Eaton-Turner
Jewelry Formerly
Chas. H. Pratt, Jeweler
Linda
Beattie Anderson has kindly shared these wonderful photos
of the Chas. H. Pratt and Eaton-Turner Jewelry stores, which
once thrived on Main Street. Linda owned Eaton-Turner from 1982
to 1996. In her own words...
"The
Pratts were the first owners, as far as we know. Zip Eaton
and Roy Turner bought it in 1946 from Mrs. Pratt and her son
George. Roy left by the 1950s, and Zip ran it until 1982 when
I purchased it after working there for eight years.
I
sold it in 1996 to Don Johnson, who has since moved out on
Montana Ave. into a new building."
The
Thompson Block Store 1900-1913
Two circa
1900 interior views of the Chas. Pratt jewelry store, located
in the Thompson Block, which was on the south corner of Main
and Grand St., where the 1913 Placer Hotel (now Placer Center
Apartments) now stands.
The
Placer Hotel Store
From 1913
to 1923, Chas. H. Pratt Jewelers occupied this space in the
new Placer Hotel. On July 1, 1923, Pratt moved into a space
in the Gold Block which had previously been a Red Cross facility.
The
First Gold Block Store
Pratt Jewelers
in the Gold Block space, about 1923. In 1928, the Gold Block
and other adjoining buildings would be destroyed by fire. A
smaller Gold Block was rebuilt, in a more modern style, and
Pratt reopened...
The
Second Gold Block Store
The post-fire
space in the Gold Block, about 1930. This is the storefront
recognized by thousands of Helenans (and ex-Helenans) today.
One memorable feature of the store during the 1950s was the
placement of a series of delightful Baranger
animated advertising displays in the window on the left.
Z.
A. "Zip" Eaton, 1960s
Interior
view of Chas. Pratt Jewelers, about 1930.Linda
continues...
"My
old showcases [the ones shown above] were moved in from Seattle
in the late 20s as used showcases to replace old ones destroyed
when the Gold Block burned...I sold them to an antique dealer
from San Francisco when Don was moving the business."
Linda Beattie
and employee Kathy Pahut, Eaton-Turner Jewelry, 1980s.
Two interior
views of Eaton-Turner Jewelry, about 1990...
SIGN REMOVED
TO COMPLY WITH NEW LAW, 1970s
The Eaton-Turner
Jewelry neon sign being removed from the Gold Block in the
1970s, as mandated by a local ordinance which prohibited overhanging
signs on the new "Walking Mall". More art and craftsmanship
gone forever...
The
Eaton-Turner sign, 1954
MANY
THANKS to Linda Beattie Anderson for her wonderful photos
and story!
