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A new Humble gas station was built at south west side of Reading and Paddock around '68. Don't recall what was on the site prior. A Sunoco station was between Reading and Paddock north of the fork. A bit farther north on the east side of Reading was a Pure Oil station.
I knew Dunkin Donuts at this location just north of Victory Pkwy. Don't know of a prior name.
Two locations of Daily Donuts I recall were Galbraith and Plainfield, and one in Finneytown west of Winton Rd.
<<Daisy Donuts, just north of Victory Pkwy. The name was later changed
to Daily Donuts, ca. 1962, although the Daisy trademark remained.
Branches appeared around town - no idea whether this was the original.>>
Dunkin Donuts became a drive through Pony Keg.
Hubers Sohio station was on west side of Reading between Sugar n Spice and Avon Dr.
Just north of Howdy car was a gas station which became Cavalier dry cleaners ca '70.
North of the Norfolk & Western Railroad overpass was a Bonded station on the west side which became a dry cleaners in late '60s.
At south west corner Tennessee a new Sohio station was built in late '60s. I believe Theobold Veterinarian was on the site before it moved to a new building a bit west on Tennessee.
I believe there was a gas station at NW corner Tennessee and Reading until the late '60s.
At SW corner California and Reading was a Sohio station.
At NE corner Dale and Reading was a Shell station until mid '70s when a new Church's Fried Chicken was built.
I don't recall if there was a gas station on west side of Reading Rd before a new Famous Recipe Fried Chicken takeout was built. (Lee Cummings, the nephew of Colonel Harland Sanders (founder of KFC), spent much of his childhood in the kitchen of his Henryville, Indiana home. Lee hit the road with his uncle Harland in 1952, selling their own special blend of spices along with their famous pressure cookers, which later became part of KFC's "Secret Recipe". In three years, Lee and the Colonel opened over 800 KFC stores.
After the sale of KFC in 1962, Lee Cummings started developing his recipe, later to be known as "Famous Recipe." In 1966, Lee along with Harold Omer started "Harold's Take-Home" in Lima, Ohio where Lee first introduced his Famous Recipe Chicken. The word spread about this great new recipe and later that year the first franchise unit was opened in Columbus, Ohio.
By 1967, the fifth franchise unit was opened in Springfield, Ohio. Later that year, units followed in Dayton, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio,)
I might be wrong but I feel the gas station at NE Section and Reading was a Sinclair. I don't recall any Citgo in Cincinnati.
A developer named Wachendorf built the colonial style shopping center at SE Section and Reading. His daughter Sue married Royals basketball center Connie Dierking. I believe Center Pharmacy was on the corner at Reading, Garsons women's clothing and a Garsons young kid's clothing store were along Reading south of Center Pharmacy, a State of Ohio Liquor store was along Reading Rd. in the '70 a Bagel Shop opened.
At NW Summit and Reading after Parkmoor was a new Ponderosa steakhouse.
Perkins Pancakes building was rebuilt or Perkins moved next door in the late '60s. I wonder if Peri's Pancakes on 5th and Main was related to Perkins.
Mr Jim's steakhouse opened in the former Howard Johnson's restaurant in late '60s.
Pepsi Bottling was on Sunnybrook east of the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks.
Putt Putt Golf was on south side of Sunnybrook just east of the creek.
Steinberg's warehouse was on east side of Sunnybrook just west of the railroad tracks.
Frisch's was at NE corner Sunnybrook and Reading. The Frisch's Googie style Mainliner was demolished and rebuilt with a flat roof in the '80s.
The five storey green brick medical building has been torn down. Cine Carrousel was on the same lot at the east end.
Arbys was on the east side of Reading.
Stillpass was a Lincoln Mercury new car dealer.
Upper Krust was rebuilt after being destroyed in the tornado. I believe the Ronald Reagan Cross County Hwy took the property in the late '80s.
Drake Motel on west side may also have been in the Hwy's path.
A Burger King was built where the Wishing Well restaurant was at SE corner Galbraith and Reading. Burger King was demolished and a strip center built.
Rocket dry cleaners was replaced with a new muffler shop.
I believe there were gas stations at the SW and NE corners of Galbraith and Reading. I was recently trying to remember where Rocket Cleaners was when I heard radio spots for Rocket Mortgage. Was a gas station on the NW corner Galbraith and Reading before Rocket Cleaners?
I knew Dunkin Donuts at this location just north of Victory Pkwy. Don't know of a prior name.
