Smith: Downtown memories

Someone asked me a question today and I couldn’t answer it. Of course there are lots of questions I can’t answer, but this was so simple: “When did the Town Hall Theater close?” I have no idea, I wasn’t in it but once and really didn’t keep up with it. If you know, please let me know.
 Anyway, that got me to thinking of the changes made in downtown Winchester that I do remember. See how many you can recall?
 Do you remember diagonal parking in the middle of Broadway, or York’s Apple House on North Main Street. How about carnivals on the lot where Bush’s IGA now stands? Remember Bee’s Old Reliable Shows owned by David Huls, or Pound Tire Supply and gasoline pumps on the corner where Peoples Exchange Bank now stands?
 Remember street car tracks on Main Street when it was brick, a creamery and a locksmith shop on West Broadway near Maple Street and a corner grocery and apartments where BB&T now stands? The present BB&T parking lot once was the site of an automobile dealership and a small building housing Columbia Gas with a small upper apartment at the corner of Wall and Cleveland streets.
 I remember a gray stucco house on the west side of South Maple Street, near the present site of the Winchester Police Department, and a service station and garage near the site of today’s WPD parking lot. I also remember a two-story yellow brick building housing a small grocery on a lot at the rear of today’s jail.
 Most of you (my age or close to it) will recall the popcorn stand on the sidewalk near the corner of Main Street and Broadway, or the frozen food locker on the east side of North Main Street. We would use it for chickens that we raised from tiny chicks that arrived by train or bus.
 We also had three theaters on North Main Street: the Colonial, Leeds and Town Hall. Later, we had the Clark Theater on West Broadway in the building recently torn down to make a county parking lot.
 Winchester also had a hatchery on the site of the Family Dollar Store, another one, Toohey’s, on North Main Street and still another, Anderson’s, on North Highland Street.
 Browning’s turkey processing plant stood where Beverly White Towers and Ecton Station now stand. Ecton Station was named for the late fire chief Elliott “Rod” Ecton, who served more than 40 years in the fire protection business.
 Remember when each building in downtown Winchester was occupied?
 Also can you remember the rivalry between Winchester and Clark County high schools’ basketball teams, and Flynn’s, Dailey’s or Quisenberry’s as hangouts for the high school crowds?
 How about a bowling alley on North Main Street and later one on Carol Road, or a skating rink on East Washington just past the viaduct, or one on West Lexington Avenue, just east of the railroad tracks that are no longer there?
 Blue Ribbon Days were held near the end of the school year when children marched down Main Street after the dentist and doctors verified their health was good.
 Reynolds Village was located on the west campus of today’s College Park. Named for a young man who lost his life in World War II, quonset huts provided homes for veterans and their families while attending Kentucky Wesleyan College.
 These are some of my memories of my growing up years in my hometown.
 Hope your memories are as pleasant as mine.