The "I'll Have An Egg Salad Sandwich And A Coke" Story

Over the past few years I have posted many photos of downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  This historic town was one of the very first inland cities established in the Unite States of America.  Among all those photos were a variety of photographs of the F.W. Woolworth Building which was established in Lancaster in 1879 and was the first store he opened.  I have located a few new photos which show the iconic street level snack bar that was inside the front door to the right.  I can still remember sitting at the bar with not only my mother, but with my grandmother from time to time.  Trips to the city with my mom, when I was a young boy living at 617 S. Prince Street, to go to Lancaster Central Market or Southern Market, was never complete without a trip to Woolworth's to grab a bite to eat before walking home again.  Today I will repeat a few of my favorite exterior shots of the Woolworth buildings and then give you a view of the lunch bar as it appeared in the 1950s before the building was demolished and replaced by a smaller store.  Check out the 1957 menu which I found on a Lancaster Facebook page.  The prices and offerings are remarkable.  Don't you wish you could regress back in time for a few days a year?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The exterior of the original Woolworth 5 & 10 cent store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
It was located at the corner of Queen & Chestnut Streets. Click on photos to enlarge them.

A view of the entire store.

A view of the new store with roof-top terrace when it
opened at 19-21 North Queen Street.

A postcard shows the yellow store in the center with the twin peaks and rooftop terrace. 

The rooftop terrace.

The Woolworth Building.  I don't remember it ever having awnings as shown here.

The basement shopping area.

The Lancaster Coin Club honored Woolworth with this coin.

This double photo shows the store on North Queen without the terrace on the left and the store on the right after the original store on North Queen St. had been demolished and rebuilt.

I remember riding the bus from my home at the end of North Queen Street to go to the store as a child.

The iconic lunch counter on the first floor.

The 1957 menu at F.W. Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.