We turn to Opelika blogger Jerry Katz on this one.

He never disappoints, providing a modern picture and some personal perspective: "I thought this must be Railroad Avenue due to the drop from the sidewalk to the street. So I checked it out later to discover it’s actually one of my haunts these days."

His readers provided more tidbits, "Lee James Clothing Store on Railroad Ave. was the "home" store of a small chain of Men's and Ladies' Clothing Stores. Lee James was a pioneer in installment credit for clothing. Duke's Clothing Store opened on Railroad Ave. in 1946 and sold Men's, Ladies' and Children's Clothing. Duke's Clothing Store was one of the first air conditioned businesses in Opelika. The business later moved to South 8th Street.

The comments on Jerry's site notes that this was also the location of Opelika's first chain store, Woolworths, of course.

Note of gratitude: You might recall that Jerry and his friends helped with Hagedorn's, one of the sponsors in the 1952 Glomerata.

Previous | Next | Glomerata Index | Home