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Ads for downtown establishments like these often appeared
in the Savitar yearbook. Image courtesy of the 1948
Savitar
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College Town U.S.A.
@Mizzou readers share memories
of downtown life while they were at Mizzou …
Pre-World War II Columbia: There were no bars
— mixed drinks were not available anywhere in town. You
either bought a bottle at Jake’s Brown Derby and went to
Springdale (now a dignified residence on W. Broadway), the Coronado
(now Jack's), The Farm (south of town on Highway 63), or the Pierce
Pennant out on Highway 40. You could go to Gaebler’s
and get a Coke and dance to Carl Stepp’s band (swing and
sweat to Carl Stepp). Unfortunately, Springdale closed on
the same historic day the Shack burned down. Such was life in
the '30s at old MU.
– Dave Wolk, attended
MU, ’42
In 1970, I lived in a house on Maryland where
the School of Law library
is. We used to be able to buy groceries at an A&P located
on the spot where Chipotle now stands. We loved walking downtown
on Friday and Saturday nights to see movies. I saw a John
Cassavetes film at what is now the Blue Note and an Andy Warhol
film at what is now Panera. When those theatres closed, there
was a theatre on the corner of Hitt and Broadway where I saw Woodstock,
Rocky Horror Picture Show and Annie Hall, among
many others. There were a couple of drug stores, too, and it was
quite complete. You didn’t have to drive very far to
be in “the country” either.
– Patrice Koehner, Harry
S Truman School of Public Affairs
Memories of downtown Columbia include in the
1960s stair steps up to Julie’s Studio where the photographer,
head under canvas and behind the black box, and using his signature
lighting combined with black and white photography, immortalized
us, providing proof that we had belonged to a special band of
women at Mizzou and to Broadway in Columbia! Nor can one forget
the sensory experience of shopping at Gibson’s, a dress
shop, just below. Was that pumped fragrance so pervasive when
shopping or walking by its door White Shoulders perfume? Sometimes,
for no apparent reason unless it is a gentle whiff of that same
fragrance, memories of that small shop on Broadway flood into
my mind.
– Betty Stout Poehlman,
BS Ed ’68
“Patronize Your Hometown Merchants” read the
sign in the window of this downtown shoe store. Photo
courtesy of the 1955 Savitar yearbook
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What I remember the most about downtown
Columbia: shopping and a few of the restaurants. Very few students
had a car in 1964–66 (compared to today’s standards)
so we would walk “downtown.” I loved shopping
(actually doing more than looking on my meager allowance) for
the very latest in fashions at Suzanne’s, with the
Hat Shop on the Mezzanine and coveting the green and white label
on anything from Harzfields. For shoes, there was Miller’s
and Gene Glenn’s. We always stopped by JJ Newberry &
Co. to see what they had. I still remember “oohing and ahhing”
over the photographs in Julie's Studio window.
Of course, everyone from that era remembers
The Old Heidelberg and Breisch’s, with those wonderful rolls/biscuits!
While McDonald’s wasn’t downtown, it was new and the
sign said “sold to hundreds” — not the trillions
as signs say today.
– Margaret Ann “Maggie”
Talbot Morris, BS Ed ’66
Every Chinese New Year my roommate and I would
go down to Peking Restaurant on Ninth St. My favorite was
the General Tso’s Chicken. I haven’t found any place
since that makes it that tasty!
– Corynne Person Davis
BJ ’96
The Blue Note on Ninth Street continues to be a popular
hangout and a great place to hear live music. Photo
courtesy of MU Publications and Alumni Communication
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My favorite downtown Mizzou memory happened
in October 2003 when Mizzou finally beat Nebraska and the goal
posts were torn down. A crowd was marching the posts toward downtown.
My sorority sister and I were running down the street past them
to get to Harpo’s before they reached their maximum occupancy.
People were using a saw to give people pieces of the pole, and
I watched madness from the top bar. I have never had so much fun
in my entire life. Any time I miss Mizzou, I think about that
day with a great fondness.
– Shanna Yehlen, BA ’03
One day I took a walk into downtown Columbia
to see what I could find. I went into an international bazaar
shop and bought four oval Christmas ornaments covered with braid,
sequins, pearls, pipe cleaners and felt trim. Two of the ornaments
are shaped like hollowed eggs, with angels holding musical instruments
inside. I still bring them out for the holidays and hang them
on my tree.
– Eloise Hatfield, BJ
’69
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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