A Laurelhurst resident sent in this 1949 photo from the City archives, of Sand Point way and NE 45th Street.
On the left is the former Zopf Pharmacy, of which the Laurelhurst Blog published its history.
In November the building which housed the Pharmacy at 4529 Sand Point Way NE and then the Bicycle Center for several decades was demolished.
A neighbor who watched the demolition said "This is a bittersweet day. I went there a child with wonderful memories and it's been there as long as I can remember."
Randy, the grandson of the original owner of the building also watched the demolition along with a long-time Laurelhurst resident. Randy said that watching the building come down was "an occasion to see the family history, and to see how the building went together" as it was built by his grandfather, George Zopf, a pharmacist and was where George met his wife in the mid 1940's.
Randy's grandfather was the pharmacist, and Randy's his mother Phyllis worked at the Pharmacy, and was also a licensed pharmacist for over 50 years, many of them in the family drugstore, then for other independent druggists.
The pharmacy, which operated until the 1970's, was popular with children for its soda fountain, which Randy said was along the wall that was parallel to the south side parking lot and there were all flavors of coke.
Randy said his mom taught him how to use the varieties of coke, saying "All you need is coke and chocolate." Randy said that when someone bought a soda, you had to pay two extra cents for the deposit then you returned the glass and got the money back. Shakes were made by hand, as well as sodas and floats. Arden, a local brand of ice-cream was used.
Randy described the interior of the pharmacy saying there was a cigar case that was in the front left corner. There was a prescription room, also home remedies section and a few toys. There was also a nut case in a steel case where nuts were heated on a rotating tray.
Most customers were from Windermere and Laurelhurst. Randy said his mom dropped off the prescriptions or one of the sons did to customers, even in snowy weather.
"Customers counted on it. It's just what you did, it was part of the neighborhood you were in," Randy said.
In 2005 the upstairs portion of the building sustained about $75,000 in damage in an arson fire allegedly started by an employee who wasn't paid. No repairs were ever done following the fire to the deck, siding or the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, leaving it completely fire damaged. The Laurelhurst Blog Staff learned that there was no running water or heat in the fire damaged building, when the Bicycle Center was in operation.
Randy said that the fire was actually set by a worker, who was doing odd jobs in the building, and he set the fire in a stairwell and was later found to be a pyromaniac. He said that following the fire, the bike shop owner jerry-rigged the building for electricity and ran his business on a shoe string budget.
Later the building turned into eyesore and public nuisance. When the sides of the building were demolished, graffiti, needles, and the severe decay of the interior were visible.
Really old Laurelhurstians remember that place as Zopf's Pharmacy in the mid-60's complete with a great soda fountain! And Green River Sodas for 35 cents. They had a great comic book selection too(which my mom wouldn’t let me buy). I’d sit at Zopf’s and read the latest Flash until chased away by Mrs. Zopf.
Neighbors commented to the Laurelhurst Blog:
We and many other long-time neighbors fondly remember the popular Zopf's Laurelhurst Pharmacy, which served the nearby neighborhoods for many years.
George and Rubie Zoof met as teenagers in Iowa. They eloped, taking a street car downtown to the clerks office. Then they took a car trip to see the west and chose Onalaska in Lewis county for their first drugstore George fixed up my parents first date there and the couples were close friends all their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment