The fancy schmancy jewelry counter 
A look at shoes
Woolie's yarn
Woolworth's Vienna AustriaToday we are going to travel away from the stench that is Chicago and Illinois politics and go to Vienna, Austria a city very similar to Chicago in respects of old 20th century Terra cotta laced buildings and of course old Chicago retail. The United States has not seen the likes of Woolworth since they shut down all American operations in 1997. What most people don't realize is that Woolworth's is alive and well in such places as Vienna, South Africa and the UK (which is actually closing their operations).
These photos are from my trip to Vienna in 2006. Vienna is a wonderful city that preserves old architecture while melding the new modernist designs in the background. Public transportation from cable cars to trains to buses are the most reliable I have ever been on. Once upon a time Chicago had cable cars such as these running down the street ready to take you anyplace. Now our city and state is stuck with a foul-mouthed Governor who won't resign. I say we get rid of the governor's seat and bring back the cable cars in its place.
While walking inside the Vienna Woolworth's was not exactly a trip back in time to my childhood spent shopping at one of my mother's favorite five and dimes (which by the time I was in grammar school in the late 1980s and early 90s was more of the $5 and $10) I was impressed by the fancy jewelry counter which looked nothing like what you would have found back in our old Woolworth's. It was nice to visit this Woolworth's. I remember feeling saddened when Woolworth's began to close some nearby locations in Rogers Park in 1992 and got rid of the rest five years later.
6 comments:
Nice photos, Didi. Looks like your interest in retail stores goes back a while! It's funny how Woolworth's stayed so vibrant outside the US, while here it declined for decades before finally closing shop. I guess time has run out for them in the UK (sad becuse the stores there look they should be winners). The Vienna store you show has a nice contemporary look.
I like the Vienna store too. It is contemporary. I can only imagine that the UK stores are quite similar.
Even though I loved woolworth's as a kid, this store felt nothing like the Woolworth's of the US. Still trying to figure out whether that is good or bad.
The Vienna store kind of looks like the Woolworth's they remodeled towards the end in a last ditch effort to revitalize the chain. That's a good thing, because they were finally on to something after being lost in the '60s for so long.
These are great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for looking, Steven. LOL!
I hadn't even realized Woolworth's was Vienna until I actually went there. Sure I knew about Woolworth's being in the UK and South Africa but that day when we were aimlessly walking around the city on a hot day (It was July) I was extremely excited to see this again. In the end I still was a bit disappointed because it just was not the same.
The Woolworth in HIP had its grill until at least the late 80's. Still standing but closed is a Woolworth at Grand and Harlem and I'm sure there are many more.
We used to shop at the Woolworth's every time we went out to the HIP. I remember in 1997 when the chain was closing down, we visited one last time and the counter was STILL back there!
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