Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

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mikeparkridge
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Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by mikeparkridge »

It's an old post WWII store, currently it's a "Happy Fooods" location which had a few others in the area. Before that it was called, Edison Park Foods", and who sit could of been something else earlier.

What interesting about this market is I remember being in there when I was younger and I seem to recall that the doors to the building were wooden, and I find that interesting because as I said this is probably a post WWII building and I would of thought that it was only Pre WWII store buildings that were built with wooden doors.
rich
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by rich »

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugex ... CBcQ8gEwAA

It's an old National. The buff colored brick is a tip-off. The concave pylon is unusual and would have offset the diamond logo that National used. I think the original has a pic that's around the internet somewhere. Usually, it would have been flat concrete. Magic carpet doors began appearing in the 30s, but there might have been reason for not using them here. The wooden doors would have had plate glass, but wood in places to take the abuse of shopping carts. The entrance also might have not had enough space for a magic carpet--if the original orientation was to the street (the original parking lot probably was tiny and most people were expected to come on foot or via bus/streetcar) it would have intruded into the street, whereas orientation to the parking lot would have had intrusion into the pavement. The magic carpet usually came with a breezeway and there may not have been enough room for that.

Wooden doors endured in neighborhood locations and for a long time in some places. When I lived in the Hartford area in the early 80s, there was Finast in Weathersfield from the 30s or 40s that still had manual wooden doors. It didn't last long after that and I wondered how it had survived--the Mott's ShopRite nearby was much bigger and busier.
mikeparkridge
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by mikeparkridge »

Huum. Never heard the term "Magic Carpet doors" before.

BTW, the doors were electric, and I do remember the enterance being on the street, though the out door faced the parking lot.

I assume the parking lot was always the same size because there's a street just to the right of it.
rich
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by rich »

Magic carpet doors predated those with only a sensor. A rubber mat covered a surface with a pressure activated switch to open the door. Usually these were paired with glass and aluminum doors. You describe what might be a version of the breezeway type entrance that was common esp. in the North. The entrance was separate from the exit and often at a 90 degree angle. One or both entrances would have two doors, creating a breezeway to limit the loss of heat and a/c. The 90 degree angle arrangement was superceded by parallel entrance and exit doors by the mid-60s. Later stores often did away with double doors.
maynesG
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by maynesG »

Back in the early 80!s there was a Finast in Bristol Conn that also dated from the 40!s that had wooden doors that opened to the street. It amazed me that this store lasted as l.ong as it did because there wasa store about a mile or so away that Finast built in the 70!s that also was opened.
The last time I went thru Bristol late 80!s the empty 40!s Finast was still inn its glory with clean windows signage equipment ready to go. The Glass windows both of them were clean as was the inside of the building.
I parked my car and got out and got a good look. Simply amazing!
rvwalton
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by rvwalton »

rich wrote: 22 May 2011 21:32 http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&sugex ... CBcQ8gEwAA

It's an old National. The buff colored brick is a tip-off. The concave pylon is unusual and would have offset the diamond logo that National used. I think the original has a pic that's around the internet somewhere. Usually, it would have been flat concrete. Magic carpet doors began appearing in the 30s, but there might have been reason for not using them here. The wooden doors would have had plate glass, but wood in places to take the abuse of shopping carts. The entrance also might have not had enough space for a magic carpet--if the original orientation was to the street (the original parking lot probably was tiny and most people were expected to come on foot or via bus/streetcar) it would have intruded into the street, whereas orientation to the parking lot would have had intrusion into the pavement. The magic carpet usually came with a breezeway and there may not have been enough room for that.

Wooden doors endured in neighborhood locations and for a long time in some places. When I lived in the Hartford area in the early 80s, there was Finast in Weathersfield from the 30s or 40s that still had manual wooden doors. It didn't last long after that and I wondered how it had survived--the Mott's ShopRite nearby was much bigger and busier.
According to an article in the Chicago Tribune dated August 28, 1951, this store opened as an A&P on that day.

On June 26, 1961 the Trib reported that "the grocery at 6783 Northwest Hwy was robbed of 297 cartons of cigarettes, 260 bottles of aspirin, 84 tubes of toothpaste, 60 canned hams, and 45 pounds of steak." The article does not state whether the store was still an A&P or had already become Edison Park Market. All of the others references to that address are for Happy Foods, which still operates the store. I think it is great that 68 years after opening the store is still a grocery store.
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Andrew T.
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Re: Edison Park Grocery Store Chicago Il.

Post by Andrew T. »

rvwalton wrote: 08 Jul 2019 02:44 According to an article in the Chicago Tribune dated August 28, 1951, this store opened as an A&P on that day.
Interesting! This is the second time we've had a Chicagoland "National" turn out to be an A&P.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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