Five-and-dime fades from American culture
The last vestige of the traditional "five-and-dime" store once typified by G.C. Murphy, Woolworth's and McCrory's ceased to exist late last month when the former G.C. Murphy off Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh closed its doors forever.
Cloaked under the name Dollar Zone, it was the last incarnation of the McCrory banner in the nation.
In Scottdale, another incarnation of the five-and-dime concept — a Family Dollar store — still exists at the original site where John Graham McCrory used $550 to open his first McCrory's in 1882.
"For years, McCrory's was known all over the place. ... It was on this corner for what seems like forever," said Family Dollar store manager Janet Hall, of Bullskin Township, Fayette County. "It's kind of weird. We're basically carrying a lot of the same merchandise that McCrory's did. But we're here, and they're not. It makes you sit and wonder."
John Graham McCrory created a retail store empire by catering to the average consumer and acquiring its competition. But today, 120 years later, there's nothing left of the once-mighty discount retailer, save for vacant store fronts and former customers who lament the passage of a national chain that operated more than 1,300 stores at its zenith.
Many theories have been advanced for the decline and fall of the McCrory empire. Some can be interchanged with the demise of other five-and-dime stores such as F.W. Woolworth, which after 118 years announced its exit from the business in 1997 because it was no longer able to compete with retailers such as Wal-Mart.
Some believe McCrory's went the way of the dinosaur because it couldn't adapt to a constantly evolving retail climate, which was heated by competition from the likes of Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Family Dollar in a low-price niche market below that of Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart.
"They (McCrory's) had been going downhill for decades, but they were propped up by the acquisition of a number of failing companies. But the business as a whole was declining. They continued to hang on in small towns, mainly because a lot of people still have fond memories," said Alan Raucher, a professor of history at Wayne State University in Michigan who studied five-and-dime stores.
Raucher said the variety store has been adversely affected by several social trends, including the "suburbanization" of American consumers and the growth of drug store chains that sold many of the same products as the five-and-dimes and had the advantage of selling prescription drugs.
By the 1990s, the McCrory empire operated the largest number of five-and-dimes in the nation under a variety of names. They included J.J. Newberry, H.L. Green, S.H. Kress, McClellan and T.G.&Y. McCrory's also bought the remnants of the G.C. Murphy variety chain, based in McKeesport, Allegheny County, from Ames Department Stores Co. in 1989.
McCrory filed and fought off bankruptcy multiple times over the past 70 years. The Great Depression triggered the first bankruptcy in 1933. The company reorganized and emerged three years later. But when founder John Graham McCrory died in 1943, leaving the company without a family heir, the company once again drifted.
In 1992, bankruptcy struck again. Five years later, in January 1997, McCrory's announced it was closing 300 of its 461 locations in an effort to salvage the company — including its landmark Scottdale store.
Efforts to revive its fortunes using the dollar-store format under the "Dollar Zone" name also failed. Bereft of cash and unable to borrow, McCrory's finally threw in the towel on Sept. 10, 2001, when the corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the final time, a move that would close its remaining 200 stores, the last being in Pittsburgh. Some in other towns were bought by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar chains.
McCrory's will maintain a presence in Pittsburgh for years, even without a store. McCrory's lease on the downtown Pittsburgh property expires Jan. 31, 2010, and it has options on some buildings through 2020, but most options are through 2014.
There are five primary owners of the land under which the former Murphy store was located in the 200 blocks of Fifth Avenue and Forbes Avenue. Although there is different ownerships and different addresses, G.C. Murphy occupied all of the space because walls had been demolished and the space was one continuous area.
Scott R. Kipnis, of the law firm Hofheimer Gartlir &I Gross LLP in New York, said there are five different landlords, including McCrory, which owned the 1,797 square feet at ground level. He said the firm will try to find a buyer, or if that fails, vacate all leases.
The original McCrory's store, on Pittsburgh Street in Scottdale, does business today as a Family Dollar Store, one of 4,340 stores operated by the Matthews, S.C.-based company in 39 states.
Store manager Janet Hall says Family Dollar is similar in concept to McCrory's, as the Scottdale store doesn't carry any merchandise over $40 — the costliest item is electric blankets.
Shirley Weimer of Scottdale still harbors fond memories of that old McCrory's store. "Anybody who shopped there misses it. Five-and-dimes seemed to carry more stuff. You could go in and get material for clothes," she said.
George Schwalke, 68, of South Everson, says he remembers shopping at McCrory's and the good old days, when civic organizations would hold bingo games on the second floor of the original building.
McCrory's also had fresh roasted peanuts, an aquarium with fish and related supplies, along with colored chicks at Easter, according to Rhonda Allison, assistant librarian at Scottdale Public Library, across the street and a few doors down from the old McCrory's.
Allison also remembers a disastrous fire that swept through the store the night of Dec. 30, 1980, and a subsequent firestorm of support from the community to keep the store going.
"McCrory's originally wasn't going to rebuild the store. But they were inundated with cards and letters from the community. I guess they were surprised and changed their mind," said Allison.
Louise Ross, 77, of Scottdale, vividly recalls the letter-writing effort — mainly because she was the one who organized it.
"I went everywhere to get signatures, and we ended up with hundreds. When they said they were going to remain closed after the fire, we were devastated. There are a lot of senior citizens in town, and we had to do something," Ross said.
Tribune-Review staff writer Sam Spatter contributed to this report.
