Down Memory Lane

It was in November 1958 that it was first announced in the local newspaper that Woolworth was coming to town. (That’s the year that my parents and I moved into our house in Richmond Hill.) The modern and brand new Woolworth’s store that opened on Yonge Street just south of Centre Street in 1959 had just over 10,000 sq. ft. of space, and included a lunch counter with 30 stools.

This store was a significant fixture during my childhood because when I was old enough, my mother would allow me to go there on my own. That was only place in 'downtown' Richmond Hill I was able to go without one of my parents. You see, the Woolworth’s store, while having a storefront on Yonge Street, also had a back entrance from a quiet residential street. I would go with my brother or a friend and we could leave our bicycles in the back parking lot while we went up the stairs and into the store. We were not allowed on a ‘busy’ road like Yonge Street. Compared to the 1960s, traffic through town these days is a nightmare. We could never have imagined it at the time though.

Woolworth's eventually closed in Richmond Hill in the summer of 1971 but I still have fond memories of my excursions there.