Coming up Locust Street on the same side, the next store was "Conrads". The door also had a sign at one point that indicated the building was used by Dr. A.H.Baxter, a dentist. The door also had a sign on it that said "The Prudential". Perhaps it was an insurance salesman office. Walkers Jewelers occupied the small store next to the dentist.
Continuing up the street, our next stop is the former Hotel Columbia. The building also housed a store on the first floor called "the Silco". I'm not sure what SILCO stood for, but my guess is the "LCO" was Lancaster County. Perhaps this was a store whose only locations were in Lancaster County.
Next to the former Hotel Columbia was the Hotel Locust. The sign out front welcomed people in to have some fine food. The building to the right of the Hotel Locust was Haldeman and Son. They owned a clothing store.
Next, our walk brings us to the Central National Bank. Note the Ancient Greek architecture of this building. The building was always a bank. It would later become Central Savings and Loan. Today, it houses the Susquehanna Bank.
At some point in the 1940s or 1950s, the next building was the Alto Movie Theater. At some point, the building took on some changes to its facade. It housed a Masonic Temple at one time. Today, it is home to a law firm.
According to the sign on the next building, it was an F.W.Woolworth five and dime store. At some point in time, Woolworths would move across the street from this location.
Hungry yet? Next to the Woolworths store is a Food Fair, a local grocery store. I can remember that unique rounded window and big sign when I was a kid wandering through downtown Columbia. The Food Fair would later vacate this small locale and open in the Columbia Plaza Shopping Center. The building would also house Super Thrift and also the Silco at one point, but was torn down to make way for (what is today) Wachovia Bank.
Next to the Food Fair was an art and craft store called Ben Franklin. It must have been a competitor of Woolworths because it too was a "five and ten" cent store. The Ben Franklin store was torn down at some point. A drive-through for Wachovia Bank is located there today. The Ben Franklin store is at the far right in this pan-shot of Locust Street.
The 1949 photo shows the next building on our walk. I couldn't read what the signs in the window said. By 1950, the building housed Dorothy Potters Shoppe. This may have been a dress shop selling female apparel. By the early 1960s, it also was the home of American Finance, a loan office.
The next 3 buildings were occupied by the Columbia Hardware (a store for the handyman), Brubakers Jewelry Store, and the King Shop, a mens clothing store. It looks like the King Shop was undergoing a face lift at the time this photo was taken.
Next door was what I called the "K" Building. That's because Keystone Drug Store was located there when I was a youngster. Before that, Kirsteins Book Store was occupying the building.
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Our last stop at the corner with 4th. Street is the Dauphin Deposit Bank. This bank has not changed over the years, and still remains today.
That concludes our walking tour of the 300 block of Locust Street. Time to go to Ortman's Drug Store in the 400 block for a real home-made ice cream soda. Catch you later.