Twenty Miles to Boston Store

Erie, Pennsylvania 

Boston Store

Circa 1960s

This is one of the brass Boston Store plaques that appeared on either side of the Boston Store entrance doors.  The one pictured is privately owned.  Another plaque is on display at the Watson Curtze Museum in Erie.  The owner of this plaque is always on the look out for the other two.  

The Boston Store in Erie, PA, a prominent downtown department store, installed iconic black-and-white mile marker signs on 15 major roads leading to the city in the 1930s.  Originally made of cypress, then redwood and aluminum, these markers listed the listance to the store to aid with rural deliveries and serve as brand marketing. 

The Boston Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

 October 24, 1996.

The signs originated from the store's deliversy dispatch office on French Street to measure the distance to rural customers.  In 1971, most signs were removed due to the Highway Beautifications Act, but they had already become beloved local landmarks.  

Many residents requested or kept the signs as souvenirs with some placed far away to show the distance such as a sign in St. Paul, Minnesota noting "932 miles to the Boston Store".  The store was a major hub and the signs are remembered by many.

I recall one of these signs on Route 20 between the PA/NY Stateline and Ripley, NY.

Other signs were located at Route 20 (West Ridge Road/Main Street, Route 5 (East and West Lake  Road), Route 8 and Route 98. Markers were found throughout Erie County including Fairview, Millcreek Township,, Harborcreek and East Springfield. One well-known marker was located on West Lake Road near the 16-mile point.  Another was noted at the corner of Millfair Road (formerly Townline Road) in Fairview.

A local company, Lake Shore Industries still uses the original pattern to make replicas for private homes. The Hagen History Center maintains archives and artifacts related to the Boston Store.  They occasionally display original signage and markers as part of their Erie County history exhibits. Some local residents still have original signs on their property or in garages.  For instance, a notable original sign has been spotted on a home on Jones Road in Greene Towship.  There is at least one original sign kept in the museum at the Watson-Curtze Mansion property in Erie.

If  you'd like a marker for your location from the former Boston Store made by Lake Shore Industries, here is the contact information ..

Address:  1817 Poplar Sreet P.O. Box 3427 Erie, PA 16508-0427

Phone:  (800) 458-0463 or (814) 456-4277

Lake Shore Industries can create custom cast aluminum signs using the authentic historical specifications.  If you happened to find an original sign that is peeling or faded, they also offer a refinishing service to restore it with a durable baked-on enamel.

Custom cast alumium signs such as the authentic Boston Store mileage sign replicas from Lake Shore Industries typically cost between $90 and $400 depending on size and finish.

This is one of the wall fountains with decorative tile work throughtout the Boston Store.

PLEASE SIGN  HERE IN INK

Mrs. Frank Alonge

A decorative stairway in the stairwell

"The first escalator I ever saw was in the Boston Store.  It was the old wooden kind and it made quite an impression on me.  I still remember the clackity clackity sound it made."

"Lots of shopping memories with my mom there.  I especially remember a beautiful red Easter coast with a white collar.  It was so pretty and I felt so special to have something just just for me."

"Meeting under the clock or in the mezzanine which later became a department called "The Loft". My Mom worked there for over 20 years.  A great store."

"The store was positively it!!!!"

 

Burma-Shave was an American brand of brushless shaving cream, famous for its advertising gimmick of posting humorous rhyming poems on small sequential highwasy roadside signs.  

Burma-Shave Tube and Box

Circa 1940s

Burma-Shave was introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company in Minneapolis, Minnesota owned by Clinton Odell.  The company's original product was a linament made of ingredients described as having come "from the Malay Peninsula and Burma" (hence its name).  Sales were sparse and the company sought to expand sales by introducing a product with wider appeal.  Sales increased and at its peak Burma-Shave was the second-highest-selling brushless shaving cream in the U.S. though sales declined in the 1950s.

The Burma-Shave sign series first appeared on U.S. Highway 65 near Lakeville, Minnesota. The signs were originally produced in two color combinations: red-and-white. Burma-Shave signs were removed after 1963 when the company was sold to American Safety Razor Company, as faster interstates made the small, sequential signs unreadable and obsolete.  Rising maintenance costs, changing advertising trends and the 1965 Highway Beautification Act contributed to their disappearance.  Only a few originals remain, mainly in museums.

