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Home » The Claycord Online History Museum – Park-N-Shop & Willow Pass Rd.

The Claycord Online History Museum – Park-N-Shop & Willow Pass Rd.

by CLAYCORD.com
26 comments

parkNshop

This one was posted a few years ago, but we wanted to highlight it again because it’s a great photo.

Thanks to “Kirkwood” for sending this 1959 picture from a Mt. Diablo High School yearbook showing Park-N-Shop and Willow Pass Rd. in Concord.

“Kirkwood” says “At the far right is the water tower that served Concord. It belonged to California Water Service and was located near where the Brenden theatre is now and directly across from Lamberts Bakery bldg. There was a small office at the base of the tower. I don’t remember the source of the water but I do remember it tasted terrible!”

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Thanks for the look back in time!

ABOUT THE CLAYCORD ONLINE MUSEUM: The Claycord Online Museum is made up of historical photos, documents & anything else that has to do with the history of our area.

If you have any old photos or items that you’d like to place in the Claycord Online Museum, just scan or take a photo of them, and send them to the following address: news@claycord.com. It doesn’t matter what it is, even if it’s just an old photo of your house, a scan of an old advertisement or an artifact that you’d like us to see, send it in and we’ll put it online!

Click on the tag below titled “Claycord Online Museum” to view other items!

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26 comments


John P July 12, 2019 - 2:14 PM - 2:14 PM

The empty street is the most appealing aspect of this flashback! The DvV used to be a great place before all the new homes and freeways. If you build it, they will come; and they keep building and they keep coming. Any chance some wise leader will arrive and say, “Hey, we’ve exceeded the capacity of the land to absorb any more human impacts.” and convince people to dial it back a bunch? Nope, it takes catastrophe to get humans to change their ways and it might be too late for us already.

resident July 12, 2019 - 3:58 PM - 3:58 PM

All population increase in the U.S. and other first world countries is from immigrants and their children…

S July 12, 2019 - 7:27 PM - 7:27 PM

we don’t know that Melanie is your “real” name…

S July 12, 2019 - 2:21 PM - 2:21 PM

nice

Margot July 12, 2019 - 4:47 PM - 4:47 PM

So you are saying that you and other families living here had no children or grandchildren and all the new tracks that were built were built not purchased by American families. Just immigrants ?!! I was born in concord in 1951 less than a mile from Park and shop and still live in the same home my neighbors were not foreign immigrants though there grandparents may have been born abroad

Frank July 12, 2019 - 8:47 PM - 8:47 PM

Margot…”Native Americans” are descendants of Asian immigrants who wiped out the indigigenous people fo North America.

Dr. Jellyfinger July 12, 2019 - 9:58 PM - 9:58 PM

Whoa! Just a minute there Frank…. Who was here to be wiped out by Asian immigrants, that became Native Americans? I know some Viking dudes camped out in Minnesota for awhile but Native Americans (Injuns) were already here then…. so who was here before that? I am sooooooo curious!

Dr. Jellyfinger July 12, 2019 - 10:45 PM - 10:45 PM

I’ll bet it was Cowellian….. he’s always first.

Justifiable Languor July 13, 2019 - 5:57 AM - 5:57 AM

Well. If you want to go back to antiquity, I vote for Adam and Eve. I love the alien like depictions of languid saintlyness present in all cultures. Perfection.

Silva July 13, 2019 - 7:43 AM - 7:43 AM

Kennewick Man.

pkl July 13, 2019 - 9:59 PM - 9:59 PM

How many generations of ancestors do we need to have been born in the U.S. before we can say that we are native? Is 100, 200 or 300 years enough? They tell us that the U.S. was the last land to be settled by humans, finally coming over the Bering Strait when the waters receded. What about the U.S. Indians who immigrated across the Bering Strait? They wouldn’t be native to the U.S. either.