Two locations of Daily Donuts I recall were Galbraith and Plainfield, and one in Finneytown west of Winton Rd.
<<Daisy Donuts, just north of Victory Pkwy. The name was later changed
to Daily Donuts, ca. 1962, although the Daisy trademark remained.
Branches appeared around town - no idea whether this was the original.>>
Dunkin Donuts became a drive through Pony Keg.
Yes, other submitters have also pointed out the error: there were a number of Daily Donuts around town at the time, but this was not one of them. FWIW, a descendant of the Daily Donuts founder confirmed that the chain was originally called "Daisy Donuts", but that the name was changed to avoid possible trademark infringement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayboydog
A developer named Wachendorf built the colonial style shopping center at SE Section and Reading. His daughter Sue married Royals basketball center Connie Dierking. I believe Center Pharmacy was on the corner at Reading, Garsons women's clothing and a Garsons young kid's clothing store were along Reading south of Center Pharmacy, a State of Ohio Liquor store was along Reading Rd. in the '70 a Bagel Shop opened.
Any idea when that complex went up? Post-WWII?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayboydog
At NW Summit and Reading after Parkmoor was a new Ponderosa steakhouse.
Glad someone else remembers the Parkmoor. There was also a Parkmoor at Dale and Galbraith, if memory serves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayboydog
The five storey green brick medical building has been torn down.
That building was considered quite modern when it went up. Funny how brief its lifetime was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayboydog
Was a gas station on the NW corner Galbraith and Reading before Rocket Cleaners?
Must have been quite a long time ago. The cleaners were probably there in the 1950's.
A the corner of Section and reading, across the street from the Chili Time, there was the older strip mall, mentioned by MIddleCincy, as containing Brenners. My mother owned a Realty there..Franklin Realty, which had previously been located in Bond Hill. There was also a dry cleaner in that little mall. There was a post office across section road.
I have not lived in Cincy since 1970. Is the Carousel Inn still there? I have so many memories of that place, I could start a whole thread. Crashed a bunch of weddings and bar mitzvahs there.
The carousel inn has been torn down the only thing left is the area that had the little stores. That area has been in decline for at least 15 years. And the rooms were regualarly being used for drug deals and prostitution. The drake motel was just north of there on the west side of reading rd and it has succumbed to the same fate. Across from the carousel was a frisches big boy or mainliner and it's been gone for at least 5 years.
It is sad to see the area and how much it has changed I grew up in Canterbury gardens on Chaucer dr. It is the street on west side of Reading rd just past the carousel inn. We use to sneak into the carousel to swim when our pool was down. They took more than 3/4 of Canterbury for cross county and none of that was used. What they left of Canterbury has been gutted and redone to make condos. So I imagine some have owners in them some have renters. They blocked off burkhart at the entrance to Canterbury off of Galbraith rd cross county does run across there, so Chaucer is the only entrance and exit.
A friend of mine stayed at the Carousel a year or two back while passing
through town, so I assume it's still there. Suffice it to say, though, that
they aren't attracting quite the same clientele.
I left Cincinnati in 1976, but am back every so often to visit family and
friends. It's really sad to see how empty the center of town is now. That
area is still very pretty, but it's as if the life has gone out of it.
Section and Reading: The post office is still there, but the building
formerly housing Chili Time has been leveled, and the lot is empty.
Just remembered: by the northwest corner, just north of the Greenstreet
Building, was another building which housed the Avon Bakery. Judging
by the name, it had probably moved north from Avondale, way back when.
If you stayed there it had to have been just before they tore it down. You are correct it was not drawing the same clientele. There started to be shootings, Robbins, and I believe a couple of murders there, they've torn it down and the drake.
This will probably only be of interest to a limited number of readers.
It contains my recollections of businesses and landmarks along Reading
Road dating back to the late 1950's. Memories fade and sometimes play
tricks, but perhaps other readers will offer additions and amendments.
Be warned, though, that what follows is quite a memory dump.
Heading north from Walnut Hills, with diversions up to a mile in
either direction:
The Alms Hotel, near William Howard Taft, now gone. The place
aged gracefully, shutting down one building at a time. Probably
rivaled the old Vernon Manor in splendor, at one time.
The Cabana Club, on one of the cross-streets off of Reading, possibly
William Howard Taft. This was an outdoor swimming pool, completely
shielded from the street and city noise by what seemed to have been
some large wooden balconies and a storefront entrance.
The Mandarin, Chinese restaurant, between Dana and Paddock. The food
was Cantonese style. Moved to Section Rd. in the late 1970's. Name
later changed to Ahn's Mandarin Gardens.
