Ben Franklin W. Main St.

Charlottesville's Ben Franklin was still in business when I arrive in this college town back in 1978. That type of store being what it was which was a place for nothing too important or necessary to buy but it was a great way to spend some time. Sometimes one might discover an item that wasn't what one had in mind when one arrived in the store but once found, you couldn't leave without it. That's what 5/10 cent stores use to be like. A place to brows with nothing much in mind and you could find almost anything inside of them. They were packed with junk, cool junk, stuff you loved to see just for the novelty of it. When it came time to paint this store, I couldn't remember just what it actually looked like with its lettering and colors. I search various photo sights and nothing turned up. Although it was a franchise it still varied in design from store to store. So what is left is a building in concrete that has the form of what it use to be but no color or signage to it. I'm hoping that just the shape of the building will bring back memories of what it use to be like.

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