Memories of downtown magic

This 1957 photo showing The Bon Marche (now Macy’s) displaying its Christmas Madonna and adding a dramatic note to the sparkling yule decorations filling Spokane’s downtown streets inspired reminiscing of days gone by among our readers.

Here’s a sampling

from Facebook:

 

Betsy Wilhelms My childhood Xmas memories always include the Bon building Madonna.

Sean McCurdy Loved going downtown to see the Christmas windows at the Crescent every year.

Patti Burke I remember this very well. Nothing better than The Crescent’s Christmas window!

Carol Nelson It was a family tradition to go downtown and see the Christmas windows when I was growing up – they were magical!

Marilyn Schuster Rowan The town was more charmingly decorated then, but that’s just my pterodactyl-ish opinion.

Dee Koch Lieske I remember. We moved to Spokane in 1957 and I remember very well how nice downtown looked. I even worked in The Bon for a couple years.

Linda Beal I loved our beautiful downtown during Christmas! We would dress up and drive over from Coeur d’Alene to see the Crescent windows and the Madonna. Great memories.

Michael Stout It is great that Macy’s has left it this way instead of trying to be political correct.

Dr Dick Streeter There used to be a store called Kress. I loved that place!!

Jill Owsley-Guilbeault Thank you Spokesman Review for posting that today!…My mom worked downtown at Payless when I was growing up. I remember all the old stores including the Kress, the Main Street Market, Woolworths, Newberry’s, Lutz Bakery. My favorite time of the year was going down to see the Christmas decorations in the Crescent window… And marveling at the big Madonna on the Bon Marche Building. This was the best place in the world to grow up!!!

Angeline Gossett-Chute Yeah, I miss the old Spokane, going down to see the windows at the Crescent and Bon. I so miss those days. I miss the old stores too. I worked at the Crescent in the Apple Tree. Good times, thanks for posting these needed memories this year.

Ginny Bush Those were the days, a trip into downtown just to see the lights and window displays.

Kariann Gaspard Miss the windows at Christmas and the stores that are no longer there.

Tammy Lang I miss the old!! And The Crescent …with the animated windows.

Brenda Frank I remember those days. What our Mom and Dad did to entertain us while they shopped was look at all the Christmas displays in the store windows.

Deborah Rhea A pic of my childhood memories. Thank you! PS: wish I could see the Crescent window for that year too!

Susan Stredwick Wish they did this now!

Kelly Hooper Wilcox So happy they kept the Madonna.

Sandra J Gray We loved going downtown to see the wonderful lights and displays when I was growing up.

Patsy White Loved looking in the windows all decorated with my family.

Jennifer Plumb Oh man, I love this! It is before my time but many of these things did remain long enough for me to witness them too.

Jakob Zetwick Before my time but I think I was born in the wrong era.

Stan Soash I used to love shopping downtown as a kid. Looking at all the displays and toy land windows.

Roberta Clawson Rupe

I will always miss downtown Spokane. Nothing else will ever quite compare to my hometown.

Karen Soash Beyl

I always loved going downtown Spokane at Christmas. The stores did such amazing windows. To a little kid, it was the best.

Larry Upchurch

That was a big moment to us as kids. We would drive downtown and look at the Crescent and Bon Marche windows; they were so beautiful.

Jim Jahnsen I remember going to look at the windows in “down-town” Spokane. It was a journey to get there. In my mind it still looks like this.