As highway speeds increased, drivers could no longer read the famous six-signs, rhyming advertisements. How many signs were there?  Roughly 35,000 signs, nationwide.  The cost of leasing land from farmers and maintaining the signs became too expensive. Interesting to note:  One complete set is housed in the Smithsonian National Museum of AmericanHistory with others in museums like The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan, the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver, Colorado and the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanaoke, Virginia. 

There are nostalgia replicas re-installed on Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona as a nod to roadside history.

A preserved set of U.S. Route 66 signs promoting Burma-Shave.

Burma-Shave rhymes often blended humor with driving safety and lighthearted digs at "old-fashioned" shaving methods.

In the last year for the signs, most of which were repeats, including the final slogan, which had originally appeared in 1953:

"Our fortune / Is your / Shaven face / It's our best / Advertising space / Burma-Shave"

 

Special Promotional Messages

"Free offer! / Rip a fender off your car / Mail it in / for a half-pound jar / Burma-Shave"

A large number of fenders were received by the company, which made good on its promise.

"Free - free / a trip to Mars / for 900 / empty jars / Burma-Shave"

Arylss French, owner of a Red Owl grocery store did submit 900 empty jars.  The company at first replied: "If a trip to Mars / you earn / remember, friend / there's no return." Then Burma-Shave, on the recommendation of Red Owl's publicity team, withdrew the one-way offer and instead sent Mr. and Mrs. French on vacation to the town of Moers (often pronounced "Mars") near Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. 

Frederick C. Mennen of LaPorte, Indiana a chemist, inventor and industrialist is credited with developing the product in 1958.  Mennen began mareting Jiffy Pop in 1959.

American Home Products purchased Jiffy Pop from Mennen that same year.  Alvin Golub, a pharmacologist, perfected the product and within one year it reached the national U.S. market.  In 1976, the stage magician Harry Blackstone, Jr. was endorsing what the television-commerical jingle called "the magic treat .. as much fun to make as it is to eat". 

Original Jiffy Pop packages used a plain, bright aluminum pan. 

Known for it interactive "magic" experience, it was often popular in the 1960-1980s. The old-fashioned popcorn that expanded in a foil pan on the stovetop was introduced in 1959.  It consisted of kernels, oil and flavoring inside a disposable aluminum pan with a metal handle and a heavy foil lid that puffed up into a bubble as the corn pops. 

 

 

Cherry Blossom Time

Washington, D.C.

www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

DC's iconic cherry blossoms are expected to reach peak bloom on Thursday, March 26.  The peak, defined by 70% of the Yoshino trees blooming is occuring early due to warm weather.  The best viewing at the Tidal Basin is expected to last though the weekend of March 28-29 following the peak. The peak blooms generally last 4-7 days, but can last up to 2 weeks under ideal, cool weather. 

The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20-April 12.  It features an opening ceremony, kite festival and parade. The festival honors American and Japanese cultures and represents a close bond forged between the two countries that began with Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki's gift of the trees back in 1912. 

And speaking of trees, you can assist in the effort to preserve and protect DC's iconic cherry trees through the Trust for the National Mall's .. Adopt a Cherry Tree campaign.

For those who wish to celebrate from afar, enthusiasts can see the cherry blossoms via the live BloomCam. The BloomCam is a live, 24/7 camera feed that provides a view of the cherry trees lining the Tidal Basin on the National Mall.  The camera is a partnership between the Trust for the National Mall, the National Park Service and EarthCam.  The camera changes angles every five minutes to provide a complete picture of the area.

An event called Petalpalooza takes place at the Wharf waterfront district in Washington along the Washington Channel of the Potomac River.  It features live music, art installations, family activities and a fireworks show over the Potomac River.

Few experiences capture the magic of Spring in Washington quite like the cherry blossoms.  The pale pink petals drifting across the Tidal Basin, the vibrant energy of the waterfront and the excitement of festivals like Petalpalooza combine to create an unforgettable seasonal atmosphere. 

