Gerald P. Lunderville
Long Beach, Calif.
To the Editor,
I was most impressed by your recent article, “In 2018, what do we do in a downtown?”
Thinking back when I was growing up in Claremont, a truly “walking city,” I can recall how one could do all his or her shopping without the need of a car if one lived within a twenty-minute walk. Just about everything was available on Pleasant Street or Tremont Square.
There were doctors’ and dentists’ offices, the A&P and First National supermarkets, Carroll Cut Rate, Stevens Drug, Wadleigh’s, Boccia’s, Harry’s Shoe Barn, Endicott Johnson and Wentzel’s taxi.
For clothing stores, there was Merit’s, the Army-Navy store, David Heller, Montgomery Ward’s, Sears-Roebuck and Dan’s Toggery Shop.
For reading you had Rand’s Book Depot, the Corner Bookshop and the Daily Eagle.
For dining, you could go to the Tumble Inn or the Pleasant Sweet Shop.
Convenience stores, such as Woolworth’s, Fishman’s, Newberry’s, Kiniry’s, Rand, Ball & King, Kimball’s greeting cards, Fred Allen jewelers and Western Auto were all nearby.
There were two theaters: the Latchis and Magnet.
For visitors, there was the Hotel Moody and the Colonial Hotel.
The only thing lacking was an institution for higher learning, but by the 1970s Claremont had the Vocational-Technical College on Hanover Street.
It’s sad to see that quaint backdrop evaporate. I feel fortunate to have spent my childhood in Claremont, the “Heart of the Twin State Valley.”
Sincerely,
Gerald P. Lunderville
Long Beach, Calif.
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