CityView Magazine

Opposite: Financial aid from the Depression-fighting programs of the New Deal supported construction of the Fayetteville City Hall, which opened in 1940 on Green Street at the corner of Bow Street. President Franklin D. Roosevelt paid a brief visit to the building in 1941 while he was on an inspection trip to Fort Bragg. Today, the building houses Fascinate U, a childrens' museum. Sixty years ago young lovers were whispering his words as they walked through downtown Fayetteville, which at the time was a mecca for large department stores, boutiques, beauty and barber shops, billiard halls, soda shops and fine dining, movie theaters, churches, schools, drug stores, motor vehicle showrooms, grand hotels and working- man motels, with people hanging out on street corners just to feel the pulse of an energized city. "Going to the movies wasn't the only thing to do, but it was something everyone did," he said. "And before or after you took the time to eat, maybe shop and walk about. You didn't have to go far to find something interesting." The Point News, Carolina Soda and Brady's were popular soda shops where people would grab a hotdog, burger, French fries or milk shake, and throw a coin into the jukebox. There were more than 13 billiard halls in the downtown dis- trict and the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley was at 334 Franklin St. At the time there were no warehouse-style hardware super stores — and none were needed. Friendly service and selection could be found at hardware stores such as Huske Hardware on Hay Street, A.E. Rankin on Person Street and Dixie Paint and Hardware on Gillespie Street. Malls were likewise a future concept, too. That need was met by the downtown retailers — Belk Hensdale, JC Penny, Sears Roebuck and Co., Montgomery Ward, Capitol Department Store, Fleishman's Big Store and the Raylass Department Store — all of which catered to the needs of the masses. If you couldn't find what you needed there or wanted to stretch the dollars in your wallet, you could browse through the aisles of Kress Department Store, Rose's 5-10-25 Cent Store or McCrory's Department Store, all on Hay Street. You could often find items there you had no idea you needed. Specialty retail shops sold the latest hats, shoes and other finishing items. If you bought a wedding ring, watch or necklace it most likely came from the windows of the Jewel Box, Hatcher's Jewelry and Henebry's Jewelry, all on Hay Street. Barber and beauty shops provided basic and pampering ser- vices. Waiting in line was not looked upon as a chore, but rather a time to chat. The superhighway of the day was U.S. 301 and attracted Cumberland Couty's sixth courthouse opened in 1926 on Gillespie Street where mule barns and corrals once surrounded the fifth courthouse. CityViewNC.com | 39 Fayetteville Central School on Maiden Lane and Burgess Street served for more than 40 years. Fayetteville High, built with help from the Works Progress Administration of the New Deal, opened in 1940 on the west side of Robeson between Hay and McGilvary Streets. It served until the 1960s.

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