Boston Store (Erie, Pennsylvania) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boston Store
Boston Store in September 2013
General information
Architectural style	Art Deco
Address	716–728 State Street Erie, Pennsylvania United States
Coordinates	42°7′40″N 80°5′4″W / 42.12778°N 80.08444°W / 42.12778; -80.08444
Construction started	1929
Completed	1931
Design and construction
Architect	Shutts & Morrison, Myers & Krider
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Designated:	October 24, 1996
Reference #:	96001194

The Boston Store was once a big department store in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. It first opened in 1885. The building you see today was built later, starting in 1929. At its busiest, there were two other Boston Stores besides the main one downtown. The store closed its doors in 1979.

The building was empty for a while. Then, in 1988, it was fixed up and turned into apartments and shops. It was renamed Boston Store Place. The Boston Store building is important because it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. This means it's a special historic place worth protecting.

What the Building Looks Like

The Boston Store building is on State Street in downtown Erie, between 7th and 8th Streets. It's a six-story building made of light brown bricks. It looks mostly like a big cube. The front of the building along State Street is about 145 feet wide.

The front is split into eight sections by brick columns. The very top of the building has a low wall called a parapet. This wall has cool blue and tan designs made of a special clay material called terracotta. The main entrance is a bit off-center and wider than the other sections. Instead of a simple wall on top, it has a balcony-like part with more terracotta designs.

The Famous Clock Tower

The most famous part of the Boston Store is its tall, four-sided clock tower and bell tower. It's about 40 feet tall and sits right over the main entrance. This tower has a unique design that reminds people of old churches or college buildings. It quickly became a well-known landmark in Erie.

Each of the four clock faces is about 12 feet wide. They have black Roman numerals on white glass panels that let light through. There are also terracotta circles near the top of the tower. Inside the lower part of the tower, you can see the bell behind a cool geometric pattern.

Inside the building, a long hallway goes from State Street to Peach Street. In this hallway, there's a cube-shaped, four-sided clock made by IBM.

The signs on the front of the building used to say "Boston Store" and "Erie Dry Goods Co." For a short time in 2011, they were changed to "University of Pittsburgh Medical Center." But people missed the old signs, so they were changed back. The building also has entrances on Peach Street and 8th Street. There used to be another part of the store with an entrance on 7th Street, but that part was torn down.

History of the Store

The Boston Store started in 1885. A man named Elisha H. Mack bought a store called Erie Dry Goods Store, which had gone out of business. Mack decided to rename it the Boston Store. He chose the name "Boston" because at that time, Boston, Massachusetts, was seen as a very fashionable and cultural city.

The store moved from its first spot on Peach Street to the 700-block of State Street in 1886. From 1886 to 1930, the Boston Store grew a lot. It bought more and more land on its block. By the late 1920s, the store owned land that touched all four nearby streets: Peach, State, 7th, and 8th. Elisha Mack retired in 1925.

In 1929, a new Boston Store building was designed by a local architecture company called Shutts & Morrison. The new store was finished in 1931 and cost about $2 million to build.

From 1949 to 1953, the Boston Store was updated and made even bigger. The part of the store facing Peach Street, which was three stories tall, was made into six stories in 1949. The next year, a three-story building on 8th Street was torn down and replaced with a five-story one. In 1953, escalators were put in on the first through fifth floors.

Why the Store Closed

In 1959, a company called Associated Dry Goods bought the Boston Store. Later, in December 1975, another department store called Horne's from Pittsburgh took over managing the Boston Store.

However, the Boston Store started losing sales. This was because of new competition from the Millcreek Mall in nearby Millcreek Township. Because of these lower sales, the Boston Store had to close on July 7, 1979.

What It Is Now

The Boston Store building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1996. This means it's recognized as an important historical site.

Today, the top five floors of the building have been changed into 125 apartments. Some radio stations, like WFNN, WJET, WRKT, and WRTS, broadcast from inside the building. A restaurant opened on the ground floor in 2008 but closed in 2013. In 2011, UPMC Health Plan moved into a large space on the first floor.

Images for kids

• 

  Clock inside the Boston Store