There is one type of blossom that appears late among all the other spring pedals is the Kwanzan cherry tree.  It is the popular, ornamental Japanese flowering tree celebrated for its dramatic, deep pink, double-petaled blossoms. The Kwanzan Cherry Tree has the showiest blossoms of the cherry blossom trees.  The blooms are lush and have a nice light, slightly sweet almond scent.

 It is the hallmark of Washington, D.C.'s landscape.  

These blossoms resemble carnations.  The Kwanzan cherry trees were part of the original 1912 gift from Japan.  These trees can achieve a height of 26-39 feet and live to be over 100 years old.  

 

What Happened to the Drive-In Movie Theater?

Part II

At their peak in 1958, more than 4,000 drive-in movie theaters ooperated across the United States.  Today, only a few hundred remain.

For decades, the drive-in was one of the most affordable and flexible ways for American famillies to spend a summer evening.  You pulled in before sunset, clipped the speaker to your car window, watched the concession slides flicker across the screen and stayed as long as you wanted.  Kids fell asleep in the back seat.  Teenagers stayed for the second feature.  Nobody rushed you out.  

Some of the real reasons drive-in theaters declined were rising land values, the arrival of HBO in 1972, the spread of the VCR in the late 1970s and the rise of the indoor movie theater. Yet with the rise of television in the 1950s, indoor movie theaters faced competition.  The single-screen palace declined replaced by multiplexes which were single venues holding multiple screens which boomed in the 1980s. 

What Happened to the Drive-In Movie Theater? 

Part I

The first patented drive-in movie theater was opened by Richard M. Hollingshead on June 6, 1933 on Admiral Wilson Boulevard charging 25 cents per person in Camden, New Jersey.  The drive-in was designed as a family-friendly accessible alternative to indoor theaters.  After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s with over 4,000 U.S. locations, they declined due to the 1970s energy crisis, rising land values and home video, but experienced a niche resurgence as a nostalgic experience for another generation.

Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., a sales manager at his father's company created the drive-in to solve the discomfort of traditional theaters and make movies accessible to families, regardless of how noisy children were. In 1932, Hollingshead tested his idea in his driveway by nailing a screen to trees, using a 1928 projector on his car hood and placing a radio behind the screen to test sound. He applied for a patent in August of 1932 which was granted in May 1933.  While the idea was novel the original drive-in was not immediately successful and Hollingshead sold it after three years.

Post WWII, with the boom in car culture, drive-ins exploded in popularity, particularly in rural areas and suburbs. The introduction of in-car speakers with volume control in 1941 by RCA significantly improved the experience.  Drive-ins often included playgrounds and miniature golf.

Drive-ins were not without challenges:  the sound broadcast from the screen reached viewers in the back with an annoying time delay, out of sync with what was happening in the films.  This was addressed first by more speakers, then by clip-on speakers, and ultimately by broadcasting the soundtrack directly to car radios.

Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car which was attached to a small pole by a wire.  These speaker systems were superseded by the more practical method of broadcasting the soundtrack through car radios. 

By 1958, the peak year for drive-in theaters in the United States, there were approximately 4,000 to 5,000 operating with specific figures citing around 4,063 locations marking the zenith of their popularity before television and home entertainment led to a decline.  The height of the drive-in era was driven by post-war culture and the baby boom. This boom was fueled by suburban growth and the demand for family--friendly entertainment, a niche drive-ins filled perfectly. 

Michigan has the largest drive-in theater, the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In in Dearborn which once held nine screens and capacity for 3,000 cars making it the world's largest though it now operates with fewer screens but remains a huge venue.  Another contender for the biggest screen is Gengie's Drive-In in Maryland known for its massive screen.

The oldest continuously operating drive-in theater in America is Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, PA. off PA Route 309 by Wilson Shankweiler.  It opened on April 15, 1934 and holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest in the world being the second drive-in ever built in the United States after the original in Camden, New Jersey. The Shankweiler's Drive-In was one of the first drive-ins to use FM radio for audio and later adopted digital projection.