“CAROUSEL PLACED IN SQUARE—Police Commissioner William J. Bynane and Patrolman Kenneth L. Lauer look over a carousel which was placed in Continental square yesterday by Downtown York, Inc., to provide free rides for children of shoppers. The youngsters also receive copies of the Christmas story.”
My previous post showed a December 1956 Gazette and Daily full page ad for the one-year-old York County Shopping Center. It listed the 28 stores and businesses and stressed the free parking.
Downtown businesses did try to counteract the shopping drain that year by placing a real carousel in the square, offering free rides. They also instituted a free shuttle bus from a city lot at Harrison and Wallace Streets in east York to the downtown shopping area. That location doesn’t seem very convenient to me, but, according to the photo caption, some shoppers were using the service.
![“SHUTTLE-BUS SERVICE from a city-built lot beside Wallace Street at Harrison Street to downtown was begun at noon yesterday [November 30]. Among the first users was Mayor Fred A. Schiding (above). Shoppers may leave their cars free of charge at the lot and ride free, during December, to the center of the city. Buses leave at 10-minute intervals. The service is sponsored by Downtown-York, Inc., a group promoting the center of the city as a shopping district. One of the drivers said about 150 persons rode the buses yesterday.”](http://www.yorkblog.com/universal/files/2014/12/DowntownBus12-56.jpg)
“SHUTTLE-BUS SERVICE from a city-built lot beside Wallace Street at Harrison Street to downtown was begun at noon yesterday [November 30]. Among the first users was Mayor Fred A. Schiding (above). Shoppers may leave their cars free of charge at the lot and ride free, during December, to the center of the city. Buses leave at 10-minute intervals. The service is sponsored by Downtown-York, Inc., a group promoting the center of the city as a shopping district. One of the drivers said about 150 persons rode the buses yesterday.”
One tradition still carried on today is the Christmas tree in York’s square. The 1956 version is pictured here:
“DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS TREE—Holiday decorations in downtown York were lighted during a brief ceremony in Continental square last night in which Mayor Fred A. Schiding threw the switch. The lights will be turned on each evening until New Year’s day. The tree in the square was donated by I. Reindollar and Sons.”
All the newspaper photos and captions shown are from the December 1 and December 4, 1956 issues of the Gazette and Daily, accessed from the microfilm at York County Heritage Trust.
