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For a vintage car guy, old photos are a treasure. (Vintage car, not vintage guy, though both apply in my case.) The views of old stores and businesses are a huge bonus. I enjoy seeing what used to be in locations that I’m familiar with now. This photo, looking east in the 100 block of West Lincoln Street, is chock full of vintage cars and vintage Tullahoma businesses, and is probably from the very early 1960s, since all of the cars visible are 1950s models, with the exception of one.

First, let’s check out the cars. The newest identifiable car in the photo is front and center, a light green 1961 Chevrolet Biscayne two-door sedan, set to make a right turn onto North Jackson Street from Lincoln Street. Lined up behind the Chevy are a 1954 Mercury, a 1955 Plymouth, and a 1955 Dodge. At the curb next to the lead Chevy is a 1957 or 1958 Dodge. Parked at the curb on the right is a 1955 Cadillac Coupe De Ville.

The Cadillac appears to be parked in front of the current location of the Ice Cream Distillery. A vertical Sears sign can be seen on that side, along with a Thrift Loan sign.

Because of the angle of the photo, more signs are visible on the left side of the picture, the north side of the street. In the distance, one can make out a Nunn-Bush shoe sign; that’s Clayton’s Shoe Store. Just this side of it is Tullahoma Drug Store and it looks like the early 1950s Chevy panel truck is backed up to it. That was probably their delivery van.

Moving west, we can make out the H&W Men’s Store sign, then Kuhn’s 5-10-25¢ store, Jenkins & Darwin Bros., and the two Parris Stores storefronts in adjacent buildings. The eastern-most has a shoe shop sign, while the other one says on the awning that it’s men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing. The Parris Store closest to the camera looks to be about where City Sandwich Shop is now.

Tullahoma had an interesting and varied downtown shopping area back in those days. It’s fun to look back and see how it was then.

I’m just beginning work on a book about Tullahoma in the twentieth century, roughly 1920s to 1980s. It will be mostly a photo book, with descriptive text. The book will primarily concentrate on Tullahoma in general, only touching slightly on Camp Forrest and AEDC as they affected Tullahoma as a whole. If you have some sharp, large photos you can share, I’d be honored to see them. I’ll scan them and then immediately return them to you. I’m looking mostly for businesses, industries, and major events. You can contact me at alanmayes@lighttube.net.