Questions and Answers (Q&A) Forgotten Chicago Forum
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Community
Posted by:
MIKETOUHY
()
Date: February 25, 2011 06:43PM
Think there was a few of these discount stores in the Chicago area but there was 1 in Norridge on Harlem between Montrose and Gunnison Aves.
Never was in in or even knew the name of it. However there was a lumber yard across the street from in called Joeseph's Lumber; and I remember the building and the sign in large blue letters.
Funny thing when it closed they torn the building down and built a K-mart which ended up facing south, instead of the street.
Wonder why they didn't reuse the old building.
Never was in in or even knew the name of it. However there was a lumber yard across the street from in called Joeseph's Lumber; and I remember the building and the sign in large blue letters.
Funny thing when it closed they torn the building down and built a K-mart which ended up facing south, instead of the street.
Wonder why they didn't reuse the old building.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Chipast
()
Date: February 25, 2011 09:27PM
Not sure, But I guess it was seemingly more fitting to be in a newer building. I remember the Community Discount Center & Mayflower (Kohl's) supermarket. It would have been nice to keep the older building, Circa 1950's. I also remember a Republic Lumber Market & It's slighly brassy TV jingle, Across the street, Later Joseph Lumber Co.
Re: Community
Posted by:
FranCarmen
()
Date: February 26, 2011 02:37AM
Shopper's World on McCormick between Lincoln and Devon became a Community Discount Store. Later it was a Zayre, and maybe something else before its present tenant Home Depot. There was also a Plaza 3 screen theater in the same space for a few years around 1980 or so, but that's just for memory and I may be off a few years.
http://francesarcher.com
http://francesarcher.com
Re: Community
Posted by:
Chipast
()
Date: February 26, 2011 04:20PM
It was 1980 that the Plaza Cinemas opened.
Re: Community
Posted by:
tomcat630
()
Date: March 04, 2011 12:44AM
Before the McCormick Blvd store was Home Depot, it was a K Mart.
Also, I used to work at the gas station in the Harwood Hts Community FC parking lot, facing Harlem in summer 1977. By 1979, Community was torn down. The K Mart is actually a bigger strip mall, and the old Community was in bad shpe. Me and friends used to joke about how junky the store was, before making fun of K Mart became cool.
Also, I used to work at the gas station in the Harwood Hts Community FC parking lot, facing Harlem in summer 1977. By 1979, Community was torn down. The K Mart is actually a bigger strip mall, and the old Community was in bad shpe. Me and friends used to joke about how junky the store was, before making fun of K Mart became cool.
Re: Community
Posted by:
ChiTownJim
()
Date: September 27, 2012 07:05PM
I remember going into the Community store on Harlem and Gunnisononce or twice(I think once when it was going out of business). I also remember a Community on Grand and Narragansett before the Brickyard was Built.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Mornac
()
Date: September 28, 2012 12:05AM
There was a Community north on Clark street in Rogers Park into the 1970's. It too became a Zayre.
Re: Community
Posted by:
coops4
()
Date: September 28, 2012 09:38AM
There was a community at 55th and Cicero with dirt bike hills in the back. There was also one at 47th and Halsted before it became Zayre (might of been Venture before that).
Re: Community
Posted by:
West Town
()
Date: September 28, 2012 04:27PM
I think there was a Community store on the Northwest corner of Chicago Ave. & Hermitage.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Dunning1
()
Date: September 28, 2012 07:24PM
The discount store on Harlem south of Gunnison was originally a membership club called CMA - Consumers Mart of America. On the north side of the store there was a grocery department. We were also amazed that they also sold gasoline, just about where the Denny's now sits. In order to buy gas there you had to have a little US themed window sticker on your windshield. It was rumored that CMA was mob connected, and the fact that George Raft was greeting shoppers when the store opened only heightened the rumors. The lumber store across the street was originally Republic Lumber and was a division of Jewel/Osco. CMA eventually was bought out by Community Discount, and the grocery division became a Kohl's grocery store, the same people but a grocery store rather than a department store like now. I remember Community for always having a leaky roof, and there were entrances in both the front and the back.