Steven Powers July 12, 2019 - 3:12 PM - 3:12 PM

In the late 70s and early 80s we walked there it was good for food and a lil shopping… not the same today

Bad Nombre July 12, 2019 - 5:36 PM - 5:36 PM

I know. You can hardly find a place to park there anymore!

Derb July 12, 2019 - 3:55 PM - 3:55 PM

Are you sure that this is a photo & not a drawing or sketch? The reason I ask is because there’s not a single person walking nor a car either parked in the lot or moving on the street (Willow Pass). Just looks a bit strange to me.

Double Dzzz July 12, 2019 - 7:01 PM - 7:01 PM

Probably early morning shot. but how nice it looked. good days.

Justifiable Languor July 13, 2019 - 6:09 AM - 6:09 AM

Sunday morning. All shops were closed on Sunday.

Silva July 12, 2019 - 7:14 PM - 7:14 PM

Before there were any trees in Concord. Seriously.

NoMoreFreeRide July 12, 2019 - 7:25 PM - 7:25 PM

I miss the Woolworths counter top diner inside.

Antler July 12, 2019 - 9:51 PM - 9:51 PM

Ohhhhhh, YES! They had a roller-bar hot dog steamer machine and used fantastic buns with real butter (and whatever other usual condiments you requested).
If you youngsters-in-Concord can picture the building to the left of where Chick’s Donuts still is…. that end of the Woolworth’s building was slanted with double glass doors. The soda fountain bar was just to the right of the entrance doors.

Justifiable Languor July 13, 2019 - 5:46 AM - 5:46 AM

Wood flooring. For me, the thought of Woolwoths brings up the joy of hearing myself trodding on the floors. The WC Woolworths had wooden floors so I assume this one did too. Anyone?

Did the JC Pennys have an elevator, and a man to operate it?

Whoe Jim July 12, 2019 - 10:29 PM - 10:29 PM

Those were truly the good old days. It’s not packed now like sardines in a can. If you like Gavin Newsom and his policies you will enjoy more of the same when we will pay for many more to come and join us on the roads and the region. Just wait until the former Concord naval weapon station is developed with another 30,000 people added to the mix. Now that’s progress… wheeee….

MonumentMan July 12, 2019 - 11:09 PM - 11:09 PM

I think Grants was the store that had the Hot Dogs next to Chicks. Woolworths was down where Las Montañas Supermarket is located now. The hot dogs were good for sure.

DD July 13, 2019 - 6:34 AM - 6:34 AM

Used to love going to Buzzy Bee Hobbies.

Crazytech58 July 13, 2019 - 8:14 AM - 8:14 AM

Nice to see…… not one tweaker, homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk, no broken glass on ground from car burglary…… try and find that TODAY… (sigh)

Gittyup July 13, 2019 - 12:23 PM - 12:23 PM

This was “state of the art” for its time, I remember we were so excited to have a “shopping center” in Concord when Park and Shop opened. Until then, if you needed most household items (like sheets and towels) you had to go to Penny’s in Walnut Creek.

Until Park and Shop opened, clothing was pretty much only available at Hilson’s across from Todos Santos Park. You almost had to sew if you lived in Concord at that time. Park and Shop offered Kahn’s, a huge department store that had two floors with lots of better women’s clothing … and a men’s department. That was stellar – a men’s department that wasn’t Sears or Penny’s. If I remember, they carried finer men’s suits that were tailored. Kahn’s is the big store to the right of Penny’s in the photo. There was no man at the elevator door, but both Kahn’s and Penny’s had those things called escalators. They had a learning curve.

Woolworth had the best ice cream sodas. I believe it was a Thom McCann shoe store that was located in the shopping center. No more trips to Walnut Creek or Oakland for men’s dress shoes. It was such a convenience considering parts of the area were still rural, semi-rural, and walnut orchards. Like a “coming of age almost!”

Kirkwood July 13, 2019 - 1:16 PM - 1:16 PM

Penny’s was 3 floors, including basement. That allowed the space to become a theater in future years.


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