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I romped around Patchogue a few times. We used to hang out at the L-dock, and on the second level of the bank parking lot, across from the fire house. That was back before they tore down the old lace factory. They rebuilt it; Swezey's moved into it, but went out of business about two years later. Not sure what's there now. Probably a GAP and Starbucks.
There's great old graveyards in the area. Lots of history there.
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Originally Posted by arjr
Growing up in Patchogue in the 50's and 60's, we had Grants, (which is now the public library), Woolworths, (which is now a dollar store) the Rialto (which only cost 25 cents for two matinees), Mayers Barbershop (where kindly old Mr Mayer stood cutting hair for years), Ehmers Pork Store (which is still there), the A&P, Holzers, Tobey's, Pops Deli (where I would run with my pennies to buy a jaw breaker, or one of the other penny candies), Ricky's, the first hamburger joint (where Burgers were 15 cents, and a shake was 25 cents), Floyd Bennetts, the Old Roller Skating Rink, Swezeys. The Old Lace Mill my Grandmother had worked in, and that we would fish for sunnies behind, Bay Avenue School (with it's 12' ceilings, and rickety old fire escapes). The beautiful Mt. Carmel Church, (which they tore down). Mr Fiala (who would hitch up a bunch of small donkeys, and pull a cart around). Nancy's Restaurant that made the most delicious pizza. The Oasis Bar where all the locals went for a brewski after work.
Patchogue had parades that would have hundreds of WWII vets, the amphibious Duck landing craft, and massive tanks chopping up Main St. with their steel treads.
Everyone, knew everyone!
Now....well....they may as well rename Patchogue....Patchocali
Growing up in Patchogue in the 50's and 60's, we had Grants, (which is now the public library), Woolworths, (which is now a dollar store) .....Swezeys. The Old Lace Mill my Grandmother had worked in..
Thanks for mentioning Grants! Even though in my previous posts I'd recalled Woolworths, Kresges, Kress', and McCrory's, I still had this nagging feeling there was one other "dime store" I'd forgotten the name of. Of course, it was W.T. Grant's.
If I recall right, the two "big" dimestore chains on LI were Woolworths and Grants. I think McCrory's was a close third.
When did Swezey's in Patchogue close down? They had a smaller store in West Babylon which was converted to a Bed Bath & Beyond about a year or so ago. I've only been in or through Patchogue about a dozen times but do remember the lace mill; it was the huge dark brick building on the north side of Montauk Highway when coming into Patchogue Village from the west, correct? Didn't it stand empty for many many years as a result of longstanding fights over what should be done with it after it closed?
You know, it's funny how the old names can stick with a place years later. I still think of the big hospital in East Meadow as "Meadowbrook Hospital" rather than Nassau County Medical Center, and I have to think twice to keep from referring to "Salisbury Park" rather than Eisenhower Park!
I romped around Patchogue a few times. We used to hang out at the L-dock, and on the second level of the bank parking lot, across from the fire house. That was back before they tore down the old lace factory. They rebuilt it; Swezey's moved into it, but went out of business about two years later. Not sure what's there now. Probably a GAP and Starbucks.
Yeah, mostly Mexican/South American now.
The Old Lace Mill was torn down after years of wrangling over what to do with the many polutants. A new building was put up in the same spot that housed Swezeys for a while, and now Briacliffe College.
The 2 tier parking lot was also torn down. Many areas of Patchogue are now being torn down and replaced by condos, both in the Village, and down So. Ocean Ave where the old hotels (rooming houses) were.
Patchogue had really hit some bad times in the 90's with many of the village stores empty, crime, and neglect.
The current mayor, however has done a good job of cleaning up the village area. The considerable revitalization has of course come with a price.
Although, certainly better than the prior decade, IMO, the old time small village ambiance is gone forever.
It sounds as if Patchogue has and is going through a scenario very similar to what happened in Bay Shore.
