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Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
Jayg
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: May 09, 2011 06:50PM
Does anyone have recollections of shopping at Rose Record's on Wabash?
My memories are fading I recall at least 2 stories,maybe three, of bins filled with records.
Was there was an escalator to the second floor?
The sign in front was,I believe, concentric yellow neon, with Rose Reocords in red neon.
Were the prices indicated by different colored stickers?
There were thick printed catalogues of what was in the inventory available throughout the store.
You had to get a sales slip from one of the associates before you could pay for your records.
I assume whoever wrote the slips received a commission of some sort,even though their only activity was filling in the slip.
I think the upper section had classical music and the salesmen were older adults, teenage boys worked the first floor.
The front of the store was populated with aggresive panhandlers who would sometimes follow you in.
My routine in those times of tight money was to take the L/subway to Jackson, get one of those CTA transfers from a red box.
(I think they were good for about 15 minutes.) I'd run up to the elevated, grab another transfer, and run to Rose for a quick
record buy, then take the L home all on one fare.
My memories are fading I recall at least 2 stories,maybe three, of bins filled with records.
Was there was an escalator to the second floor?
The sign in front was,I believe, concentric yellow neon, with Rose Reocords in red neon.
Were the prices indicated by different colored stickers?
There were thick printed catalogues of what was in the inventory available throughout the store.
You had to get a sales slip from one of the associates before you could pay for your records.
I assume whoever wrote the slips received a commission of some sort,even though their only activity was filling in the slip.
I think the upper section had classical music and the salesmen were older adults, teenage boys worked the first floor.
The front of the store was populated with aggresive panhandlers who would sometimes follow you in.
My routine in those times of tight money was to take the L/subway to Jackson, get one of those CTA transfers from a red box.
(I think they were good for about 15 minutes.) I'd run up to the elevated, grab another transfer, and run to Rose for a quick
record buy, then take the L home all on one fare.
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
deepstblu2
(---.par.clearwire-wmx.net)
Date: May 09, 2011 08:14PM
It was definitely two stories, and I think you had to take an escalator to the second floor and an elevator back down. They may have rearranged things over time but as I recall it from the late '70s the second floor was all budget-line and cutout albums while the main stock was on the first floor. The records were arranged by label and catalog number, and since most people didn't have those memorized they had copies of the Schwann catalog in the bins so you could look up the numbers. They weren't cheap, but they had storewide sales about twice a year so you could get a decent deal on the records you couldn't find anywhere else.
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
Chipast
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: May 12, 2011 06:07PM
It was about 5-10 stories, 3-4 floors of Rose (later Tower records).
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: May 18, 2011 04:33PM
I remember their tape (cassette/8-track) conveyor belt - you had to pick them out through windows/cut-outs in a plexi wall and drop them into a conveyor belt to the cashier which I guess was supposed to prevent theft. This was on the second floor I think.
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
davidaus
(---.abhsia.telus.net)
Date: May 18, 2011 04:52PM
In high school, visiting Rosies, as we called it, I bought:
Laura Nyro's "Eli and the 13th Confession" Then not long ago - but long in the tooth - I ordered the CD at one of the big chain book stores. Felt young again.
Our H.S. jazz program was fairly progressive. We'd buy our Coltrane 33s there at Rosies, too. Rosie's would have been just about #1 on our cultural excursion to the Loop.
Hope we are all keeping those albums in a good dry, cool safe place., They will last longer than the CDs, which deteriorate.
MP3s? Do you have an ironclad digital "succession plan" in place?
Laura Nyro's "Eli and the 13th Confession" Then not long ago - but long in the tooth - I ordered the CD at one of the big chain book stores. Felt young again.
Our H.S. jazz program was fairly progressive. We'd buy our Coltrane 33s there at Rosies, too. Rosie's would have been just about #1 on our cultural excursion to the Loop.
Hope we are all keeping those albums in a good dry, cool safe place., They will last longer than the CDs, which deteriorate.
MP3s? Do you have an ironclad digital "succession plan" in place?
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
Mr Downtown
(---.c3-0.drb-ubr1.chi-drb.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: May 18, 2011 09:40PM
Having the sales slip filled out separately from the cash register was fairly common in the old days. I think Central Camera still does it. Easier to keep an eye on one till, and one cashier, than on six.
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
Elaine W
(192.175.17.---)
Date: May 19, 2011 05:41PM
The building where Rose/Tower used to be is still standing--214 S. Wabash is the address. The building itself is 3 or 4 stories, not five or more (it's a small building in a block of taller buildings). I recall 2, possibly 3, floors with records and related material. If there's a 4th floor, it may have been used as office or storage space.
I have no recollection of when Rose closed down and Tower took over, nor am I sure of the exact date when Tower closed, but I'm pretty sure that Tower closed sometime between 2005 and 2008.
I have no recollection of when Rose closed down and Tower took over, nor am I sure of the exact date when Tower closed, but I'm pretty sure that Tower closed sometime between 2005 and 2008.
Re: Rose Records on Wabash
Posted by:
docj
(---.dsl.fibercloud.net)
Date: August 07, 2011 11:19PM
Hi all,
I worked at Rose for a couple of high school/college summers 68-69 or 69-70. Yes, the first floor then had all the current releases arranged by label and catalog number, with Schwann catalogs sitting on top for reference. Yes, escalator up and elevator down. Budget labels were upstairs as were the then new items such as 8-tracks and cassettes. We, the sales staff, wrote out the receipts--there was no commission (and very little pay--but nice discounts on records). Having a driver's license meant that I occassionally chauffered Mrs. Rose. There were two Rose brothers. One owned the Wabash store and the other the smaller one on Madison. Everyone had kind of a specialty. Mine was folk music, another's was blues and the classical specialists were subdivided by expertise. I remember one guy who everyone called Wagner--it wasn't his real name but he lived and breathed Richard Wagner. The Beatles White Album came out while I was there and of course there was a big run on it. "Wagner" was rather upset by this so he went upstairs to the ethnic section and removed the card that read "Polish", came downstairs and replaced the "Apple" placard with it. A few minutes later this little elderly gentleman walks in and his eyes lit up when he saw a sign reading "Polish"--he pulls this blank white box out of the bin, flips it back and forth, twirls it around, checks the spine. Shrugging his shoulders with a confused look he replaced the record, turned around and walked out.
I worked at Rose for a couple of high school/college summers 68-69 or 69-70. Yes, the first floor then had all the current releases arranged by label and catalog number, with Schwann catalogs sitting on top for reference. Yes, escalator up and elevator down. Budget labels were upstairs as were the then new items such as 8-tracks and cassettes. We, the sales staff, wrote out the receipts--there was no commission (and very little pay--but nice discounts on records). Having a driver's license meant that I occassionally chauffered Mrs. Rose. There were two Rose brothers. One owned the Wabash store and the other the smaller one on Madison. Everyone had kind of a specialty. Mine was folk music, another's was blues and the classical specialists were subdivided by expertise. I remember one guy who everyone called Wagner--it wasn't his real name but he lived and breathed Richard Wagner. The Beatles White Album came out while I was there and of course there was a big run on it. "Wagner" was rather upset by this so he went upstairs to the ethnic section and removed the card that read "Polish", came downstairs and replaced the "Apple" placard with it. A few minutes later this little elderly gentleman walks in and his eyes lit up when he saw a sign reading "Polish"--he pulls this blank white box out of the bin, flips it back and forth, twirls it around, checks the spine. Shrugging his shoulders with a confused look he replaced the record, turned around and walked out.
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