Lorainites living on the rapidly growing west side in the 1950s and early 1960s had an incredible selection of convenient shopping choices. Besides the the O'Neil - Sheffield Center (which opened in 1954) and Lorain Plaza (which opened in 1960), there was Westgate Shopping Center.
As noted back on this post, the Grand Opening for the shopping center at W. 21st and Leavitt Road was held in April 1958. Above is the full-page autumn-themed ad for Westgate that ran in the Journal back on October 1, 1959.
Although the ad for Marshall's Drug Store (another forgotten Cleveland chain) dominates the page, it's the little ad for Nobil's Shoes that caught my attention.
My family bought a lot of shoes at Nobil's over the years (at the various locations). We did go to Januzzi's occasionally, as well as Pic-Way in South Lorain.
But when we wanted full-service, it was usually Nobil's that we went to. Who can forget the days when a salesman approached you shortly after you entered the store and, after you were seated, measured your foot with one of these? Does any store still do that?
(This 2010 post contains my reminiscing about having to endure buying shoes as a kid.)
It's hard to believe that Nobil's was 'merged out of existence' in the early 2000s.
The Westgate ad also devotes some space to W. T. Grant Co. I remember going to the outlet at Lorain Plaza, as opposed to the one at Westgate. It was fun to check out the baby turtles sold in the pet department! I had one for a pet eventually, but I don't remember him living long enough to even get a name.
Anyway, the remodeling and renovations continue at the former Westgate Shopping Center today.
6 comments:
Westgate was where we did our "big" shopping, especially after we moved across the street in 1966. Pick -N-Pay for groceries, Marshall Drugs for everything from Band -Aids to chocolate sundaes, Nobil's for school shoes, W. T. Grant for tennis shoes and toys, Lawson's, sometimes the Laundromat, Westgate was the place.
Nothing better than the old dime stores, where you could buy everything from birds to lawnmowers, in a more compact space than today's behemoths like Wal-Mart.
The foot measuring thing:
https://brannock.com/
Who knew?
Anonymous:
You are right about that, but I can't figure out how people buy clothing and especially shoes online. I always have to try on what seems like a hundred different pair to get ones that fit.
I have friends who've bought their cars online. How does that work without driving it, first?
It was a good thing that I got my Fazio’s sign or it would have been in that pile next to the building!!
I think with online places like Carvana,you pick out the car you like online,then they ship it to a local Carvana near you.You have to pay for shipping if it is outside of a certain amount of miles or so.They do let you drive the car after it arrives and if you don't like it you don't have to buy it.Prices are non-negotiable too.
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