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Item
Title
D106862-6
Date(s)
- 1957-05-16 (Creation)
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Eager shoppers gather at the entrance of the new J.C. Penney store in the Villa Plaza Shopping Center for the grand opening ceremonies on May 16, 1957. They were prepared to charge forth into the store after the ribbon was snipped and the ceremonies concluded. Villa Plaza Penney's new manager, Howard E. Haley, is at the microphone addressing the crowd with Miss Tacoma, Connie Mernaugh, at his side. Miss Mernaugh would have the honor of snipping the red ribbon, officially opening the store. Store and Plaza officials in line were (left to right): Asst. store mgr. Eldon Kahny, District mgr. O.M. Robinson, Mr. Haley, E.J. Zarelli of the Villa Plaza Development Co., and downtown Penney's mgr. Lysle Paterson. The Villa Plaza Penney's was the third in the area after the downtown and South Tacoma locations. The 33,000 sq.foot building had offices and staff rooms upstairs and all sales departments on the main floor. It was the first J.C. Penney store in the Northwest to have all sales areas on one floor and also the first "shopping center" Penney's in the Northwest. The west-facing grand entrance shown above was on Gravelly Lake Dr. S.W. (TNT 5-15-57, B-4-assorted articles & alt. photographs)
J.C. Penney Co. (Lakewood); Department stores--Lakewood--1950-1960; Building dedications--Lakewood--1950-1960; Shopping--Lakewood--1950-1960; Villa Plaza Shopping Center (Lakewood); Mernaugh, Connie; Haley, Howard; Zarelli, E.J.; Paterson, Lysle;