Christmastime in Lakewood — 1951

by Paula Bosse

xmas_WWW_1952Mad tree-trimming fun ahead (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

Above, Woodrow kids with a Christmas tree crammed into their convertible, taking a moment to wave at someone in the distance, probably a classmate coming out of Harrell’s Drug Store. Next stop, wholesome 1950s tree-trimming fun, complete with mugs of warm cocoa and Perry Como singing about Christmas on the radio.

If you’re familiar with Lakewood, it might take a second to get your bearings, but this was Abrams Road. It’s now the short stretch known as Abrams Parkway, directly across Abrams from the Lakewood Whole Foods — it basically serves as a parking lot for the businesses now occupying these buildings.

Here is a list of the businesses seen in this 1951 photo, along with what currently occupies those same buildings:

  • 2015 Abrams: then, Abrams Road Cleaners; now, The Heights (formerly Legal Grounds)
  • 2017 Abrams: then, Massey’s Beauty Salon & Barber Shop; now, part of Blow Hair Salon
  • 2019 Abrams: then, Lakewood Shoe Service; now, Blow Hair Salon
  • 2021 Abrams: then, Lakewood Recreation Club; now, Scalini’s Pizza & Pasta
  • 2023 Abrams: then, Lakewood Sporting Goods; now, part of Curiosities
  • 2025 Abrams (mostly out of frame): then, Teter Plumbing Co.; now, Curiosities (an emporium of eclectic antiques and overall super-cool stuff)

Just out of frame to the right, a couple of doors down, was the old El Chico restaurant, now Hollywood Feed.

A detail of a page from the 1952 Mapsco, which will be confusing to those who might not know about the weird “Abrams Bypass” that happened in the early ’80s (click for larger image).

1952-mapsco_lakewood-det

Here’s what this strip looks like today (or recently, anyway — Legal Grounds is now The Heights):

abrams_today_google-street-viewGoogle Street View

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Photo from the 1952 Woodrow Wilson High School yearbook, The Crusader. Apologies for the quality — the photo appeared across two pages and was scanned at a pretty low resolution. It’s still pretty cool, though.

To see a magnified detail of the businesses on the left half of the photo, click here; for those on the right half, click here.

Since I don’t have access to a street directory showing this block’s info in 1951, here are the businesses that occupied that block per the 1948 and 1953 directories:

48-53

When in doubt, click pictures to see if they get bigger — they usually do!

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Copyright © 2015 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.