By Gus Saltonstall
Large signage for the electronic and appliance store P.C. Richard & Son recently went up at the old Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) storefront at the corner of West 79th Street and Broadway.
The 30,000 square-foot storefront at 2220 Broadway has been vacant since 2022.
It was reported in July of 2023 that P.C. Richard & Son would be moving from its longtime home at 2372 Broadway, between West 86th and 87th streets, into the larger storefront at the corner of West 79th Street.
The signage going up last week was the first major indicator that the electronics and appliances store might be close to opening. It was originally expected to welcome customers by the end of this summer.
Prior to DSW, the Upper West Side address was a Filene’s Basement outpost.
There are few more recognizable storefronts on the Upper West Side than 2220 Broadway.
The combination of multiple train entrances on West 79th Street, the nearby entrance to the West Side Highway, and the surrounding number of businesses make it one of the busier areas in the neighborhood.
It remains unclear when exactly P.C. Richard & Son will open in its new location.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.
Very glad that they remain in the neighborhood! However, the signage is not at all attractive.
The site was originally a
Woolworths 5 and 10 cent store more than 50 years ago.
my first memories of it were as a toy store but i’m a youngin
It was still Woolworths when I moved to the neighborhood in 1980. I’m so glad the Zabars have held onto the property. It has history. https://www.landmarkwest.org/theboulevard/2220-2226-broadway/
Am I remembering correctly that this site was a large oriental rug store (or at least the second story was) at some time in the 80’s?
You are absolutely correct!
The Rug Warehouse was in the same building but on the W. 80th St. side (2nd floor).
Hi Upperwestsider
I remember the 2nd story rug store being where Staples is now.
Anyone else remember?
Above Staples was originally a vaudeville theater that eventually became the studio for filming “Search for Tomorrow” soap opera.
Short memories….The carpet store was on the second floor of the building on the SE corner of 80th (demolished 5 or so years ago.) The first floor corner had various tenants over the years. The one I remember from 50 years ago was a smallish supermarket.
However, if your REALLY want to go back, there was a Kresge’s five and dime in this space. Yes, Kresge’s and Woolworth’s were on the same block between 79 and 80. (I have a photo.)
Before Staples on the next block north was Conran’s (household furnishings) back in the late 80s. Before that, (before the apartment building added above) it was a CBS television studio, where “Cinderella” with Julie Andrews as telecast (1957) and where they filmed the TV series “Love, Sidney” in the early ‘80s, with Tony Randall and Swoosie Kurtz.
That building on the SE corner of 81st was originally built in 1913 as a vaudeville theater. https://www.landmarkwest.org/theboulevard/2248-2258-broadway/
I’m also glad it’s going to retain its original footprint and not be demolished for an anonymous skyscraper. Like Alice’s Restaurant, you could get anything you wanted at that Woolworth’s. I still sometimes dream about wandering around the basement (where you could buy live goldfish, among a million other things) and the main floor (cheap knitting yarn, nice cheap glassware, cheap candy by-the-pound). I’d walk out of that store on payday, having spent a pittance, and feel like a millionaire.
Does anyone know what’s happening to the equally cavernous P.C.Richards space on 87th Street?
“Does anyone know what’s happening to the equally cavernous P.C.Richards space on 87th Street?”
Maybe it will be a Woolworths??
Woolworth’s es still exist in England.
good move closer to more pedestrian
traffic
Love seeing a business open up again! But confused about PC Richards. Seems more like a suburban store – how many people are in the market to buy large appliances when most rent?
Some own
I’ve relied on PC Richards for everything for the home and office for 20+ years. Printers, microwaves, refrigerators, TVs…you name it! I called the store to replace an AC unit on short notice and the salesperson took care of all the purchase/delivery/installation details and even followed up to make sure the job was completed. Not too many places provide that type of service today.
PC Richards sells EVERYTHING. People renovate their apartments with appliances bought there. They buy mattresses there. Air conditioners. Vacuum cleaners. Headphones.
It’s an old line NYC business
Will there a weed section?
Go to Housing Works for that
There are plenty of coops and condos on the UWS. Plus, when appliances need replacing in (older) rental apartments, they have to come from somewhere.
Glad to welcome P.C. Richards…nothing is more depressing than vacant storefronts.
