Strolling down memory lane

My April 13 essay had to do with a stroll down memory lane.

I mentioned a series of businesses and agencies in Napa back in the 1940s and asked the readers if they remembered them. The response from some Napa old-timers was positive, so I decided to go that route again.

• Remember board sidewalks in downtown Napa? Remember where they were?

I remember two — but there could have been more. The first and most prominent was on the north side of Pearl Street between Main and Brown streets, in front of Carbone’s liquor store. That area is now a parking lot across from the bus terminal.

The second board sidewalk was on Brown between Third and Fourth streets, in front of Duke’s Bar, across from the Greyhound Bus Depot.

• The Napa Firefighter Museum is now housed in a building on the corner of Main and Pearl. Do you remember what business occupied that building back in the 1940s? If you said Purity Market, you are correct. Napa had two Purity Markets at that time. The other one was on Second Street, corner of Coombs. Napa Valley Travelodge now occupies that spot.

• Miller’s Drug Store: Remember it?

The City Directory for 1948 lists seven “druggists-retail” in Napa. One of the most prominent was Miller’s at the southwest corner of First and Coombs, under the Native Sons Hall. The site is now a doll store. The two Miller children, Bob and Joyce, attended Napa Union High School when I did, and Miller’s always hired Napa High students to work part-time during the summer and holiday season.

• How about Burrell’s candy store and soda fountain?

I always enjoyed going into Burrell’s for a Coke or a soda because it looked and had the feel of an old-time soda fountain — the kind the movies always depicted. You know, black-and-white checkerboard floors, small round tables with twisted wire legs, matching chairs and a high soda bar with stools. That was Burrell’s. Mrs. Burrell was a lovely lady who greeted everyone with a smile. It was on the north side of First Street near Coombs, in the Gordon Building.

• Napa had three banks back then. Do you remember their names and locations?

The first was American Trust, and it was on Brown between First and Second. The Napa County District Attorney’s office now occupies that site. Next was a branch of Bank of America and it was on the corner of First and Brown, in what was the beautiful old Migliavacca Building. The site is where the infamous clock tower stood until its demise a few years ago. The third was also a branch of the Bank of America and it was on Main Street, corner of Second (just one short block from the other B of A branch). The building has been beautifully restored and is now a branch of Wells Fargo Bank.

• Remember Castner’s Hardware Store?

Castner’s was one of those stores that had everything. Inside, stuff was stacked from floor to ceiling and it was fun just walking around looking. It sold all kinds of hardware items, guns and ammunition, automotive supplies, you name it. Plus, it had gas pumps out front. The owners had children in Napa schools, with daughter Shirley in my class. Castner’s was at the corner of Lincoln and Jefferson (across from Napa Union High School). That corner is now the site of a brand new Starbucks.

• Where was Montgomery Ward?

In the 1940s, “Monkey Wards” (as my uncle used to call it) was on the northwest corner of Second and Coombs, diagonally across from the old Courthouse. The site is now a city parking lot. Wards was one of the first major businesses to move from downtown to a shopping mall. They were the anchor tenant of the Bel Aire Shopping Center when it opened.

So much for this walk down memory lane. Let’s do it again sometime.

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