Going downstreet

postcard
600 block of Merchant Street
circa early 1950s

When I lived in Ambridge and was going shopping on Merchant Street, I went "downstreet." What a curious term. Yet, it didn't seem odd to me, as everyone I knew went "downstreet" to shop in Ambridge. It was only after I moved away, never used "downstreet" again, and never heard "downstreet" used anywhere else, that I realized how unique "going downstreet" is.

When we said we were going "downstreet," we meant we were going to places like the 600 block of Merchant St. shown in the postcard above.

Growing up in Ambridge, I had assumed that "downstreet" was simply a way of distinguishing a shopping trip to Merchant Street from one in Pittsburgh. Because in addition to shopping "downstreet," we also went "downtown"--into Pittsburgh.

Perhaps "going downstreet" is just a shortened version of "going down to Merchant Street."

On the other hand, maybe the "down" in "downstreet" refers to direction, since some people who grew up on Park Road, to the west of Merchant Street, have told me they went "upstreet" to Merchant. While the numbered streets in Ambridge run west to east and cross Merchant Street rather than run parallel to it, the building numbers go "up" as you go from Park Road to Merchant Street.

Or maybe the "down" in "downstreet" simply reflects the reality of living in Ambridge. If you go to Merchant Street from most of Ambridge, you go "down." As in "downhill."

But then, folks who lived on Park Road, which was between the Ohio River and Merchant Street, who said "upstreet" didn't need to go "uphill" very much to get to Merchant Street, as Park Road isn't much lower than Merchant Street, especially compared to streets uphill from Merchant. But I'll grant that Merchant Street is "up" from even Park Road as opposed to going "down" to the river.

I thought perhaps that "downstreet" was unique to Ambridge until someone pointed me to the "Pittsburghese" website. Is "downstreet" used in Pittsburgh? If so, is their "downstreet" also "downtown"? Or is "downstreet" primarily a Beaver Valley/Beaver County expression?

When American "compact" cars weren't so compact: Valley Dodge ad October, 1963

Here's a Valley Dodge ad from October 7, 1963, touting the "compact" Dart. Of course, the ad says the '64 Dart is "a fresh new compact in the large economy size." Because what could be better than a compact in a large economy size? I guess in comparison with other cars being sold at the time, it was compact.

Valley Dodge ad for "Compact Dodge Dart," Beaver County Times, October 7, 1963

Compare the Dart with the size of the Oldsmobiles in the Stettler Motor ad in the same issue of the Times.

Stettler Motor Co. ad for '64 Olds models, Beaver County Times, October 7, 1963

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Valley Dodge, Inc. was located at 10th and Merchant Street, Ambridge.
Stettler Motor Co. Inc. was located at 916 Merchant Street, Ambridge.

Penney's October 1957 ad

Here's a Penney's Northern Lights ad from the same Beaver Valley Times as the previous Davidson's ad. My family shopped at both the Penney's in Northern Lights and the one at 601 Merchant Street, Ambridge.

Penney's Northern Lights ad, Beaver Valley Times, October 4, 1957

Penney's was one of the original tenants when Northern Lights opened on November 1, 1956, and occupied the central spot in the shopping center. It moved to the Beaver Valley Mall in 1996.
After the move, the Northern Lights store remained vacant and was recently razed, leaving a large gap in the middle of the shopping center. It appears that the empty area may now be used as part of an entrance road to a new Walmart being constructed on the hill behind Northern Lights.

The Merchant Street store was open at least through 1967 when I left for college. I am trying to find out when it finally closed. Sol's Sporting Goods currently occupies that building.

Davidson's Department Store 1957 coat ad

Davidson's was a large, independent department store at 510 Merchant Street, Ambridge. They carried very nice clothes, but our family never shopped there much because the clothes cost more than we could afford.

Here is a Davidson's coat ad from the October 4, 1957, Beaver Valley Times.

Davidson's coat ad, Beaver Valley Times, October 4, 1957

I think I might balk at paying $125 for a coat now. But in 1957? Look at the "Female Help Wanted" ads from the same issue of the Times:

Female Help Wanted ads, Beaver Valley Times, October 4, 1957

 
Clerk: salary to $45 per week

Laboratory Technician: salary to $350 per month

Resident Director: salary to $300 per month

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator, the cost of those $69.95 to $125 coats in 2013 dollars would be $582 to $1,040.

Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool expansion: the solons' inspection

While you're waiting for the next article about the Ambridge Borough Swimming Pool, enjoy a photo about the pool expansion plans. I think it's a nice segue from the posts about the bathhouse to one about the pools themselves, since the "solons" are standing on the bathhouse roof.

Photo about the planned pool expansion from The Beaver County Times, February 4, 1960.

The text under the photo says:

SOLONS INSPECT SWIMMING POOL - Several Ambridge Borough officials inspected the borough swimming pool area Wednesday in connection with plans to enlarge the sun deck and construct a picnic pavilion adjacent to the pool. Shown here, left to right, are Councilman John Kaiser, chairman of council's redevelopment committee; Joseph Rodio, borough secretary; Floree Aquino, president of council; Charles Radakovich, chairman of the recreation committee; Stanley Phillips, chairman of the property committee, and Ollie Werner, a representative of Michael Baker Jr., Inc., borough engineer.

While I remember the deck being expanded when the sloping area was added on the baseball field side of the pool, I don't recall "a picnic pavilion adjacent to the pool" being constructed in the 60s. I hope to find out more about the planned pavilion.

Update June 1, 2014:According to the Times' caption under the photo below, the pool deck expansion being contemplated in 1960 wasn't completed until before the 1965 season. (Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. That's the way it was published in the online digitized version.) I still have not found any further mention of the planned "picnic pavilion adjacent to the pool".

Ambridge pool inprovments,
Beaver County Times,
May 22, 1965

The text under the photo says:

POOL IMPROVEMENTS - Ambridge Water Authority employes [sic] install a new water line at Ambridge swimming pool. The bathhouse has been painted and sun deck extended in preparation for the start of the 1965 swimming season on Memorial Day.

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Today's vocabulary word: In case you were wondering, as I was, what a "solon" is, it's "a member of a legislative body." Impress folks by using "solons" the next time you talk about the Borough Council.