Fred Lynch retired in 2018 after capturing images for the Southeast Missourian since 1975, in that time moving from black-and-white to color, from film to digital and to video. The blog title is a nod to an earlier era of news photography and the 4x5 Speed Graphic: It's more important to be there for the shot than to worry about technical details.

Main Street merchants 1925

Posted Monday, December 28, 2015, at 12:00 AM

This photo of North Main Street in Cape Girardeau was made in September 1925 for the Southeast Missourian's New Building Edition that was published Sept. 11, 1925. The view is looking north from near Independence Street. Visible signs include Stein's, a clothing store; J.C. Penney Co. and the St. Charles Hotel.

J.C. Penney first opened its doors on Aug. 9, 1924 at 23 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau, 22 years after James Cash Penney opened his first department store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

J.C. Penney later moved to 5 N. Main Street.

The store relocated to William Street in 1976, in a building that was first Biedermans Furniture, now Ruler Foods. When West Park Mall was built in 1981, J.C. Penney moved west to become an anchor store at the mall.

Previous blog:

J.C. Penney Main Street sidewalk

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If all the cars shown in this photo were still in existence today, can you imagine what the value of the whole lot would be??? A bunch of $$ ?? A gob of $$ ?? No, it would be much more than either.....

-- Posted by mo_ky_fellow on Mon, Dec 28, 2015, at 7:28 PM
How did people know which one was theirs? They all look alike!

-- Posted by free2Bme on Tue, Dec 29, 2015, at 12:18 PM

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