Woolworth's

F.W. Woolworth's department store opened in 1879, and soon made the five-and-dime store format famous. It was a place to buy school supplies and stationery, as well as small household necessities such as shoelaces and buttons. While eating at the lunch counter, a customer could try to win a free sundae by picking from balloons whose strings were located behind the counter. In its heyday, there were 1,465 Woolworth stores throughout America, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As the 20th century wore on, Woolworth's was continuously met with increased competition from larger discount stores and would shut down most of its stores in the 1980s and 90s. The store no longer exists in Chicago, making this photo of a storefront window alongside the Howard Street subway line a relic of days (and 20 cent strawberry ice cream sodas!) gone by.