Posted by: Joe @ 4:23 pm
OK, so I finally checked a couple of old Polk City Directories at the Beloit Public Library to confirm what other establishments were located around the Pop House. This is how it looked in 1960…
The Club Pop House was at 863 5th St. Further south on 5th St was Parker School. Fifth Street wasn’t much wider than an alley that ran next to the C&NW railroad tracks, so there were no other noteworthy business fronts along that stretch.
The closest major intersection to the Pop House was Portland Ave and 4th St. On the four corners were:
SW - Tompkins Ice Cream Shop (860 4th St) (Thanks to my dad, Nick, who remembered this too.)
SE - Endthoff’s Standard Gas Station (863 4th St)
NW - Smith Rexall Drugs (900 4th St)
NE - Nick’s Drive-In Cleaners (903 4th St)
(Beloit Telephone Book 1952 - Beloit Historical Society)
Other businesses on 4th Street at that time included Vic Hanson & Sons Auto Showroom which by 1968 had expanded into the property that was once Tompkins Ice Cream. My friend, Steve Kinzer, used to work part time at the Kroger Supermarket just south of Hanson’s. Across 4th street from Kroger was the Clark Gas Station and Helm’s Typewriter Company. The Rexall drug store had been replaced by George Webb Hamburger Parlor and Tilley’s Pizza by the late 1960’s.
The Directory listed 154 Portland Ave property owners as Vince Stankewitz (George’s father) in 1960 and George Stankewitz in 1967. This was the site of the original Stankewitz family corner grocery store. The old Pop House Sporting Goods store was located at 158 Portland. Addresses 159-161 were listed as vacant. A little further west, up the hill just across the tracks, was the Parker School kindergarten. Vince’s Sport Shop (George’s brother) moved around some… 158 Portland (1960), 415 E. Grand (1964), and 219 State St (1967).
There you have it. If you have any memories, photos, or ads of these or other surrounding businesses, please leave a comment. Thanks.
March 12th, 2007 at 12:59 pm Hey Joe- Found your site when I was looking for some old Beloit info for a “This is your life” for my mother’s 80th BD. What fun this info is. Don’t know if you remember me-I was one of Patty’s friends-with Cyndi and Mary… very long ago. Thanks for your hard work on documenting this info. Kathy
March 28th, 2007 at 1:17 pm You forgot to mention the Taylor Freezer Corp. which was located just south of the original Pop House between 4th and 5th streets. It was destroyed by a fire in the late 1940s. I believe that after the fire they moved to Rockton.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:05 am I remember working at the Kroger store in the fall of 1967 for $2.00 per hour and that was a 100% raise for me because, I had just left McDonalds on Madison Rd. working for Miles Capstick who managed it. I was rich!
November 13th, 2007 at 9:40 am Hi Joe, Both Parker Kindergarten and the Elementary School were located across the tracks at the top of the hill west of the Pop House. South of the Pop House on 5th st. was Kroger Parking lot and just south of the parking lot were 3 or 4 houses. I remember that because one of my Parker Grade School Classmates lived in one of them. You are doing a great job. thanks