I bought a dishwasher from them last year and there were plenty of other customers in the store while I was there. Those of us who live in coops and condos have to buy our own appliances so we are fortunate to have a neighborhood store now that Best Buy left. They obviously wouldn’t have moved into a larger space if there wasn’t a demand in the neighborhood. So there are a sufficient number of UWS non renters who appreciate the convenience of an appliance store. Also, even renters buys TVs, which they also sell..
Not true. I doubt most upper west siders rent any longer. I doubt the majority of the new buildings are rentals. Plus, the store sells mattresses and small appliances. I bought my new fridge from them right before the pandemic hit and I will be buying a new stove soon.
The number of renters in Manhattan is still north of 75%. I, too, was surprised, having lived in my coop since 1980.
Plenty of business for one of the few appliance stores in the area.
Renters buy TVs, mattresses, and many of the other products PC Richards sells.
I purchased a dishwasher from them a few years ago. 2 installers came. While one was taking out the old one, the other was taking the new one out of the box. When I returned inside, the person who had removed the D washer showed me bent BX and said they could fix it for $100 in cash. It was an obvious scam but nothing I could do, so I paid. I called PCR and they said they would look into it. The installers also removed the sound barrier that should have gone in with the unit. I took photos of that after the “installers” left. I contacted PCR again and they said they would replace the DW. I told them I did want the same installers and they insured me they would not. SURPRISE!! the same 2 showed up and played a blame game. Nothing I could do, but stood over and took pictures. I again contacted PCR. There was no answer. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM!
I had a similar experience with a large appliance purchase. Ultimately PC Richard made me whole dollar wise, but I had to invest a lot of my time to get there. The problem is that they contract out installation. No guarantee you’ll get an honest installer. My recommendation is that you inspect their work. Don’t assume they’ll do it right – watch out that they’ll do it quick, and look for a way to make a few extra cash off you as was unknown’s experience. Is Best Buy or Home Depot any better? I don’t know. Wouldn’t surprise me if they weren’t – this is the race to the bottom, quarterly profit-focused “economy” that we find ourselves in.
That’s a great development. PC Richards is a hell of a business.
Hey friends, please note it’s Richard, not Richards.
And gosh do I miss that Woolworth store!
Thanks for noting that, Alberts.
That signage is hideous
Why did they choose baby-poo brown as the background color? Between the color and the hideously proportioned signage, this is a major fail…oof.
The DSW store was also brown and white, but in any case, every other PCR store on the planet has a white background with red signage so I’d be interested to know why they changed it for this location.
I used Woolworth’s coin operated photo booth for my 1986 passport photo.
This is one Comments section to appreciate –all the good/pleasant memories. I moved to the UWS (much against my father’s wishes) in 1977 and don’t remember half of what others mention. Will say that I feel Woolworth’s is a loss: where to buy a single spool of thread these days (or a single anything!)?
Single spools of thread can be bought at Daytona Trimmings, 251 W. 39th St. midtown.
Daytona is a great resource. So is Steinlauf & Stoller, at 221 W. 37. But it’s a shame we have to go to the Garment District for a spool of thread. I miss the sewing notions store that used to be on West 72nd Street, and Mayra’s, on Amsterdam, which also sold thread and such. The UWS once had multiple stores for knitters, quilters, sewists, woodworkers, painters and other creative people. Now Knitty City is about all that’s left.
Glad PC Richard is staying in the area. I remember the second floor sold rugs at some point. Wherever these low buildings survive makes me happy. Remember all the ballet studios?
When I was growing up on the UWS in the ’60’s and into the ’70’s, that space was a Woolworths!A little wonderland where everything was affordable, even to kids. And that fabulous little photo booth! Next door, on 80th St/Broadway, there was a Food City.
“Food City”….I couldn’t recall the name. Thanks for your good memory!
On behalf of the West 80th Street Block Association, A big Welcome to our neighborhood.
The 2nd floor was a synagogue named Moriah, large and very respected
The renowned Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik served as the rabbi, and so his elder brother Rabbi J. B Soloveichik would give a Tamud lecture once a week there. Even after R Aaron left for Chicago, it remained the venue for what was called “the Rov’s shiyur.” Hundreds of scholars and laymen would come once a week to hear his brilliant and novel interpretations.
Since the windows were uncurtained, passers by saw the throngs and the excitement.
Moriah was founded by Belgian refugees who fled from the Nazis in 1940. They also brought the diamond trade from.Antwerp to 47th Street in Manhattan