When Main was More than Just a Street

Concord’s historic Main Street has been in the new quite a lot of late thanks to the grant rewarded for making changing to the main thoroughfare of the downtown area. Of course for as long as I can remember – going back a good half a century or more – there have been periodic discussions and plans – some acted upon – to find ways to keep the downtown fresh, vital and exciting.

When I was growing up in the Concord of the late 1950s and 60s, “downstreet,” an expression many locals used when announcing their plan to shop in the downtown area, held promise of hours spent going from store to store seeking out treasures or simply breathing in the ambiance that the hustle and bustle represented. Main Street from Center to the Capitol Theatre not to mention Warren, School, Pleasant, Capitol and Park streets, offered a variety of stores and shops that could provide you with whatever you might need – even things you didn’t know you wanted.

Although my allowance often allowed me to only shop at one of the City’s three Five and Dime stores (Kresge, Woolworth and J.J. Newberry), that didn’t stop me from browsing in dozens of other emporiums.

There was Sears and Penny’s and I was usually awed by the watches, rings and other treasures displayed in the windows of the city’s numerous jewelry stores. If I needed stationary there was Brown and Saltmarsh or Speers. The sports-minded could visit Haggetts and there were always bargains to be found at the Army and Navy Store.

Men and women’s clothing of every kind were readily available at Solomons, Edward Fine, Hooz’s, Princess Shop, Junior Deb, Varsity Shop and in the 1970s Mark Manus opened a high-end clothing store – Mark-E Ltd and later there was McQuades.

Most of the numerous drug stores that dotted the downtown had luncheon counters although I usually headed to Newberry’s where Maude and Millie worked their magic on everything they served. Something about the press they used on their grilled-cheese sandwiches brought out a flavor and taste that was second to none. If you wanted something a little more special there was Charos Grille across from the State House or The Puritan, later renamed The Talk of the Town and there was always The Ambassador Restaurant on Pleasant Street and for special occasions – Harry’s Steak House.

If a quick bite was in order, Polly Susan’s Bakery on School Street made just about every kind of taste-tempting delight and the fudge at Granite State or Fannie Farmer were on equal footing in my book.

Food for thought could be found at Apple Tree Bookstore on Warren or Bookland on North Main. (Gibson’s in those days was in the Capitol Shopping Center).

So much of my childhood was defined by my almost daily visit to Main Street.  I couldn’t imagine it ever changing or not being a hub of activity, especially on Friday night when the stores remained open until 9 and just about everyone, it seemed, poured into the shopping mecca.

You saw friends, acquaintances and smiled and nodded to people you didn’t know but who were clearly feeling the same way as they made their way along the sidewalk. During the holiday season you were greeted by smiles and greetings from virtual strangers as you passed under the warm and festive glow of the lighted garlands wrapped around the light posts.

When I was fortunate enough to work on Main Street – days at the Endicott Hotel and evenings at the Concord Theatre – I truly understood why the heart of a city is found in its downtown shopping area, something that a cold, impersonal mall can never take the place of.  Of course if you’ve never experienced what Concord’s downtown can be, a shopping plaza may seem more than acceptable.

The past is the past and those halcyon days that began petering out in the latter 1980s will probably never come back. However, I hope that any changes implemented include tireless efforts to bring to Main Street the kind of variety and choices in businesses that make people want to spend their time and money there. Without that, it may look pretty and charming but it’ll be as cold and impersonal as the Universal Studio back lot.