The building was non-descript, but if you were a child during the 1930s-1960s, before the profusion of shopping malls, wandering the darkened aisles of Cottrell’s was pure joy.
If you needed Orange Blossom perfume in a shell for your Mom’s birthday, cheap bagged candy, or streamers for your bike handles, Cottrell’s stocked it. The pure bliss of a kid striding down the darkened, overstocked aisles in search of the perfect something --- heaven.
Photo courtesy of Peter Schreyer.
Cottrell’s carried 12,000 to 15,000 items in a store 25 feet wide and 125 feet deep. So, a child could wander up and down the darkened aisles all morning and always discover something new. David and Carmen Elliot inherited Cottrell’s business from Carmen’s father in 1950 and operated it until the closing in 1985. Today the building at 214 Park Avenue, S. is the site of Chico’s clothing store.
Photo courtesy of Peter Schreyer.
What Miller’s is for hardware Cottrell’s was for any other item. In fact, ask any woman of a certain age which Park Avenue store she misses the most, and without hesitation she will reply, “Cottrell’s.”
Cottrell's owner Dave Elliot.
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