In 1946, World War II had just ended and people in Jefferson City were getting on with their lives.
Much of those lives centered in the business district downtown. You could take care of most all your needs without leaving the 100 block of East High Street.
Today, there are many stores in this block. But this does not compare to the activity going on in 1946.
On this one block, you could purchase clothing and shoes for the whole family, fill a prescription, get fitted for eyeglasses, buy an engagement ring, purchase groceries, tools, kitchenware and a couch, get your picture taken after your hair cut, drop off your shoes for repair, deposit a check, borrow money, file an insurance claim, get your clothes cleaned and buy some sheet music.
After you did all that, you could sit down for lunch and then take a class at the Mariwood College of Beauty Culture.
According to the 1946 directory, there were 35 retail and service shops on the block on the ground level alone.
Your choices for clothing were: The Men's Shop, Firestone Stores, Purple Shop, Czarlinskys, Schell and Ward, Frank's Ready Wear and Meyerhardts Men's Clothing.
The drug stores were Reed Cut Rate, Brandenberger Rexall, G.A. Fischer, Johnson Drug and Pope Drug.
For shoes, you had Booterie, Weatherby Shoe and Furnishings Goods, Burkels Shoes, Lee Shoe Store and American Shoe.
Fashionable hats could be found at Rommel-Straub Hat Shop, Nancee Hat Shop and Value Hat Shop.
Hardware was Schleer Brothers and Bordeaux Hardware Company.
Other shops included Singer Sewing Machine, Porth Jewelry, American Optical, Garrett Radio and Electric, and Wyandotte Furniture.
For services there were two financial institutions (Central Missouri Trust Company, Exchange National Bank), Padens Photography Studio, Quality Cleaners, High Street Shoe Repair, and the Sanitary Barber Shop. For food, you had Mercurio's Fruit Market and the Manhattan Café.
If you were willing to walk the stairs, you could find 10 insurance agencies, five law firms, two real estate offices, five physicians, four dentists, three beauty shops, one public accounting firm, one optician and one chiropractor. This is not counting the numerous firms in the Central Trust Building. And there were at least 15 people living there, some of whom worked on the block, including Elizabeth Deatherage, who was a glasswasher for the Manhattan Café and Selma Einstein, proprietor of the Value Hat Shop.
Some of these retail stores were well established. Schleer Brothers Hardware had been in business since 1871. Gustavus Fischer established his drug store in 1887. George Porth had a jewelry business since 1879 and built the building at 110 E. High St. in 1898.
Despite the end of the war, shortages still existed. American industries had not yet transitioned from war materials to consumer goods.
In January 1946, the Post-Tribune reported: "Christmas checks for something we really wanted continue to burn holes in our pockets while radios, refrigerators, wearing apparel, household appliances, linens, curtains, etc. are merely objects for wishful thinking. Most drastic at the moment are the shortages in men's apparel, hosiery, household linens and curtains. Several small shipments of nylon hose arrived in the city the past two weeks but were literally 'gobbled up.'"
Numerous newspaper articles at the time discussed parking -- either the lack of it or the abuse of ordinances. In 1944, the Daily Capital News reported, "High Street double parking, particularly on Saturday, is bringing complaints from the citizenry. It creates a hazard to car drivers and pedestrians alike and steps should be taken by the police and city council in the immediate future to curb the growing practice. Unfortunately for Jefferson City, its main business street is narrow and its parking system a bad one."
The alleys behind the shops had their own problems. The Post-Tribune wrote: "Commercial Avenue, oft-traveled alley between High and East Capitol Avenue, of all thoroughfares accorded the dignified rank of an avenue, is a sore spot in the eyes of the persons who use the alley as a short-cut through the business district. It certainly is reverting to its former name of 'Hog Alley,' one person noted while viewing the rubbish that has collected along the sides of the alley ..."
The 1944 article also suggested: "... Motorists who zip through the narrow confines of Commercial Avenue on Saturday nights like a streak of lightning might aid in swelling the coffers of the city."
Competition from the new-fangled shopping plazas soon had their impact. The first shopping plaza, Jefferson Plaza, was opened in 1959 and was advertised as a new convenient location for modern shopping at its best, a large variety of merchandise and services, a large parking lot where you can enjoy "one stop" shopping and free parking. Inevitably, the number of High Street establishments declined.
Unlike cities that have dying downtowns, Jefferson City's business district continues to attract visitors with specialty shops, restaurants, coffee shops and entertainment. The renovation of the buildings and beautification of the district in recent years have contributed to its continued viability.
Deborah Goldammer is retired from state government and now pursues her interest in Cole County history research.