Charleston WV Capitol Street

[tom3999]

This video has that "Leave it to beaver wholesomeness" about it

[Snuffcan1]

Love this YouTube clip! I Remember things/places looking like this in my early days of Jr high school when i would play hookie and roam the streets uptown lol

[WWEFaNOFKANE1997]

when charleston had more than just 50,000 people.

[mintkitten]

Thank you for sharing this fascinating video.

[VCPro100]

Omg that's so different! Now if I'm driving down the streets I'm really surprised if I see more than 2 people walking on the street at the same time! ... so this really surprised me! Lol!

[Mercer1628]

Love going back in time. I live in Charleston and love Charleston as my own place.

[ralphabetsoup]

That's actually Capitol Street on a not-too-crowded day. Nice Summer days would bring out everyone and it would be wall to wall people on the sidewalks and massed at the crosswalks. It was very populated. Christmas season was busy as heck too.

[TheDickbutt]

This makes me sad to see what Charleston now is, I never got to experience it :(

[dmreeoogdaq]

Great video! I had the privilege of being a kid in the '70's and my Mom and I would "go downtown" every Thursday. I loved those stores and riding the escalator inside Stone & Thomas. The mezzanine diner inside Kresge's (maybe?  Don't remember exactly) served the BEST food and I loved Turner's Record Shop (still own a bunch of 45's I bought there). Remembering how it was makes it very sad to go there today with all the empty buildings.

[brucenator]

@dmreeoogdaq The place you're remembering with the diner in the mezzanine was also Stone & Thomas, which was an awesome store right up to the day it closed. The diner, which indeed had amazing food, was managed by the lady who later ran the Greek restaurant, Best of Crete, now run by her sons. The Stone & Thomas company was later bought out by Elder Beerman in 1998 for $38 million, but not the Stone & Thomas building, which is still vacant. Remember Lance's? That was my favorite store!

[Horseshowchamp]

Haha! I lovee it!

[shaggy053077]

I remember walking Capitol street when I was a little kid with my mother and grandmother. If only we could turn back the clocks to the old days of Charleston and enjoy the likes of The Diamond Department Store and all of the shops on Capitol Street.

[seanrosedotcom]

This was a sad, but awesome flashback through time...

[SallyAcorn09]

Wow, I saw this on the mywvhome website. Capitol Street... right before the Mall. My mom keeps telling me about the "old days" on Capitol Street, and it's never that crowded like what I just saw. The Peanut Shoppe's still open, so I'm hoping she'll take me down there this summer. =)

[ChandlerPromotions1]

"HOME SWEET HOME" Charleston West Virginia will always be MY HOME, but, I just can't take then long cold winters, that's why I moved to Florida!! I've watched the construction of many buildings, then watched as they were torn down to make room for new ones. The Capital was my playground growing up. I could take you to any room in the building. I watched the construction of the Super Block (Town Center). I remember riding to town on them red city buses. Capital and Summers St's were popular.

[53lincoln]

@ChandlerPromotions1 I dont doubt Summers Street was popular, that where all the prostitutes were.....lol

[SuRihtanil]

Damn 1981... That is old as hell.

[VintageFuzz]

Saw myself (I think) across the street next to the Peanut Shoppe (at :51)

Remember that place? Across the street from the library!? God, I used to love those hot cashew dreams...

[89doctorlove]

@VintageFuzz still have that place man ... and im 13

[gomro]

Expected to see MYSELF walking these streets somewhere; I was working at MICO Wholesale at the time, which its owner, Marcus Berman, had consolidated into his Berman Jewelers by the simple expedient of mounting the blocky MICO sign above the elegant Berman font. (That ugly mess is visible on this video, if you don't blink.) Before that, MICO was on Hale St. near Merrill Photo. All this sure brings back memories.

[ScotSNP]

Thanks for posting this. I was born in Charleston in 1966. I have fond memories of visiting this city with my Mom as I grew up. It was really bustling back then. The towne center ruined it. I left the state at 18.

[ralphabetsoup]

PS: There was even some burlesque club between Moores and Frankenbergers up into the 80s. I liked Cap St. without the trees; before the trees, it was all about being able to see and read the store signs, which is how I'd like to remember Cap. Street.

[cheno007]

Great post ... Thanks!!!

[twangtownocd]

Please! I'll be first in line.

[laborlaws]

Just plain awesome.

[Radar19792006]

Capitol street still looks about the same...only better now that it is lined with trees.

[MrDanielLoomis]

This is a great record of times past.

It's a DVD?

Where can I buy a copy?

[MINORPROPHET]

awesome! I live in Indianaplis but home is Charleston! Grew up on hte west side, worked at Montgomery Wards downtown and graduated from Stonewall in 1976. THIS is the Chucktown I remember! The mall RUINED the downtown. Here's to B&B Loans, the Diamond, The Civic Center, The Minicipal Autotorium, Curry's bike shop, The Peanut Shop, Frankenburgers, all the 5 and dimes, the great old movie houses like the Kearse, Capitol, Virginina, the Rialto, the Fountain Hobby Shop & the great parades.

[luckylindy08]

Sweet video! Thanks for taking me back home for a few.

[powdersprings30127]

Oh wow - I just stumbled across this... THANK YOU for posting it!

I graduated from Charleston High School in 1984 and moved out of state that summer. THIS is the Charleston I remember. Wow - memories flooding back.

[janedeaux]

Awesome job, Jerry. This is the Charleston of my misspent youth. Thanks for posting.

[jjnutts]

This was the old Downtown i grew up with and worked in. The "Mall" ruined Downtown Charleston. I miss my city. It WAS a great place to be, simple, nice and open. Thanks so much for posting it, Brings a tear to my eye. The "Good Ole Days' I graduated High School just about the time this video was taken. Charleston High School. Thanks again for the memories... MJ

[mweiford]

Nice to see that someone had the foresight to take pictures of what used to be a great place to shop. Christmas time was the best. People were friendlier and times were simpler. I miss my old hometown! I love you Charleston!

[tommyfever69]

WoW that brought back Memories I wish they would've shown Spanky's, Were I DJ'd and the Regatta those were the Days

[WVHillbilly]

Fantastic!

I'd like to see some more.

[wvsky]

Charleston WV

[EmpressStarXVII]

What is the name of the DVD?