Next door, to the north, was an auto repair business, possibly named
Lennox Motors.
Across from the Mandarin was Loretta's restaurant. Cannot recall what
they served. Probably closed in the mid-1960's.
Daisy Donuts, just north of Victory Pkwy. The name was later changed
to Daily Donuts, ca. 1962, although the Daisy trademark remained.
Branches appeared around town - no idea whether this was the original.
The chain disappeared around 1980, I think.
A tad south, on Victory Pkwy, a high-rise apartment building opened
around 1970. There was a restaurant on the first floor which closed
several years later.
Just north of Daisy Donuts was Natorp Nursery. Natorp's may have had
several branches around town.
Sugar n' Spice, more or less across from the nursery. Now a breakfast
place but, as a child, I can recall having dinner there. Parents of
some friends claim - and I have no evidence to back this up - that
Sugar n' Spice was also once a trendy after-hours meeting place,
frequented by radio personalities from WLW's Crosley studios.
Howdy Car Wash, east side. One family owned this business for many
years.
Next door to the car wash was the Smorgasteria, billed as a cross
between a smorgasboard and a cafeteria. Basically a large salad bar,
in business during the mid-1960's.
Capri Pizza, adjoining the fruit market at the southeast corner with
Tennessee. Capri moved to Norwood in the late 1970's, probably
closed down a few years later. The pizza was very much in the New York
style; the sauce had a unique flavor I have yet to experience anywhere
else.
Across from Capri to the west was a drycleaner. To the north was
a paint store with a large orange sign - very 1950's.
Just south of the Norwood Lateral exit, west side, was a Frisch's
Big Boy. This particular branch was known by employees as the
"Mt. Vernon" store - no idea why.
Across from the Frisch's was Richard's (?) electronic supply company.
The Norwood Lateral opened in 1960, and originally extended from
Reading Road to the Mill Creek Expressway. The overpass was completed
in the early 1970's, when the road was extended to Norwood and Oakley.
Construction of the overpass necessitated a traffic revision in which
the west end of Catalina Avenue was cut off from Reading.
The Twin Drive-In, just north of the Norwood Lateral. Replaced by
indoor theaters in the 1980's. Residents of Lawn Avenue could see
the two-sided screen from their backyards.
St. Aloysius orphanage, across from the Twin and north. Held a carnival
every summer.
White Castle hamburgers, northwest corner with California.
Just to the west of the White Castle was a small building with an old
cannon in front. Possibly a VFW hall.
West of the White Castle, along California, were several businesses and
the Bond Hill Elementary School. The Tom House offered Chinese carry-
out, and may have had seating. At the northeast corner with Paddock
was a butcher shop and a stamp dealer. Around the corner, on Paddock,
was a Pure Oil filling station (slogan: "Fire up, with Firebird").
There may also have been a Bonded station on that block.
Across from the White Castle were a collection of businesses and a
synagogue. Lowenthal's pharmacy was there for many years. Alber's
supermarket also had a store there in the early 1960's. Just south
of the synagogue was the original Chili Time - late 1960's.
About a mile north of California was Swifton shopping center, already
well described in a previous posting.
To the west of Swifton was Woodward High School. Small prefab buildings
were set up around 1970 to accomodate student overflow, during the peak
of the Baby Boom highschool years.
On the northwest corner with Seymour was the Red Barn, an early
McDonald's-like fastfood place. Probably in business for about ten
years, beginning mid-1960's. McDonald's really did not expand heavily
into Cincinnati until around 1972 - before that, all I can recall were
the Kenwood and Westwood stores.
To the west of the Red Barn was the Seymour Lanes, bowling alley.
Around 1970 Zayre's, a discount retailer, opened a store to the north of
the bowling alley.
To the north of Swifton was the Crest Hills Country Club, which moved
to Amberly in the 1970's. The site was razed and replaced with a small
shopping center and a middle school.
About one mile east, on Losantaville, there was a small plaza with a
delicatessen, Stanley's. The plaza also contained the Bucheim Bakery
and the Plotnick pharmacy. All are long gone, although I think that
the family owning the bakery now owns Maya's restaurant in Blue Ash.
On the north side of Losantaville, west of the plaza, was the Vernor-
Wagner bottling company. They supplied several obscure soft drinks,
including Luv Ya cherry cola and Kickapoo Joy Juice. They may have
also been the local supplier for Vernor's ginger ale - not sure.
