1, 1971.

As the article notes, it was the eighth store in a chain based in Ohio, with the first one having opened in Columbus in April 1968.

A few days later this advertisement appeared in the Journal on March 7, 1971.

From a graphic design standpoint, the Gold Circle was very bold and modern, not unlike that of today’s Target stores.

The store opening was covered extensively by the Journal, which devoted two pages to the event. The paper even sent Photographer Michael F. Good there, who took some very fun and creative shots of a few of the Gold Circle employees.

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I first wrote about Gold Circle in this post from 2019.

It’s strange to think about regional chain stores like Gold Circle, Fishers Big Wheel, Hills, Ontario, Zayre, etc. as being gone. They paved the way for today’s national giants like Kohl’s or Target.

But they also helped wipe out Downtown stores in cities like Lorain. I guess it's all how you look at it.