The successor to the National Pants Store was The National Clothiers and Habadashers. The owner was Sidney Shpetner, and the store manager was Alvin Simmons. The store moved into more spacious quarters at 348 High Street, which was the former site of the Jordan Luggage Shop. The shop was more than three times the size of its previous location, and now measured 1,760 square feet.
The architect who designed the store was Christopher Kantianos of Springfield. The store had a first floor and a basement, with large display windows to showcase its wares.
A devastating fire in December 1953 destroyed 4 large buildings, including the building housing The National. In June 1954, the store signed a 10-year lease, relocating two doors away to 344 High Street at the southeast corner of Division Street. As with its previous location, the store operated on two floors: street level and the basement and featured large display windows. It is here that the National became a High Street fixture for more than two decades.
The new store would inventory men’s clothing except for shoes and suits. It would also feature an expanded women’s clothing line.
The store closed at the end of 1975, and an insurance company then moved into the former store location.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
