The Sierra Club’s lease was up at the end of August, and has moved out of the old Harper’s Pharmacy spot at Sutton Boulevard and Maplewood Avenue.
A staffer said many of the staff members were working from home, which contributed to the decision to leave.
Much of the office equipment was given away, but a book shelf left over from the pharmacy’s original cabinetry was labeled to stay. She had no comment on where the remaining pieces were. They once filled the location.
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David Schlafly, Yes, these and other very needed improvements in town! Thank you! Grew up here. Some buildings empty for 50 years on Sutton. My childhood dentist was above this Harpers store with other professional offices. The Bettendorf s grocery store building seemed to be always wet. We kids (50’s) were fascinated with the sidewalk level elevator that popped up for deliveries and made rattling noises when you walked over the closed doors. Loved the long trail of rollers that transported wire baskets full of groceries around the bi-level store inside. Bettendorfs closed after the new National grocery store opened further south on Sutton (engineering firm there now). Then an early, poorly stocked and organized version of Pier One (merch on tables) followed by the fabric store occupied the site too. Doug Houser probably knows more about earlier history there.
The restaurant was a cafeteria, no alcohol. It was open in 1977 thru part of the 80’s. Before Shoney’s opened, I ate there many friday nights, but cant remember the name.
I didn’t know about the slot cars, makes sense, seemed like a big area inside. It was Maplewood Cycles also wasn’t it? Thanks for that Ed.
Maplewood Cycle was at 2911 Sutton, according to the son of the original owners. Springboard Studio is there now.
I remember a fabric store in where the Black Cat Theatre was (which was before the Living Room ) the inside dipped down and the roof leaked like a sieve, the inside always felt moldy and it didn’t smell very good. I believe that was in the 80’s. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the other side of that building was Harpers. Wasn’t there a cafeteria called Piccadilly, across the street from the church in that same area ( further down the street from strange donuts )? If that wasn’t the name, can someone correct me. Getting older, I struggle to remember exactly where all the stores were that have moved.
Prior to the fabric store, in the 60’s, it was once a giant commercial slot car track.
The only bars on Sutton I’m aware of were Paul’s Maple Leaf (near James), Moose Lodge (near Elm), Johnny Ryan’s (on Manchester at Sutton), of course Saratoga Bowling Alley, American Legion and Greenwood Inn at Greenwood. Picadilly was (and is) on Picadilly at Manhatten and oddly not in Maplewood but the city, by mere feet. Zip is 63143 but they are in the city.
Ed – a small tangent here that I’ve wondered about – Piccadilly on Manhattan as well as Piccadilly Ave, in the city, are both spelled with two c’s. In Maplewood, at least at the Yale intersection, it’s Picadilly with one c. A typo? Who knows?
Great eye. Never noticed.
Mary, The cafeteria on the West side of Sutton was the Forrest Cafeteria.
Thank you Jim, In my mind I could see the steam trays and the tables, I remember eating there with my work friends on Fridays. It was driving me crazy because I couldn’t remember the name. On Fridays they had the best baked fish. Where I work we would order a big thanksgiving dinner for my job every November, it was an on going order. We didn’t realize it had been sold to new owners who cooked more ethnic cuisine. The Turkey was perfect but the dressing was not edible, we had to throw it all away that year.
So sad to see Sierra Club not there anymore.
I remember reading the original cabinets were retained and moved to the basement of the building. Hopefully someone can confirm this.
The cabinets were there once. Hard to say if they’re still there. Or what condition they’re in.
Oh gosh. What they did to that building just makes me cry.
Hi Donna, The building was in complete state of deterioration, vacant and boarded for a decade with exception of a struggling theater. I spent my personal funds to restore the building with a new roof, sub structure to prevent its collapse, installed all modern systems and made the building ADA compliant. I did not have a single tenant, meaning I did this project speculatively and without any public assistance.
Upon completion, I sought out a family of new business where there once were none, to wit; Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Bridges, Urban Breath Yoga, Bolyards, and Living Room. Later, I welcomed the the Farmers Market to locate on the parking lot. Together these changes brought a new community to Sutton, once a slew of mostly empty or unimproved commercial buildings.
Sincerely,
David Schlafly
Great job, thanks very much.