W.T. Grant was founded in Lynn in 1906 and had stores nationwide for decades. They had two locations in Everett. The first one in Everett Square closed in 1950. Seven years later they opened in Glendale Square and were there until the mid-1970s
One of the latest trends in shopping is to have all the ingredients of a meal delivered to your door. Berman's Food Centre was doing the same thing 70 years ago.
At various times there were three establishments called "Everett Drug Store". The original was at the corner of Chelsea St. and Broadway. The second was on the corner of Broadway and Corey St. This eventually became the Corey St. Pharmacy, and after that the Prescription Shoppe. The third was on Main St until the 1960s.
Everett had its share of "5 and 10 cent" stores over the years from J.J. Newberry's, Woolworth's, and Grant's, all the way up to today's "Family Dollar". The most beloved of these was Kresge's, which stood on on the corner of Broadway and Norwood St. from the late 1920s to the mid 1960s. You could buy a pet bird, eat at their lunch counter, and purchase lots of inexpensive household items. By the mid-1960s, the S.S. Kresge Company began closing stores like the one in Everett, so they could focus on their growing KMart chain.
The Enterprise Stores was a regional chain founded by Philip Feldman and Samuel Glass. They were in Everett Square at 152 School St. from World War I era until 1960. The store name was changed to J.M. Fields in the early 50s. They remained on School St. until 1960, when the owners closed down the location to devote more time to the Wellington Circle store opened a few years earlier.
Gorin's lasted 60 years in two locations in Everett Square. People would flock to Gorin's "dollar days" to find good buys. During its last few years, Gorin's was part of the Almy's chain of stores before closing in the late 1980s. The building was destroyed by a massive fire in November, 1991 and never rebuilt.
At one time A&P was the largest grocery store chain in the USA. They had stores everywhere, and Everett was no exception. The location most people today remember was at the top of Broadway hill, across from the Parlin School. A&P was in Everett until the mid-1960s. The chain eventually closed down in 2015
The First National Stores brand goes back to the 1920s and was headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts. First National had many Everett locations in the early days, most notably in North Everett next to the old MTA car barns, and Everett Square in the Associates Building. As many grocery stores became "supermarkets" in the 1950s, First National moved to larger areas with bigger buildings and more parking.
Stop & Shop has had several locations in Everett going back to the 1920s. Originally known as "Economy Grocery Stores" they had many locations in the Boston area, including several locations in Everett. In the late 1930s the name was changed to Stop & Shop, and they had two locations in Everett; one on Elm St. in Woodlawn and another on Chelsea St., just outside of Everett Square. In 1957, they opened a store in the new shopping center on Ferry St. in Glendale Square and stayed there until 1990, when they moved to a location on Revere Beach Parkway, which was closed in 2022.
During the early days of Everett, J.W. Philbrick was the largest store in town, taking up 3 floors on the corner of Broadway and present-day Norwood St. (Norwood St. at one time was an extension of Chelsea St.). Philbrick opened c.1889 and stayed in business until 1927.
When the Prescription Shoppe closed in 2013, it was the last independent drug store in Everett. As of 2022, of the 4 drug stores operating in Everett, two are Walgreens, one is a CVS in the Target store, and one is in Costco.
Liggett's was part of the Rexall system where individual merchants would pool their resources and buy in bulk in order to get better prices, similar to today's True Value and Ace hardware stores. Rexall was eventually pushed out by large discounters like Walgreens and CVS.
Shattuck Pharmacy opened in the early 1890s as the Glendale Pharmacy. Later it was acquired by C.H. Shattuck and kept the name until the 1970s. The building was eventually torn down and replaced by a bank.
Harding's Drugs started out when J.T. Harding took over Litch's Drug Store in 1911. They occupied the corner of Broadway and Hosmer St. until the 1990s, when W.F. McKinnon's took over the corner and made it part of their grocery store.
Paul Cohen operated Square Drug from 1958 to the early 2000's. When he retired there had been a drug store on the corner of Broadway and Chelsea St. for 130 years !
