I FOUND DOWNTOWN IN A BOX OF POTATO CHIPS

Submitted by sarahjames on Monday, September 14, 2009 - 8:30 pm

It was 1966 or so. The 45 came in a box of potato chips, and it was mine, more or less, since no one else in my family called dibs on it. Until I heard Petula Clark, this is what Downtown was to me:

postcard of downtown beloit 1970s

I thought it was pretty happening--we had the Majestic and Ellis movie theaters, Woolworth's (that's it at the end of the street, boarded up), a toy store, a shoe store, the A&P, the Gas Light Lounge. It was a revelation to me that there were downtowns in other cities, and they sounded a hell of a lot more interesting than Downtown Beloit.

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Beloit, Beloit, so good they named it...well, Beloit.

Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 9:39 pm.

The thrum! The hustle! The faint odor of automobile exhaust on a busy day! Not to mention Jupiter's, a sort of dry goods and sundries store, named after the Roman god but inexplicably featuring the other Roman god Mercury on the sign. And McNeany's Department Store which is just plain fun to say out loud, and hey--must mention Kant's Toy Store. Pulse-pounding stuff and I too was sure Petula had been dancing in front of Woolworth's in her chiffons and big hair.