At Section and Reading, on the southeast corner, was a shopping plaza
with a large drugstore, possibly a Rexall. The drugstore had a soda
fountain and a newsstand. Also in the plaza were a tailor, Garson's
clothing store, Brenner's grocery and various offices and shops. A
Baskin-Robbins opened there around 1970.
On the northeast corner with Section was a gas station, probably Citgo.
Around 1970, the gas station was torn down and Chili Time opened its
main store on the site. This store survived until a few years ago.
Only the St. Bernard branch remains.
Further north was an Empress Chili. This branch opened in the late
1960's and did not survive long. At one time, Empress was the premier
brand of Cincinnati chili.
Adjoining or near to the site of the Empress was a furrier, Stanley
Rich.
In the early 1960's, somewhere north of Section on the east side, was a
business, probably a bar. The business was advertised by an ornate
display of some sort in front, possibly a large copper pot. The place
may have been called "The Gypsy". I could use some help with this one.
The Valley Shopping Center, on the west side of the street, had about
twenty businesses. The big draw was the Valley Theater, one of the
few theaters besides the RKO affiliates (Albee, Keith and Grand -
all downtown) to show first-run movies. There was a supermarket
toward the western edge of the center, probably a Kroger's.
Just north of the Valley was the Fortune Cookie Chinese restaurant,
also called Wing and Hing's. They stayed in business from around
1970 to 1990.
On the east side of Reading, across from the Valley, was the Essex
House apartments, built in the mid-1960's. I cannot recall what
preceded it.
Just south of the Essex house was the Blue Fox night club, circa
1970's.
To the north of the Essex House was a pair of grocery stores sharing
a parking lot, Bilker's on the north and the A&P on the south. The
A&P is long gone and Bilker's has moved to Blue Ash.
North of Bilker's, somewhere, was a carryout seafood place. I think
the name was The Fish Fry. They served deep-fried shrimp and smelt,
among others. No one I know can remember this store, but I can
place it in the late 1950's to early 1960's. I believe that it lay
on or near the sites where Old Town ice cream and Squire Jack's
fish-and-chips later appeared.
Across from Bilker's, on the west side of the street and somewhat to
the north, was Sand's restaurant. Sand's probably closed in the
mid-1960's. Decorative baskets hung from the ceiling.
Somewhere near the site of the old Sands, in the late 1960's, a jazz
club opened. It may have been part of a hotel.
On the southwest corner with Summit was a building with offices and
Lenhardt's restaurant. There were two Lenhardt brothers who opened
Hungarian restaurants in Cincinnati. One brother opened across from
the U.C. campus; his store is currently operated by a descendant.
The other brother, Kristof, owned this Roselawn store. When Kristof
Lenhardt sold the business in the mid-1970's, Len Berke, the new
owner, kept the name. The business closed in the late 1970's and was
replaced by Cheng Du just as Sichuan food was becoming popular.
On the northwest corner was a Parkmoor drive-in. Parkmoor, a St. Louis
chain, also had a store at Daly and Galbraith. These drive-ins were
popular in the early 1960's, but both folded. Perhaps the fare was
too similar to Frisch's.
The lot housing the Parkmoor eventually became a strip mall with a
United Dairy Farmers store.
Across the street from this lot, on the east side, was a Denny's. The
Denny's probably came in during the mid-1970's. It did not last that
long: in the 1980's one of Cincinnati's first Thai restaurants took
the building.
Near the Denny's was a Perkins Cake and Steak restaurant. Perkins began
as a pancake house in College Hill before becoming a large chain. The
Cake and Steak trademark came after the pancake houses were already well
established.
This part of Roselawn was part residential, part light industry. There
was a Pepsi Cola bottling plant just off Summit, and plenty of small
businesses nearby. Somewhere in the mix was a Putt Putt miniature golf
park.
To the north of the Parkmoor was a motel, Schuler's. It had a swimming
pool in front, and may have had a small restaurant.
Across from Schuler's were the Summit Lanes, a large bowling alley.
To the north of the Lanes was a Howard Johnson's soda fountain. It
probably closed in the late 1960's.
Thriftway, a local supermarket chain, had a branch in this area, on
the east side of Reading. The only other Thriftway I can remember in
town was in Norwood.
On the west side of Reading, close to Galbraith, was the Carousel motel.
It was actually a complex of buildings that grew around a much smaller
motel. At one time the complex included a restaurant, La Ronde, which
may have featured fine dining. Maybe there just isn't the demand any
longer for accomodations in north-central Cincinnati, but the place
has definitely seen better days.
