Y.M.C.A., Jackson Street, at east edge of Western Park (1905)
Hospital, Whited Street at corner of Burwell St. (1914)
Little Falls High School, c1908.
Benton Hall Academy (elementary school) at left/rear of High School.
Main building used as offices of the Board of Education.
Public Library, 1913. (corner of East Main Street and Waverly Place, across from Eastern Park.)
MacKinnon's Knitting Mills, Railroad Depot in foreground. (1907)
Gilbert Knitting Co. just above Horseshoe Falls (1913)
Lundstrom Manufacturing Co. (bookcases) (1934)
John Pierce Stone Co. (stone quarry) (19??)
Main Street, corner of Main & William Streets, looking west.
First building on the right now houses the Law Offices of John Speer, Esq. The second building on the right is the Mannerchor. The low stone wall is still in place (2000).
All buildings on the left for a 3-block area were demolished as part of an "urban renewal" project in the 1960's, and replaced by "Shoppers Square", a strip mall, today the home to a number of struggling businesses and one grocery.
Main Street West, possibly corner of Main & Mary Street or Main & Second St.(1918)
Main Street, c1910
Main Street looking west, 1999. Strip mall & parking area on left.
News articles from the Little Falls Evening Times regarding the renovation of Shoppers' Square:
"Work on portion of Shoppers' Square to begin next week"
By LORRAINE HEATH Evening Times Staff Writer (from the Fri., Jan. 28 edition of The Evening Times)
LITTLE FALLS - For years, Shoppers' Square has been left on its own to slowly decay. Finally, after years of waiting, activity at the shopping mall is evident. The new owners of Shoppers' Square, TRB Associates, have begun preparations for work on Shoppers' Square. According to Tony Carlisto of Ward Associates, who has been retained by TRB as a consultant, the owner has some very good ideas and is a sound businessman to boot. "He is right on the ball. Things are moving right along," Carlisto told the members of the Urban Renewal Board yesterday. Jules Berke, president of TRB, has many ideas Carlisto said and wants to rejuvenate the building the right way. Carlisto said the only thing that may stop him will be the lack of money. "We have a lot of projects lined up using the $300,000 HUD loan and will go as far as money allows," Carlisto said. Presently, workers are in the old McCrory's portion of the building preparing for their new tenants - Family Dollar. Because of the need for more space, the discount variety store will move into the Shoppers' Square as soon as they can. "It is all a matter of space. They have outgrown their present location and we faced the risk of losing the store to another community. Luckily, they have found another place and the space they need," said Urban Renewal Director Mark Feane. Family Dollar employees said the current store location has become very cramped and cluttered. During the Christmas season, the store was packed full of merchandise leaving little room for customers to move around and shop. Employees said their spring stock is now arriving, making it difficult for shoppers to move around the stock-piled merchandise once again. Carlisto said the plan for McCrory's calls for the store to be split in half leaving one section for Family Dollar and the other for another potential business to locate within the store. Carlisto said the store has 24,000 square feet of space available for Family Dollar and another merchant. Employees from TRB were busy all last week preparing for the contractors to begin their phase of the project sometime next week. Family Dollar will be ready to move in to their new location sometime in March. Along with renovations to the old McCrory's store, TRB plans many outside renovations as well including: General conditions, $20,000; monolithic curb and sidewalk (remove and replace), $18,000; renovate four entrance canopies, $44,000; repair retaining concrete walls, $10,000; new fascia trim, $8,000; steam cleaning of masonry, $18,000; painting the fascia, $12,400; painting concrete planer and retaining walls, $6,000; painting building block, $16,000; paving parking lot, $40,000; striping parking lots, $1,500; raise and repair catch basins, $1,000; new entrance sliding doors, $31,000; new canopy roofing, $30,000; repair wall and floor, P&C north wall, $6,000. The price tag for the projects is $293,900. The color scheme for Shoppers' Square will match that of the Main Street Canopy's beige and green. "It's nice to actually talk to a person (Berke) and not to some pseudo corporation that did or did not exist," Carlisto said. "The new owner is actively marketing Shoppers' Square and that will make the community better for it," Carlisto said. Berke, who is in Florida, was unavailable for comment.
"Wind asks P&C to include local store in renovation plans"
By LORRAINE HEATH Evening Times Staff Writer (from the Tues., Feb., 1 edition of The Evening Times)
LITTLE FALLS — Little Falls Mayor Ted Wind has written a letter to officials of the P&C chain asking them to include the Little Falls store in their plans to upgrade other stores throughout the state. In his letter Wind says the residents of the city have been patient — waiting for the store to receive some kind of upgrading. City residents without transportation or not wanting to leave the city, including many senior citizens, rely on the Little Falls store for their shopping needs. Wind says he thinks the local P&C has long been neglected in P&C's modernization of other stores. Wind feels updating the local store would do a lot to further enhance Shoppers' Square, which is under new ownership. In recent days, the new owners of Shoppers Square have begun work revitalizing the structure. "To make the P&C store more convenient for Little Falls residents as well as potential customers from the surrounding areas, could only be mutually beneficial for both P&C and the community," Wind said in his letter. Anthony Carlisto, retained as a consultant for TRS Associates, new owners of Shoppers' Square, showed the Urban Renewal Board a set of plans from 1998 that shows what P&C had proposed to do a number of years ago to revitalize the store. In the plans, the wall separating P&C and the old Brooks Pharmacy store would be torn down and additional space would be provided to the store for check-out lines and indoor cart storage. That expansion would greatly improve not only the store's appearance, but provide better services for customers Carlisto said. Unfortunately, the chain filed for bankruptcy shortly after 1998, and the plans were put away. Now with the financial resurgence of the chain and the planned renovations of numerous other stores throughout the state, Wind wants this store to be a part of their plans. "Mr. Berke discovered when he purchased the building, P&C has not paid on their lease for the old pharmacy in three years. He plans on using this as a bargaining chip," Carlisto said. Jules Berke, president of TRS, who is in Florida, is in agreement with Wind and the city that something should be done to the store, Carlisto said. Carlisto added Berke has also forwarded a letter to the chain. "We have supported this store for many years. It's about time they do the same for us," Wind said. According to an Associated Press story two weeks ago, Penn Traffic Co. based in Syracuse, has reported they are now "stabilized" financially and have begun to move forward. The company has just come out of bankruptcy they filed six months ago. The company's plan calls for upgrades to 44 stores. Between 1994-1998, the company lost more than $324 million before they sought bankruptcy protection. David Norcross, vice president of real estate for Penn Traffic, did not return repeated telephone calls to him to request company comment.