teadrinker

Hi.
I am having a heck of a time finding anything relating to what Main Street was like in the years I worked as a summer nanny there in 1975 and 1976. I can not remember what the shops were like.. and I can't find any picture books. I would love to see some pictures of the shops if anyone has any links. I am sure I could visit the Nantucket Historical Association, but thought I'd ask this on this site first. The Penny Patch, I remember, and the old restaurant which was a boat, which was "anchored" along the pier where the Steamship Authority ferry is... and of course The Brotherhood and The Sweet Shop, but aside from Hardy's the hardware store, I don't remember much else. Are there books out there anyone knows about?
Thank you!

EmilyC

I'm gonna have to think about this one but I do clearly remember the ice cream shop with the wonderful large music box that was always playing- do you remember that??

teadrinker

I remember the ice cream shop. It was called The Sweet Shop then I believe.. but I do not remember the big music box!
I can not believe there are no picture books with the shops from that era!
Hope to receive more on this subject!
Thanks!

Proenza_Preschooler

I own a house on Main Street that I inherited from my grandparents.

I was about six during this time period and I do remember the sweet shop because I used to get ice cream all over the pages of my Pippy Longstocking books.

Wasn't there a used bookstore with a lady named Mrs. Hester or Mrs. Kestler who sold books? She was very religious.

I will email my older sister (who has her own summer cottage in Nantucket) if she remembers anything.

Thingorjus

EmilyC

There was a little community theater just off Main Street where old movies showed and in that area, there were band concerts for families during the summer. I remember the Ship's Inn, just off Main Street that had great fondue. The old A&P near the marina....and a shop that sold scrimshaw made right there...I have 2 pieces that I bought there.

AckSara

The Sweet Shop on Main Street was where the "Yachties" hung out and Congdon's Drug Store across the Street where the "Townies" hung out. Don't forget the Nantucket Pharmacy that was right next door. The "Lamp Post" on Centre Street had the best lemonade and linguica sausage sandwhiches. The Downeyflake had the best doughnuts. Let's not forget the all important "Hub" on mains treet where you got your magazines.The Brotherhood had the best roast beef sandwhiches and shoe string fries. Mitchells Books on Main Street. The old boat that was a restaurant was called the "Skipper". Remember the "Mad Hatter" restaurant? Penny Patch on Mian Street was my favorite store ever@!!! Henry's Subs on Steamboat Wharf.

socialworker

If anyone does come up w/photos, it would be great if they could be posted! Our first trip to Nantucket was in the summer of '77 and it would be so wonderful if I could see again what it was like. We rode bikes everywhere all over the island and it was idyllic. Now there are so many cars, esp the dreaded SUVs and it would be so hard to ride the way we did back then.

Ackislander

Photos of most of these places may be available on the Nantucket Historical Association website. They have a fantastic collection of photographs, well-indexed.

This period is all about ten years before my time, but some of those places are still there: Murrays, Mitchells, the Hub, Nantucket Pharmacy, the Nobby Shop, Arno's, the Pacific Bank. The A&P is now a Grand Union. The Downyflake moved out of town after a terrible fire (gas leak exploded when they came in to start up early in the morning). The Brotherhood is still there, basically unchanged downstairs but with dining rooms upstairs and a nice summer patio. The former Cy's Green Coffee Cup next to the Dreamland theatre became The Atlantic Cafe which has just reopened as Cy's Lobster Pot. The Dreamland was torn down after being raped by a Boston developer with visions of wealth and is going to be reconstructed in ways that will be recognizable to old timers. We really miss Hardy's more than anywhere else because it meant we could buy a can of paint or a box of screws without having to get in the car.

STravel

Murray's Toggery Shop, at the top of Main Street to the left of the bank & Murray's Liquor Store towards the bottom of Main.(This shop was once S.S. Pierce, if you go back to the 60's) Next door to Murray's Liquors, up towards The Hub, was Erica Wilson Needleworks. Across the street was Nantucket Looms. Now that store houses Ralph Lauren. Remember the lady who sold Indian print cotton t-shirts & wrap skirts from her tiny house/shop (smelling of patchouli oil) at the corner of Main & Easy Streets? The Opera House Restaurant. The Camera Store. The Boarding House Restaurant (did they sell home baked breads on the bottom floor?), and The Company of the Cauldron. Had The Penny Patch already become Aunt Leah's Fudge? The Enchanted Dollhouse off Upper Main Street - maybe that was also in the 60's. The Club Car, in an old - you guessed it - train car: did this used to be called Allen's? Fun remembering...

socialworker

We did not get back after '77 again until '92. So much *looked* the same (minus the huge increase in traffic!) but so many of the quaint shops had evolved into T-shirt stores. Maybe I have rose colored glasses nostalgia, but I do not believe that the concept of a T-shirt store had even been invented in '77!

BTW, we were back again once more somewhere between '99 and '03 and the SUVs parked everywhere broke my heart. It just did not look like the real Nantucket to me anymore. We were staying at the Jared Coffin House and (no exaggeration) virtually every car parked up and down that long-ish street was an SUV.

But as you say, Ack the Brotherhood is still there! A great old spot!

teadrinker

Thank you everyone, it would be wonderful to see photographs of these places - if possible!

DebitNM

Wow! This might be a record!

The OP returns to comment on a post from 8 years ago. Where have you been, teadrinker? Welcome back.

Fra_Diavolo

It's funny, but all I can remember from those early trips are the White Elephant on the right (starboard!) as you came into the harbor and the supermarket -- on the left was it? -- as you walked into town. And the bike rides to Surfside.

Ackislander

I agree, Dukey, the OP back after years and years! A record!

And Fra_Diavolo, the White Elephant is still there and the grocery store as well, now a Stop and Shop, perhaps the only gourmet Stop and Shop.

DebitNM

uh, that was me, not dukey. We don't look anything alike

Ackislander

Sorry!

I posted at 9:15 PM, late for me!

Too late, obviously

Gwendolynn

I have several photo books on Nantucket. An especially nice one is Nantucket Island by Robert Gambee… with an introduction by Nathaniel Benchley.

Part of the Profiles in America Series is Nantucket in Color by Edouard Stackpole and Peter Dreyer.

There's also Old Houses on Nantucket by Kenneth Duprey.

A lot of dust came off the shelf with these books so I suppose they're out of print ! Annual calendars are a nice way to get some photos.