Blackwell Street waiting for a parade circa 1890.   DOVER AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO Box 609
Dover, New Jersey 07802-0609

PRESS RELEASE 4/18/08
[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]

Dover Area Historical Society
present
DOWNTOWN DOVER 50-YEARS AGO THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS
Tuesday * May 20, 2008 * 7:30 PM
At the Dover History Museum House
55 W. Blackwell Street in Dover
No admission charge, refreshments served
Call (973) 361-3525 for more info.

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN DOVER 50-YEARS AGO


DOVER - The Dover Area Historical Society will present “Historic Downtown Dover 50-Years Ago Through Photographs” at the next regular meeting on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 starting at 7:30 PM.

Prior to the nearby shopping malls and stripe malls, downtown Dover was the center for retail sales and businesses in the entire northwestern region of Morris County. Stan Schoonmaker, vice president of the historical society has gathered over 100 photographs of Dover’s downtown business district from the 1950s and has compiled them into a PowerPoint photo presentation. Dover once hosted major chain retail stores such as J. C. Penny, Sears, Woolworth, Acme & A&P Supermarkets to name just a few. With the arrival of the Dover Shopping Center, the first such “in town” shopping center in America, parking now became convenient with a double decked parking lot that also served as a Drive-In Movie Theater during the night.

The program, which will be held at the Dover History Museum House at 55 West Blackwell Street, next to the Presbyterian Church of Dover will cover the many places of business, events and people in downtown Dover during the 1950s. There is no charge for thise program and refreshments will be served.

For more information, call 973-361-3525.
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Thank you for your support. George Laurie/Museum Curator
Dover Area Historical Society (973) 361-6205

Attached photo shows John’s Bargin Store, a chain of discount retail variety stores, forerunner to today’s “Dollar Stores.”