For decades, downtown Danville was the place to be. After reaching a peak of activity in the 1950s and 1960s, the city’s center shifted away from downtown to outlying shopping centers.
“It was the center of commerce for a 30-, 40-mile radius,” Rippe’s owner Ben Rippe said. “There was at least a restaurant on every corner. There were hotels on almost every block and sometimes two.”
Rippe’s has operated in downtown Danville since around 1907. It was just one of the many stores that filled every space in downtown Danville.
“You had fine department stores and you had modern department stores,” he said.
Danville residents who were youths at the time recall toy stores, hardware stores, women’s specialty shops, jewelry stores and movie theaters. In addition to those, many professional offices for doctors, lawyers and more were located in second floor spaces above shops.
Rippe remembered his father’s story of the first spot for the family store. Rippe’s father and his banker walked up and down Main Street, seeking any open spot. They only found a 20-25 foot-wide alleyway.
“My point is it was so booming that was the only space,” Rippe said. “So much real estate everywhere was taken.”
That space eventually grew to take over vacated adjoining properties. Rippe remembers sitting high up on a ladder and watching the bustling activity of the store and downtown area. In a few years’ time, that scene changed entirely.
“It slowly changed with the shopping centers like the rest of America. The center of the city got less important,” he commented. “So I kept thinking maybe I’d go out to the mall and every time I decided to stay downtown. One time we were the only anchor left.”
Barry Koplen, whose family founded Abe Koplen Clothing Company, one of the oldest merchants in downtown Danville, was a teenager during the 1960s. He remembers Danville as a place for young and old, filled with ways to spend your days.
In exchange for household chores, he received an allowance of 21 cents and a couple bus tokens. With that, young Koplen was able to hit the movies on Saturday mornings. His favorites were the “Tarzan” and “Lone Ranger” movies.
“Downtown Danville was a very vital place. The thought about anything that might challenge the centrality of downtown Danville was remote,” Koplen stated.
The restaurants dotting every block and corner were not simple Southern cooking establishments. Instead, they were wide ranging, from Jewish food restaurant Eric’s Delicatessen to a Greek food restaurant. The Downtowner had a happening nightclub that was considered a hot spot for nights on the town.
“You really didn’t have to leave Danville to find whatever entertainment there was,” he said.
Danville offered more than places to spend money. It also had a unique feeling and spirit about it. Koplen recalls his father saying he would ride the trolley for the entire line, just to watch the city in its splendor.
“There was this incredibly sweet tobacco smell that just infused the air. There was something special about that. When that time came, it oftentimes coincided with the time when the fair would come to town. There were just some magical moments like that,” Koplen said.
Soon developers spread out away from Downtown with Nor-Dan, Riverside or Sherwood Shopping Centers. One of the biggest motivators in the move away from Danville’s downtown was the introduction of the Piedmont — now Danville — Mall.
In preparation for construction of Piedmont Mall, a study was conducted on the effects of a shopping center that size. The results weren’t promising and proved to be a forewarning for the historic center.
“The impact study was eventually done and it showed that Main Street would be decimated,” Koplen recalled. “This was a huge attraction and continued to be for quite some time. They were able to offer in the mall just things that were not possible in the Main Street, downtown setting. Without going outside you could go to a restaurant. It was unique. It had that appeal. It did pretty much decimate downtown.”
Danville Economic Development Consultant — and former mayor and council member — Linwood Wright remembers his time as a young child in downtown Danville. Wright recalled when large department stores like Sears and Belks were found only in downtown. Those days are over and likely won’t ever be seen in the same setting again.
“An anchor department store downtown makes absolutely no sense [in downtown Danville today]. An anchor department store may not make sense anywhere with online shopping. Things have changed and will continue to change,” Wright observed.
Retail in general underwent a transformation after the 1950s and 1960s. Wright remembers a trip to the grocery store only involving waiting for items to be assembled by the shopkeeper. Individual customers weren’t the one’s picking up items off shelves. They only waited and paid.
Equally, merchants would visit larger markets to purchase new store merchandise. There they might find an item suited for a particular individual. Upon return to the store, shopkeepers would contact the customer they had in mind and usually make a successful sale.
“There was more interaction with the merchant. Things were more personalized,” Wright said. “Personalized, individual service has tended to morph into self-service.”
This evolution of downtown Danville may have been crippling for businesses and professionals located there, but they were certainly not alone in their suffering.
“The vacation of Main Street downtown Danville as a shopping center was absolutely not unique to Danville. It happened in every city in the United States with the possible exception of the few largest cities that continued to have a vital downtown area and by largest I mean New York, Chicago and Los Angeles,” he said.
The changes were not immediate. It took about 25 years for the downtown exodus to run its course and another 25 years for the revitalization of downtown, Wright estimated. However, the River District likely will never regain the same strength it had. As for the reason behind the shift, it was an innovative way to live.
“I think it was just a fashion change. It was new. It was different. People like change,” he said. “I thought it was a good thing when Danville began to get shopping centers. I was excited about them all because that was the thing. Any successful retail climate had them all.”
Looking into Danville’s future, it’s challenging to guess the direction of consumer wants and dislikes. Like the rest of life, the only thing that is constant is change.
“Most of the time, consumers embrace change. It’s one of the few areas of life where we do embrace change, but we like to think that we are participating in the newest and greatest,” Wright stated.
The number of residents filling up former tobacco warehouses and vacated professional spaces is growing. Developers are noticing the momentum and new restaurants and stores are popping up in long-abandoned spaces.
In Koplen’s opinion, this will create a cycle of growth.
“All of the sudden you have a population downtown that’s pretty much demanding that there are businesses downtown that can cater to them,” Koplen observed. “I think that’s why people have gotten past the idea of shopping malls being the attractive place to go, especially if they have some place they can walk to without getting in their car. Now downtown is starting to create that type of environment.”
Morrison reports for the Danville Register & Bee.
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