[PRCo] Eiben & Irr

[Bob Rathke]

Don't fear - there are some trolley links in this string....

In the 1950's, Peerless Camera was on Fifth Avenue opposite the Warner
Theater.  I bought three 35mm cameras there (I still have two of them).
Peerless merged with Willoughby Camera in the 1960's, and the store moved to
the corner of Forbes and Smithfield - in the old Frank & Seder department
store building.

Eiben & Irr was a specialty store started in the 1960's by two Duquesne
University graduates.  The store had good prices, and it grew quickly. They
had two stores a couple of doors apart on Wood St. at Liberty Ave - across
the street from Max Azen's (now the subway entrance building).  I bought
film, camera equipment and dozens of Airequipt slide storage boxes there.
By 1970, E&I they took over the old Harmony Short Line building on Penn Ave.
and 10th St., and they expaned into furniture and large appliances.  E&I was
then acquired by Spang, an industrial company headquarted in Butler, Pa..
Retail wasn't a good fit for Spang, and E&I closed.  A couple of the E&I
managers left to start the New Place, a similar but smaller business on
Fourth Avenue west of Smithfield St.  You may remember their yellow awning
over the entrance.  I continued to buy film there.

Bob 3/26/05


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Swindler" <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2005 7:38 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fourth and Stanwix


>
> Ohh, yes, wasn't it southside of Forbes/Diamond between Smithfield and
Wood?
>   Kauffman's, at Forbes and Smithfield was where I usually would catch a
64
> car, (to get a seat and get a longer ride) and there is a vague
recollection
> of the closed Casino building in early 1960s.
>
> Wasn't there a camera store on Smithfield around Forbes or Fourth?  Eiben
> and Irr?????  or something like that???  Or was it Peerless??  (which is
> where (Smithfield St.) I bought my first 35mm camera at age 15)  Or was
> Eiben and Irr (??sp??) on Liberty - somewhere around 10th, which was
> location with better film prices and slide storage trays.  Can I blame
this
> lack of recall on having a senior moment (:>)
>
> Ohhhh, you want a connection to this ramblings, Derrick??  Camera was
bought
> to take pictures of trolleys  <gg>
>
> The only image I can recall of riding the other side of the 64s city loop
on
> Fourth St. is "dreary".   And slow.  Guess it was mostly soot covered
> office/commercial buildings on Fourth???
>
> John
>
>
> >From: "Bob Rathke" <bobrathke at comcast.net>
> >Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> >Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fourth and Stanwix
> >Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 19:19:35 -0600
> >
> >That would be the Casino which survived much longer than it should have.
> >It
> >was one of the last derelict buildings between Smithfield and Wood
Streets
> >to be demolished.
> >
> >Bob 3/25/05
> >
> >-----------------------------
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Fred Schneider" <fschnei at supernet.com>
> >To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> >Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 7:02 PM
> >Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fourth and Stanwix
> >
> >
> > > My father remembered Forbes Avenue downtown under more names ... he
told
> >me it was Diamond Alley when he first came to town.  Interesting that it
> >was
> >never widened but it still went from an alley to an avenue.  I think the
> >street also had a burlesque house.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
> > > Sent: Mar 25, 2005 7:57 AM
> > > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > > Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fourth and Stanwix
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Diamond St was renamed Forbes St. - sometime in early 60s?????
> > >
> > > and from the alignment in a 1929 map, it looks like Ferry St. was
> >renamed
> > > Stanwix St.
> > >
> > >
> > > I remember 'Diamond St.' name, but have no recollection of 'Ferry
St.',
> >so
> > > would guess that Ferry St. name disappeared in ealry 1950s.
> > >
> > > It also looks like the Wabash Terminal Building sat on the ground now
> > > occupied by the Gateway Center 'T' station.
> > >
> > > Again, thanks for posting this view.  It pre-dates my memories of the
> > > Gateway Center area. Or let me correct that:  It pre-dates my memories
> >of
> > > Gateway Center area west of Stanwix/Ferry St.; but buildings to east
of
> > > Stanwix/Ferry St. were still in existance in early 1960s.
> > >
> > > Ed:  didn't you have an office at one time in Jenkins Arcade?
> > >
> > > John
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >From: Bill Robb <bill937ca at yahoo.ca>
> > > >Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > > >To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > > >Subject: [PRCo] Fourth and Stanwix
> > > >Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 13:33:30 -0800 (PST)
> > > >
> > > >Here's another view of the Wabash Terminal demolition
> > > >taken November 12, 1947 with a PCC creeping around the
> > > >corner onto Fourth.
> > > >Bill Robb
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >__________________________________
> > > >Do you Yahoo!?
> > > >Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
> > > >http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/
> > > >
> > > >-- Attached file removed by Ecartis and put at URL below --
> > > >-- Type: image/jpeg
> > > >-- Desc: Wabash Novermber 12, 1947.jpeg
> > > >-- Size: 76k (78282 bytes)
> > > >-- URL :
> > >
> >
>http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/Wabash%20Novermber%2012
> >,%201947.jpeg
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
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