26 JUNE 14, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
Opening of Ridgewood Woolworth’s
store was as big as the Moon Landing
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Woolworth’s, the beloved
“five-and-dime” store that
had just about anything
you could ever need, faded into history
more than 20 years ago — but the discount
chain remains beloved by most
Queens residents fortunate enough to
have shopped there.
At the height of its popularity, the
arrival of a new Woolworth’s store
in an American neighborhood was
celebrated as a boon for the local
business strip. This was the sentiment
expressed on the front page of the
July 24, 1969, issue of the Ridgewood
Times — published four days aft er man
walked on the Moon — which covered
the grand opening of a Woolworth’s
in Ridgewood.
Actually, it was the second Woolworth’s
store to open in the neighborhood;
the fi rst one opened in the 1930s
at 57-37 Myrtle Ave. Both stores would
be in simultaneous operation for more
than 25 years.
Before Walmart, Target and
Amazon ruled the consumer roost,
Woolworth’s was the place to shop.
At one point, the chain had hundreds
of stores from coast to coast, off ering
everything from hardware to housewares,
clothing to cosmetics, toys to
televisions. If that wasn’t enough and
all that shopping made you hungry,
chances are your local Woolworth’s
had a lunch counter where you could
get a cheeseburger and a milkshake,
or just a sandwich and a coff ee, for an
aff ordable price.
The July 24 front page of the Ridgewood
Times chronicled the July 17
grand opening of the new Woolworth’s
store located at 54-32 Myrtle Ave. It
included a photo of the ribbon-cutting
attended by store employees, local
elected offi cials and other dignitaries,
including Congressman Frank Brasco,
Assemblywoman Rosemary Gunning,
state Senator Martin Knoll, Ridgewood
Times publisher Carl Clemens
and editor Dorsey Short.
Below the photo was a picture of
shoppers outside of the Woolworth
storefront; the caption noted that
thousands “fl ocked to the new store
to admire its fi ne layout, variety and
excellence of merchandise off ered.”
The shop featured two levels, including
a “fi ne cafeteria,” and was located
a short walk from the Myrtle-Wyckoff
Avenues subway stations.
Short explained the importance of
Woolworth’s arrival to Ridgewood
in an editorial titled “Welcome Woolworth’s!”
included on the front page (at
the time, the paper ran its editorials on
the front page every week).
“Before deciding on the location,
Woolworth’s considered the area, the
market, the potential needs. Before
deciding what to put in its displays,
Woolworth’s sampled the needs of
potential customers in Greater Ridgewood,”
he wrote. “The result is the fi ne
Ridgewood Store which is fast gaining
friends in the area.”
One week before, in the July 17 issue
of the Ridgewood Times, Woolworth’s
Photo via Google Maps
The former Woolworth's store location at 54-32 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood
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