The Gridley Museum settled into the property several years ago. Photo by Teri Saya

 

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Seventy-some years ago, there was much to see while strolling on busy Kentucky Street in downtown Gridley.  

The Snack Shop, specializing in hamburgers, and the Greyhound Depot shared a spot at 670 Kentucky. A trip to San Francisco would hardly break the bank. It cost three dollars and some change. A return trip was even less.  

The hamburgers at The Snack Shop were tasty, and the establishment was open seven days a week. Gridley resident Ike Murshel, who resided on Sycamore Street, ran both businesses. 

Next door was the snazzy Butte Theater. 

Built in 1938, with an imposing tower and marquee, the theater's style was Art Deco. An octagonal ticket booth stood at the center of the sloping entrance. On the other side of the theater was a resale store that proudly advertised its acceptance of old heaters as trade-ins. 

Up the street, at the corner of Kentucky and Hazel, stood a building formerly occupied by the Gridley State Bank. In 1960, Clarice Duke's fashions inhabited the location. The Gridley Museum settled into the property several years ago.

A red brick building occupied the other side of Kentucky and Hazel. Called Hall's General Store, W. H. Hill ran the successful store for years, surviving break-ins and a fire until his retirement.

Morgan T. Little operated his grocery store at 559 Kentucky. Essentials like frozen foods, cold meats, vegetables and ice cream filled Little's store. He ran the place until 1954. 

Fancy a haircut? Mere steps from Little's was Milt's Barbershop, where one would "shine" after visiting. 

A jewel of a building sits at 519 Kentucky. 

Designed in a Greek Revival style by Chico resident Chester Cole, with 12 steps to a grand entrance, the striking Carnegie Public Library of Gridley opened for the first time on March 15, 1916, at 3:30 p.m. 

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had donated $7,000 for construction, but the driving force behind the development of the library was the Ladies Improvement Club. 

The Ladies Club worked nine grueling years until Carnegie authorized construction in 1915. 

The imposing library would serve the community for 67 years. It still stands proudly to this day, a classic from another time.  

Halls General Store is now home to the Farmers Wives, the Carnegie Library to Taylor Accountancy. Most of the other buildings are barren now, but the past lingers for those who remember it and are looking for it.