Maplewood History: More from Mary

10
157

Just as regular readers of this space have begun to suspect that Mary Piles, senior curator of things historical at CNB-STL, has no more vintage images and documents concerning her place of employment that we haven’t seen, I have but one word to say – not so fast.  Actually she has shared with us many more that I had been hoping to find an interesting or unusual way to present them to this audience.  Failing that, they’re all lumped together below.

If you have forgotten just what CNB-STL means, make a note of this.  It is the new abbreviation for the old Citizens National Bank of Maplewood and St. Louis, now with 6 locations throughout the area.  Some day I will just be able to write the abbreviation and I won’t have to type out the long explanation or have I already done that?

Never mind.  Let’s have a look at some of the images Mary has garnered from the 4 corners of the cyber world.  Later on there will be a discussion, “Does a cyber world have corners?”  But first…

Earlier this year we posted, Citizens Bank of Maplewood.  Here are a few more images on that subject.

The view is slightly to the NE. The intersection is Manchester and Oakview Terrace.  The year…about 1950.
A very rare view of the interior of the bank.
An image of the 1949 groundbreaking drive-up banking facility hailing in an era of banking without getting out of the car.
This image was made during the fire in 1966 that engulfed the Golde’s Department Store next door and destroyed the bank building as well.

For more on the Golde’s fire, the reader is advised to see, The Disastrous 1966 Immolation of Golde’s Department Store – Part One.  And Part Two.

A 1983 view of Citizen’s Park from Mary’s collection. This was, no doubt, taken from the upper level of the Kmart complex parking lot.

Many Maplewoodians have shopped at the Dreamland Shoe Store and were very disappointed when the longtime owners had to move out. Hopefully someone who knows more about it than I do will fill us in on the details.  Dreamland occupied the very small, fill-in building on the eastern end of the 7300 block of Manchester.

 

These following images, also from Mary’s collection, perfectly complement ones of my own that I had posted earlier on a momentous and moving day.  Mine can be seen in my post titled, On a Roll – A House That Is.

Here the house has been pulled out of the lot where it was built on Oakview Terrace. After a left turn it is headed towards Manchester.
Preparing to make the right turn onto Manchester.
The right turn completed.
Here setting a still standing record of fastest time for a Victorian house through the 7300 block of Manchester.

On Old Newsboys Day, 1991, at the corner of Manchester and Marshall.
Ditto with the Zantigo’s Restaurant in the background that has since been replaced by a parking lot. Which is better?
Another view of the same.

 

Well, there you have it.  A mixed bag of Maplewood history or perhaps a conglomeration or a potpourri of Maplewood’s past.  I don’t care whatever you choose to call it but I really think Mary should list herself as MARY PILES, SCOTH@CNB-STL as one of her bona fides.

Thanks to everyone out there who reads these posts and to those of you who email or contact me through this comments section.  I appreciate your support and enthusiasm.

Thankfully 2020 is almost past.  2021 has to be better. See you then.  Happy New Year.

Doug Houser   December 29, 2020

 

 

10 COMMENTS

  1. Wow that brings back memories , Zantigo’s. Remember my mom sending my dad and I there for lunch on Thanksgiving Day to get us out of the house and out of her way while she got the house ready for the big family get together.

  2. Hi Doug, I remember that at the time the last photos were taken the Zantigo’s had already been sold to a small restaurant that made the best Gazpacho. I know they were only there a small amount of time and went out of business. It was after that, the bank bought the property. It was before the house move, and parking became available farther up the street (Oakview Terrace) I miss Zantigo’s. I remember their big burrito and cold Welches Grape juice. It had the worst drive in, the turn was so tight many cars had to back up and try to make the turn again, the ramp is still there. (Also a very tight turn)
    The Zantigo was very small inside. I can remember always having to take my food back to the bank because of seating. Thanks for a great year of memories, something to look forward to in a tough year for all of us. Hope next year will be better.

    • It definitely will, Mary. Thanks again for this information and everything else you have provided. I look forward to cooperating with you again in the coming year.

  3. Doug and Mary, I want to thank you for the pictures. I am beginning to wonder what we will be able to see 20 years from now. I have not taken a picture with film for years and rarely print out pictures from my phone. I am not just talking about buildings and businesses but for me even the ordinary things like birthday parties, holiday events, flowers in the yard, pets. Maybe that is just me. I seldom see post cards and in an age of not smoking cigarettes I cannot remember the last time I picked up a matchbook or box of matches with advertising on it. Seldom see the little note pads with a store’s name and address or a calendar or advertising in a paper. I fear we will be losing a lot of memories because they are not captured on film.

    Thoughts???

    • You are welcome, Mark. For many years my favorite film was Kodachrome 64 – slide film. I liked it for its longevity. Supposedly it would last 100 years without fading. Every 36 images cost me 10 bucks. I bought my wife a digital camera in 2005. It came with some photo editing software. I started fooling around with it and never picked up my film camera again. I even had 8 rolls of Kodachrome with the mailers that I never shot. In 2006 and 7, I took two semesters of Photoshop at Meramec. Never looked back. I use Photoshop on almost a daily basis and love it. I have no idea how many digital images I have. I’d say upwards of 100,000. Most of them are crap but since they cost nothing, I rarely edit any out. I don’t like to try and anticipate what I’ll use and what I won’t. Photoshop is so versatile I regularly use parts of many images in composite photos.
      Once I’m gone I expect most of my images will disappear with me. I hope these ones I post online will survive somewhere. I have made 3 books now, 2 on Maplewood history. I expect those will survive the longest. I have a small mountain of slides in my closet. I seriously doubt if anyone will ever look at those after I’m gone. Some of my digital images are on external hard drives that my newer computer can not find. I don’t expect that my son or grandsons will be interested enough to find a way to recover those images. I pay for digital photo storage on Amazon prime. I wonder if any of my heirs will be willing to continue that? Even if they did what good are the images if you don’t use them for something? I believe most of the digital images will have short lifespans. Print your best images and store them using only archival materials. That’s my advice.

      • Will the Mo Historical Society take all your photos and down loads? Most every image I have researched gives credit to the provider. It usually says, from the collection of so and so.

    • You are welcome, Patty. I try to do as little editing as possible. Let the readers decide if something is interesting or not. Mary and I think all of them are interesting, too. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Comments are closed.