Not every drug store in Everett was owned by mom and pop. Whelan's Drug store was a national chain along the lines of Walgreens. They took up the corner of Chelsea St. and Broadway in the 1920's and stayed there until 1958.
The Park Theatre most of us remember opened to great fanfare on Sept. 17, 1928, advertised as a state-of-the-art facility. The new owners forgot one major point. Talking films were beginning to take hold, and the Park was only set up to show silents. The Capitol and Rialto were ready to go with the new technology, and took full advantage. The Park finally re-tooled, but took awhile to catch up to the other Everett theaters. They eventually outlasted all the competition and stayed open until 1985. Two years later it was demolished to make way for a condo development.
The Capitol Theatre opened in the mid-1920s as the "Mark Capitol" Theatre. It was Everett's largest movie theatre, seating nearly 2000. As with the Rialto, the Capitol closed down in 1957, another victim of television. Soon afterwards, a church purchased the building and was there until the early 2000's
George Kimball settled in Everett in 1871. He purchased the Everett Drug Store in 1876 and renamed it after himself. In addition to being a druggist, he was a trustee of the Everett Public Library. The drug store carrying his name continued after his death in 1892.
Dr. J.B. Everett owned the earliest known drug store in Everett, opening in 1871, in the Masonic Building. Drug stores occupied the space at the corner of Broadway and Chelsea St. for the next 130 years !
The Rialto Theatre was located on Broadway, just north of Glendale Square. Originally the Home Theatre, the Rialto was one of three theatres that helped Everett get through the Great Depression. The Rialto closed in 1957, a victim of television.
The building eventually known as the Park Theatre opened on Saturday, June 6, 1914 as the Crown Theatre. They featured both live vaudeville as well as the latest moving pictures. They were not, however, an instant success. The theatre changed hands several times and underwent three name changes. First, the Olympia. Next, the Strand, and finally, the Park in 1928.
When the Broadway Theatre opened in 1909, most theatres featured both live and filmed entertainment, and the Broadway was no exception. The Broadway continued until 1926, when the new St. Anthony's Church purchased it and used it until 1951 as their main chapel. It was used as a parish hall until 1958, when the St. Anthony's School opened. The building was demolished in 1959.
Everett's first movie theatre opened in 1907, on the second floor of the Masonic Building, on the corner of Chelsea St. and Broadway. It didn't last long. The Masonic Building burned to the ground in January, 1908, so Everett had to wait awhile for another movie theatre.
Everett used to have a radio station. In 1952 WHIL-AM signed on from a one room shack next to the Medford city dump (the present site of Wellington Station). In the beginning WHIL carried live events in Everett, Malden, and Medford, including store openings, news events, and sports. WHIL was also the first area station to broadcast rock & roll music on a full time basis. Over the years the local events were fewer and fewer and the station was sold in the late 1970s. The new owner took their FM station, which was lying nearly dormant for years, started playing a popular form of music called disco and changed the call letters to WXKS-FM. Over the years, "Kiss 108" has been one of the most popular radio stations in the Boston area, and is now part of the "I Heart Radio" chain of stations.
Everett Square Sporting Goods was a fixture in Everett from December, 1947 to the early 2000s. Originally located on School Street, the business withstood a devastating fire in 1969, after which they set up shop on Broadway and flourished for decades.
Wanna buy a new Kaiser-Fraser? Despite what the sign says, they stopped making them in 1953, three years before this photo was taken. This was one of several used car lots on Revere Beach Parkway.
Everett Stadium's glory years were the late 1940s to the early 1980s. The bowl shaped facility held 10,000 spectators who enjoyed sports and entertainment of all types.
Market Forge booth at Everett Industrial Expo 1951. Market Forge manufactured commercial kitchen equipment in Everett for many years. They are now one of many companies who do business under the banner of Middleby Corporation
Manton-Gaulin exhibits a homogenizer at the Everett Industrial Expo in 1951. Manton-Gaulin manufactured commercial food processing equipment in Everett for many years.
Eagle Shoe shows off their latest models at the Everett Industrial Exposition in 1951. Eagle Shoe manufactured shoes until 1970, when foreign imports drove them out of business.
