Aired Thursday, November 21, 2002 at 7:00
p.m.
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Join
Peggy Scott Laborde
on a shopping excursion you won't forget! |
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With bustling streets like
Canal, Rampart, Dryades and St. Charles - - it’s no wonder
that New Orleans was known as the shopping mecca of the south in
the late 1940s. Whether looking for clothes, groceries, everyday
needs or special occasion items, memories of shopping in New
Orleans are among our fondest.
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Lined with everything from fine department stores to dime stores,
Canal Street
was not only convenient, but served a wide range of shopping
needs. Meeting “under the
clock” at D. H. Holmes is where many shopping excursions
began and ended. |
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New Orleanians knew when Christmas
time was coming. Masion Blanche featured the legendary Mr.
Bingle and his catchy tune "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle,
Here Comes
Mr. Bingle". |
Godchaux’s, which was
founded in the 1840s was considered one
of the city’s most fashionable clothing stores. |
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And who remembers the vacuum tube system used
at Krauss’
to verify credit card purchases?
From tailor shops to pawn shops, diversity was a staple on Rampart and
Dryades Streets. For those who could make their own clothes,
Halpern’s fabric store on Dryades Street offered some of the
city’s most breathtaking fabrics.
St. Charles Avenue is considered by many New
Orleans’ first boutique area. Expectant
mothers visited the Lylian Shop, where beautiful handmade
children’s clothing and nightgowns for Mommy
were sold. |
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This probably
was the only city where one could “make groceries,” instead
of buying them - - John Schwegmann built a supermarket
empire that would change grocery shopping forever. Schwegmann,
the man that invented the phrase “one-stop shopping,” was
the first to
install drugstores, seafood markets, sporting goods stores, and
even a bank inside his
supermarkets.
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Known as “Katz’s” or just
“KB,” this drugstore carried everything from pencils to
playing cards and even their own K&B brand name,
including everything from liquor to ice cream. Though K&B
carried over 25,000 store items, a main attraction for shoppers
was taking a break to sit and sip on a stool at the soda
fountain. |
Many people contributed their shopping memories to
this new program, including boutique owner Yvonne LeFleur; nationally known artist George Dureau; and former New
Orleans store owners, John Schwegmann, Jr., Herbert Halpern and Sydney Besthoff, III.
Director/Editor is Stephen Tyler. Associate producer is Caissa Young.
Videographer is
Walter Bardell. Original music is composed by A. J. Loria. Major
funding is provided by
Whitney National Bank, Lakeside Shopping Center and the WYES Producers
Circle,
a group of special donors who contribute to local programming.
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