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Back in the day: Monroe’s rise in variety stores
PenneyMclellans
This photo, from the collection of Linda Schild Lostetter, shows McLellan’s at 904 16th Avenue and the J. C. Penney Co. at 910 16th Avenue. These stores were located on the site of the former Ludlow Hotel, which was razed to build this building. The Penney store moved into the new building from its previous location on the west side of the square at 1011-1013 16th Avenue.
As a pre-teen growing up on the farm, I didn’t get to come to Monroe very often. When I did get to ride along with one of my parents, the variety stores were always my favorite store to visit. Those stores, which had previously been called dime stores or five and dimes, sold a variety of items — many of which were priced at a nickel or a dime in the early days.