Across the street from the Carousel was a professional building, a
health club and a movie theater. All opened in the late 1960's.
North of the professional tower was Stillpass Motors, a used car
dealer.
North of Stillpass was the Upper Krust, a delicatessen. The restaurant
opened in the mid-1960's and probably was in business for ten years.
Took a major hit from the 1969 tornado but reopened. They mainly served
sandwiches, and were quite popular. Al Morse's Ribs King later opened
on the site.
At the southeast corner with Galbraith was the Wishing Well, an Italian
restaurant and Cincinnati landmark. Closed maybe in the late 1970's.
Across the street, to the north, was the Rocket drycleaners. The store
had a rocket-shaped entrance. Their slogan was something like "Cleaning
that's out of this world."
The corner of Galbraith and Reading also had a Sinclair station. Their
logo was a large green brontosaurus. Rumor had it that the dino was
once stolen and placed atop Woodward High School. Closed in mid-1960's.
Nowadays, you only see Sinclair stations in the central and western U.S.
To the west, on Galbraith, was MacIntosh's, a family restaurant. They
featured a sort of sloppy-joe sandwich called the "Highland Dandy".
MacIntosh's opened a larger, more upscale, store across the street
around 1970. Cannot recall when they closed.
Just west of the original MacIntosh's was the photography studio of
Rob Paris.
The Glass Barn was located near Benson St. on the east side of Reading.
They featured the odd china or porcelain close-out at popular prices.
On the west side, near Cooper, was Peewee Valley, an amusement park
for smaller children. The park featured rides and had a small pinball
arcade and snack bar. A popular birthday spot, probably closed in the
mid-1960's.
Jo Jo's, an Italian restaurant, was located on the east side of the
street beyond Cooper, not too far from Bypass 50.
Also near Bypass 50 was Rink's, a discount retailer. Rink's was like
K-Mart, but preceded the latter by a few years. There were other large
discount stores in Cincinnati at the time, for example Arlen's and
King Kong. The memorable thing about Rink's, besides the devastating
fire in the late 1960's, was their weekly advertising spot on the local
Big Time Wrestling broadcast. Impressario Willy Thal (one-time host of
the old Midwestern Hayride) and another actor, dressed as a law man,
would pick up sale products, call out their prices and then hurl them
off the set.
North of Galbraith and reading on the west side at Jefferson and Reading was a stone building it had been several businesses but I remember it as Arts chili parlor. Going further north on Reading Rd at benson on the east side was a spring company. On the west side was the Gahl building, it housed Gahl shoes and other businesses at the corner of vine and reading on the west side was maugle furniture and just south was lierman groceries. Going further north on the eastern corner of Columbia and reading rd was IGA groceries and the S&H green stamps redemption store, the next n eastern corner was the glass barn and bargain barn. The glass barn had all manners of plates, glasses, cups and other little knick knacks and they in late 70s early 80s got into making concrete bird baths, figurines like deer, frogs, bears. The bargain barn had anything and everything you needed for repairs to a car, house, tree house, they had plumbing, electrical, tools, car things, brooms, mops you could spend a day and not go through it all but George, his son and one grand daughter could tell you right where you'd find it. They'd say isle 4 3/4 of the way down on the right side won't be on the shelf but on the floor bin. They knew every inch of that place. On the sw side of Columbia and reading rd was the old folks home and had been there forever till they sold the land and now it's a new Walgreens. Just north of the Columbia and reading rd is vonderhaars small grocery and liquor store as well as their dons creamy whip and their catering business and further up at the border of Reading and evendale on the west side was Pee Wee Valley. Benson St has become the bridal district and people come from all over to shop for their wedding. Dresses and bridesmaid. Dresses.
I believe there were gas stations at the SW and NE corners of Galbraith and Reading. I was recently trying to remember where Rocket Cleaners was when I heard radio spots for Rocket Mortgage. Was a gas station on the NW corner Galbraith and Reading before Rocket Cleaners?
Jung's Sunoco was on the SW corner of Reading Road and Southern Avenue in the 60s (I lived on Southern Avenue from about 62-66). Not sure when it ceased to exist, but it had been converted to another business by the 80s. I have a picture of it when it was a Sunoco Station somewhere.
That gas station was a CITIES SERVICE. Precursor to Citgo. Then the property became Chili Time restaurant.
Chili time was torn down, and if I'm not mistaken, the lot still sits vacant today because of oil and gas contamination
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Carousel inn