In the early 1900s, Bay Shore was one of the "Hamptons" of its day: a South Shore playground for the moneyed set. Because I grew up in Nassau County, I don't know what Bay Shore was like during the 1950s and 1960s (maybe someone here can say?) but when I first moved to Southwestern Suffolk in the early 1970s Bay Shore was a very depressed area. There was a narrow strip of expensive waterfront-area homes south of Montauk Highway but the rest of the village area was not a place you'd be likely to want to stroll through at any time of day or (especially) night.
In the early 1990s (I think) the village was "practically promised" that the future Long Island Aquarium would be built right on or near Main Street. The existing merchants were encouraged to invest in upgrading their stores and other facilities in anticipation of the revitalization of the town center (which had been hit hard by the construction of nearby malls drawing customers away). Well, promises being just that.... the Aquarium deal fell through. It was a real blow to the merchants and others who had invested in the village but instead of throwing in the towel they decided to go ahead with the renewal anyway. One by one the stores and buildings have gone from being either boarded up or places not attractive to customers, to a far nicer place to shop, eat, and visit. I'd say it has taken a good 10 years to turn itself around from "depressed" to "pleasant" but Bay Shore is proof that it can be done if the people involved are determined to make a revitalization happen. Hopefully Patchogue will go the same route; it sounds like that's the plan, anyway!
Isn't there a very well-reviewed restaurant in the south area of Patchogue? I seem to recall reading about it. Named after a French king... Louis X??...??
I understand that many people have fond memories of their childhood, but what do people in North Carolina reminisce about? I imagine something like...
"Do you remember that empty field of grass before they put up the Wal-Mart?"
In the local paper they have columns about the stores & landmarks they have lost, it makes me sad when I read it.
See, they complain about the strip malls & stuff, maybe they think we bring them these things, like Walmart (like Long Islanders embrace Walmart!!!!) but they end up shopping there too, then their favorite mom & pop dissappears.
Hey, NYers can't blame illegals for tranforming the mall.
Can they?
Back on topic...
anybody remember when Huntington village had a theater with only 2 screens? Roller skaing on Friday nights?
was the bar in Farmingdale Fulton Street, i remember Friendly Frost what about crazy Eddies! Newmark and Lewis! REmember when the circus used to come to the LI Arena? There used to be a ski area at Bald Hill in Farmingville i think. Times Square Stores and like i mentioned before Billy Blakes and Modells!
Bald Hill & High Point... lots of fun.
Hey, everyone, we did get more snow back then, didn't we, b/c we were able to learn to ski near home... couldn't do that now.
Speaking of Grants, did you ever eat in the Bradford Room?
And raise you hand if you ever ate out at :
Angelo's (Smithtown),
Chirillo's Steak House and Motel
Riverside Casino or Harry's Yellow Balloon
Villager Diner
Or stopped in for a few drinks at Murphy's Pub, Mortimers, or Whistle Stop Saloon?
Where Sleepy's Smithtown is now was formally a Pier One, before that Park & Shop and before that Bohacks.
Where CitiBank Smithtown is was Treasure Island, and before that; Consumers Distributing and A&P.
Some old stores come to mind; Robert Hall and David Brown Hardware.
Some old Schools; Sweetbriar Elementary, New York Ave Jr. HS.
Did you read the Long Island Press?
Buy 5 cent Whammy Sticks from the Good Humor Man?
and bonus points for any one who remembers the Firemans' Carnival...
I was at Paris-New York once. It closed down shortly after. I must be bad luck! LOL
Spies II was located on Route 110. I used to go there all the time. Best times I ever had.
Ever go to Voodoo (Saturday nights)? It was called Caffienes on Friday nights, and Wonderama on Thursdays. The owner opened another place called the Milk Bar. (No milk served)
I've never been to the Vault, NYC. Heard about it for years. It's still open, I think.
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Originally Posted by NYer
Ok, anyone remember Paris/New York? Spize? Spit?
... Chaz, where Jani is now in the WW mall...
Last edited by Check123; 02-19-2007 at 08:54 PM..
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