Re: Community
Posted by:
HOLTANEK
()
Date: September 28, 2012 10:32PM
At one time there was the Community at Harlem and Lawrence and another one right across the street from the harlem Irving Plaza. We went there all the time, these being some of the first "general merchandise" stores, long before KMart and walmarts. There was another store called Zayre at Cumberland and belmont and a number of Turnstyles.
Re: Community
Posted by:
cmysli
()
Date: February 14, 2013 03:28AM
There was also a Community on Cicero near Midway Airport. Looking back, it was like Walmart.
Re: Community
Posted by:
tomcat630
()
Date: February 16, 2013 03:27PM
The Midway Airport Terminal is now on the site of that old Community store.
By the mid 70's, Community at Harlem and Leland was threadbare. I was in HS and we'd make fun of it as a trashy store.
By the mid 70's, Community at Harlem and Leland was threadbare. I was in HS and we'd make fun of it as a trashy store.
Re: Community
Posted by:
gglow
()
Date: February 16, 2013 07:09PM
West Town wrote
I think there was a Community store on the Northwest corner of Chicago Ave. & Hermitage.
The Community store was East of Paulina next to the failed City Savings and loan(a story of it's own). The Northwest corner of Chicago & Hermitage had
an old A&P grocery, later a discount shoe store.
I think there was a Community store on the Northwest corner of Chicago Ave. & Hermitage.
The Community store was East of Paulina next to the failed City Savings and loan(a story of it's own). The Northwest corner of Chicago & Hermitage had
an old A&P grocery, later a discount shoe store.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Jayg
()
Date: May 28, 2013 06:34AM
There was a Community store on the North side of Cermak and the corner of Troy. It replaced a Neisner's There was also a Community on Cicero just south of 31st, across from Bel Air Drive in.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Diogenes9561
()
Date: May 30, 2013 09:04PM
I remember Community Discount stores having a lot of commercials on channel 7 which was WBKB back in those days. Sunday mornings, they showed old Flash Gordon serials from the 1930s and Larry Goodman, who was the spokesman, the owner, or both for Community, did all the commercials. The commercials were live, spontaneous,and totally cheesy as were the serials. And, I swear that they showed 5 minutes of commercials for every 5 minutes of serial but such was Sunday morning TV way back when.
And, now that I think about it, I believe that the original name was Community Surplus stores and that the Community Discount name came along later. When I was first married, my wife and I would shop at the one near McCormick and Devon; it was a nice store, clean, with lots of stuff. But, that's 40 years ago now; still good times and good memories.
And, now that I think about it, I believe that the original name was Community Surplus stores and that the Community Discount name came along later. When I was first married, my wife and I would shop at the one near McCormick and Devon; it was a nice store, clean, with lots of stuff. But, that's 40 years ago now; still good times and good memories.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Chipast
()
Date: June 04, 2013 12:47AM
Somebody I knew owned the Community on Chicago nr Paulina. But closed it in 1973. Then became a Manneheim furniture store until it had 2 fires in 1978. One in Jan or Feb-Which was small. But the one in Oct was big, Then was demolished a year later. Now it's a Walgreens. But actually don't know if that location will stand any longer. Since the Chicago Av shopping distict is molting little by little.
Re: Community
Posted by:
Paul Petraitis
()
Date: June 04, 2013 06:45PM
I went to Community Home Improvement Centerat 95th and Stony Island Avenue (now the mini mall with my Jewel and Burger King and Shell station in it) when my wife and I bought our house in Pullman in 1973. Took out a Community charge card to build my porch in 1979. That became my Visa of today. Great variety, cheap stuff, the WORST 2x4's on the face of the earth! "Could make a rowboat outa these!" said my contractor!
Re: Community
Posted by:
the_mogra
()
Date: April 23, 2015 01:21PM
those community discount stores mentioned above were certainly popular with my Mom in the early '60s. i'm sure i went to the one @ chicago & paulina with her and my sisters many times, and others too, but that memomy isn't particularly distinct anymore unfortunately. back then the old elevated train structure that was the 'paulina street el' (actually the old metropolitan line) still stood if long unused and crossed chicago ave (how I wish I took photographs of it at the various locations back then)
