Christmas 1963, my mother and I lived in a community about eight miles out of Pittsburgh. She didn't own a car and we took a bus "downtown" for Christmas shopping. The transit line was the "Lincoln Coach" that went back and forth from Pittsburgh to Greensburg, most of the way traveling the famed "Lincoln Highway" that spanned the country from New York to California.
We were part of "Americana". There was a new shopping center called the "Miracle Mile" that was causing a mild sensation but downtown was still the place to go as Petula Clark's 1964 hit song DOWNTOWN proclaimed. Shopping always started at Kaufmann's, biggest of the three main stores that were in a triangle in this new renaissance city whose confluence of three rivers was nicknamed "the Golden Triangle." If we got lost, we would meet at the giant clock outside the store, a scene that still finds its way to watercolor paintings. The escalators just seemed to keep going up in Kaufmann's and we were usually a little bit laden down with packages by the time we walked (always cold and usually snowy) to the next stop, Gimbals Department Store.
A longer walk and we ended up at Hornes. In between was a hat store that I always like to stop in. There were no ballcaps here but different styles from fedoras to English driving caps. It was a place of imagination to me, my Discovery Channel. The biggest treat of all was dinner at this amazing new restaurant that was near the point and faced these huge golden skyscrapers, it was called The Flame! You could see the fire from the grill that cooked the steaks when you turned in from any one of the street corners that led to it. Steaks were $2.99, which we could afford, and came with a salad and baked potato. I looked forward to it every year. Today, it would simply be a Bonanza, that you might go to if the fancier restaurants had long waiting lines, but I still like Bonanzas and Ponderosa!
Anyway, it was a big day for me. I bought a 45 record by the Beatles with She Loves You on one side and I Want To Hold Your Hand on the other. Our other big purchase was a 110# weight set that still sits, sometimes used, in my basement (with a few more pounds added.) We had to take a cab home that night and I think that you could easily find and afford a taxi ride in those days. This year, I was in a number of glamorous malls with huge posters of half-naked men and women telling the youth where happiness is. Kiosks are everywhere and overall the senses become a little bit overwhelmed.
A few months ago we visited the giant mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. We parked and it took about forty-five minutes to walk through. We decided to eat at a restaurant there and I said that I would walk back and get the car while my wife waited in line. The mall had closed just then and I had to walk outside. It was like walking around the "Green Zone" in Baghdad must be like. There was different levels and parking garages and I got lost. I went into a restaurant and asked a waiter the easiest way to get to my car (my wife had been seated by this time.) He laughed and said that this happens a lot and grabbed his keys and drove me to the other side of the mall. I tried to force him to accept six dollars for his help but he refused and told me to put it in the nearest charity kettle. Some people haven't changed as much as shopping itself.
There is one thing today that takes me back a little to those days. Our town (two blocks) has "Light Up Days," and the crowd dresses up warm as they walk in the cold, in and out of each store. The trees are lit up and at the town gazebo you could stop for a free cup of cider and donut. Pittsburgh has its "Light Up Night" but there is sadness about "Downtown" to me today that builds up the rest of the year that I can't get put of my mind at Christmas.
We were part of "Americana". There was a new shopping center called the "Miracle Mile" that was causing a mild sensation but downtown was still the place to go as Petula Clark's 1964 hit song DOWNTOWN proclaimed. Shopping always started at Kaufmann's, biggest of the three main stores that were in a triangle in this new renaissance city whose confluence of three rivers was nicknamed "the Golden Triangle." If we got lost, we would meet at the giant clock outside the store, a scene that still finds its way to watercolor paintings. The escalators just seemed to keep going up in Kaufmann's and we were usually a little bit laden down with packages by the time we walked (always cold and usually snowy) to the next stop, Gimbals Department Store.
A longer walk and we ended up at Hornes. In between was a hat store that I always like to stop in. There were no ballcaps here but different styles from fedoras to English driving caps. It was a place of imagination to me, my Discovery Channel. The biggest treat of all was dinner at this amazing new restaurant that was near the point and faced these huge golden skyscrapers, it was called The Flame! You could see the fire from the grill that cooked the steaks when you turned in from any one of the street corners that led to it. Steaks were $2.99, which we could afford, and came with a salad and baked potato. I looked forward to it every year. Today, it would simply be a Bonanza, that you might go to if the fancier restaurants had long waiting lines, but I still like Bonanzas and Ponderosa!
Anyway, it was a big day for me. I bought a 45 record by the Beatles with She Loves You on one side and I Want To Hold Your Hand on the other. Our other big purchase was a 110# weight set that still sits, sometimes used, in my basement (with a few more pounds added.) We had to take a cab home that night and I think that you could easily find and afford a taxi ride in those days. This year, I was in a number of glamorous malls with huge posters of half-naked men and women telling the youth where happiness is. Kiosks are everywhere and overall the senses become a little bit overwhelmed.
A few months ago we visited the giant mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. We parked and it took about forty-five minutes to walk through. We decided to eat at a restaurant there and I said that I would walk back and get the car while my wife waited in line. The mall had closed just then and I had to walk outside. It was like walking around the "Green Zone" in Baghdad must be like. There was different levels and parking garages and I got lost. I went into a restaurant and asked a waiter the easiest way to get to my car (my wife had been seated by this time.) He laughed and said that this happens a lot and grabbed his keys and drove me to the other side of the mall. I tried to force him to accept six dollars for his help but he refused and told me to put it in the nearest charity kettle. Some people haven't changed as much as shopping itself.
There is one thing today that takes me back a little to those days. Our town (two blocks) has "Light Up Days," and the crowd dresses up warm as they walk in the cold, in and out of each store. The trees are lit up and at the town gazebo you could stop for a free cup of cider and donut. Pittsburgh has its "Light Up Night" but there is sadness about "Downtown" to me today that builds up the rest of the year that I can't get put of my mind at Christmas.
