October 26, 2009In an early CDP post, I talked about how so many local places are referred to as "the old" this or that, so that a relative newcomer like myself has no idea what people are talking about. I'd try to get directions, only to find that I couldn't understand them because I didn't know where "the old" (whatever) used to be. It had been gone since before my arrival in Astoria. The building you see here will probably be referred to as "the old co-op" for some time to come.
The food co-op is alive and well, but it's moved from this wonderfully funky building on Duane and 14th to a newer building on Exchange and 14th that has much less character. I'm sure the new place serves them well (I should say "us," since I'm now a member), but I recall the first time I walked into the building shown here. I thought I'd stepped into a piece of San Francisco from the hippie days, and I loved it. So, until someone moves in and gives the location a strong new identity, it's still "the old co-op" to me, and probably to many others as well. I wonder what else it used to be? Maybe someday I'll have more time to do the research.
10 comments:
We do that here--still call some thing the 'old this' or 'the old that' and it will always be that way. We sometimes wonder why it became so. MB
To me, the old coop building is on Marine Drive next to the Columbian Cafe. That's where they were located when I moved to town in the late 1970s. It was even much smaller than the Duane Street location.
Here we go again. I have an old building posted today too. (Well, part of it at least.) I know you have an appreciation for them too. I'd love to go inside this old place.
I know what you mean. Evidently, I work in the ol' Sears bldg.
Sweet Sue from Deja Vu thrift store tells me they are going to be moving in to the old "commie store" space and the space just west of it. When I bought my first 45 RPM record in 1965 that space to the west housed Poole's Music later to become Thiel's Music which moved to Commercial in the mid 70's.
That's a nice reflection btw :-)I do hope they find a funky use for this old building, it would be a shame otherwise!
That space was originally a bank, then was the Oregon Employment Office. In 1976 it was a head shop/record store called "The Cobweb", and then I think it was a hair salon called "Wild Hair". Maybe there was something after that before it was the co-op, but I had left town by then.
It appears to be a solid building and I'd guess you will always think of it as the "co-op," no matter who moves in...
Our 'new' fortress was built in 1591: things renews slowly here...
Hope it finds a new use soon.
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