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14-8-2022 12:10:03  #11


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

Pete E. wrote:

... BTW...are those bullet holes in the metal sign ? ... 

They look like openings for neon tubing to me.


The pronoun has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
 

14-8-2022 13:37:46  #12


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

Uwe...yes of course...Other wise someone was very good at aiming at the end stroke of some of the letters.  Plus the calibre seems like a very big bullet diameter.

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14-8-2022 14:50:54  #13


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

I initially found this sole photo of the old Wyatt's Typewriter shop.  (Note the "salesman wanted" sign at the lower,right corner of the front window.  No info./caption with this photo.  What ever street is was located, the shop had a street address number of "541".
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After some searching, I found some other photos of the same store with info. that it was located (and not just nearby) the Copley Square area of Boston, MA.  Larger photo shows more of the building.  With the car in the forefront, looks like the photo was from the 1950's or so.  Note the Lewandos Cleaners to the left of the typewriter store has a street address of "543".
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Continued searching found more photos taken along that street along one of the edges of the Copley Square.  I pasted these two photos together.  Note the Volvo P544 also curbside.  This Volvo model had a production run from 1947 to 1965.  Futher diging into old news files indicates much of the housings/buildings along the perimeter of Copley Square met the wrecking-ball in the 1965 time-frame.
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I did a Google street-view tour all around the perimeter of modern-day Copley Square and could not find such a row of these old buildings that survived.  Most are now concrete monoliths from the early late 1960's and the early 1970's and even more recent.
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14-8-2022 15:54:31  #14


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

Did some more digging...Wyatt's Typewriter shop was located at 541 Boylston Street, Boston MA.  That puts it on the north side of Copley Square.

Modern day Google street-view, photo, below. 

The red-circle on the photo is the address of 545...2 doors to the right would be 541 (highlighted in a red box)...the location for the typewriter shop in the past...but now a bagel shop in a newish building complex. 

You can see the open park-like Copley Square on the left side of the photo.
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     Thread Starter
 

14-8-2022 21:45:58  #15


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

The Boston Cash Register Exchange was located at 1288 Washington Street, Boston MA since 1932.

Photos 1 and 2 show the old shop location awaiting the wrecking ball in 1964-1965 :
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A current view of the old 1288 Washington Street location shows the new building.  It would be the 2nd. or 3rd. doorway from the left corner :
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But it is not all sadness with the wrecking ball coming and going.  The Boston Cash Register Exchange found a new home at 264 W/ Broadway, Boston, MA.  They are the store front partially hidden by the tree along the street curb.  So it is still in business...since 1932.  It does not look like typewriters are part of their product offerings, anymore.
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In the past year or so, the shop was acquired by the East Commerce Solutions business group...but name of the shop remains as back in 1932.  Here is the new Company's web site.  In the "About Us" section, the acquisition is announced.

http://www.bostoncashregisterexchange.com/


 

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15-8-2022 10:48:22  #16


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

Found muyself pretty excited when I ran across this modern-day store sign of "Type"...thinking that maybe a drop-in typing cafe had opened up somewhere.

Yet along with that excitement, I was a bit disturbed knowing an old Underwood (I think) typewriter is now exposed to the elements.  Then I saw just a bit of a 2nd. machine on the back-side of the sign.  Boy...
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Then I did some searches for phrases such as "the type store"..."the type shop"..."type cafe"...etc.  Finally got a hit on another photo...and info. about the place.
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Turns out this "Type" place is some boutique home goods and small furniture store in the Shoreditch district of east London - UK.  A more current photo, below :
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15-8-2022 14:48:21  #17


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

In Post # 9, I was hoping to bring one or both of the locations for the Continental Typewriter Co. to life with some period-photos. 

Failing that, I found these old letters dated January 1929 between the 847 Broad Street store location in Newark NJ and a rental-machine customer.

Voices from ghosts of an old typewriter store...
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16-8-2022 09:46:48  #18


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

This typewriter repair shop got my interest...
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With a bit more digging, I found another shop image :
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The name on the 2nd. sign lead me to a photo of their business card and a street address to show a better photo of the repair shop :
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The Shop was started by Mr. Jesse James Flores in 1962 and remained at this location until 2019.  Mr. Flores passed away in 2011 at the age of 89 years old.  Here is a link to his obituary :

https://patch.com/california/highlandpark-ca/jesse-james-flores-owner-of-iconic-typewriter-shop-dead-at-89
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Mr. Flores had 2 sons (Ruben and Danny) who were taught typewriter repair and running the business by their father.  Photos of Ruben, Danny, and the 2 brothers with a customer :
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In 2019, the Flores brothers got the bad news that the rent on their shop location was being raised to be very expensive, so the brothers decided not to renew their rental lease.  The following photo of the old shop location on Figueroa Street, presently, but with a new look and still waiting for a new tenant even in 2022..
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The good news is that Ruben and Danny Flores are still running the Typewriter Repair shop, but now located in an older home location which is only 2-3 blocks away from their original Figueroa Street shop location.  Maybe at the old family home location.  You can still see the shop-sign in front which started this posting..  The US Office Machine Co. is currently on Yelp with their new location address and other contact info.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/us-office-machine-company-los-angeles?start=20
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19-8-2022 17:48:33  #19


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

Ed Smith (known as Smitty) started in typewriter repairs in 1967.

By the time computers hit big, Smitty had a total of 3 locations around Houston, TX.  But in the 1980's he was forced to shrink back to his one, original location.

In 2012, Smitty was featured in the Houston Chronicle article when he was 75 years old, then and still working after 3 previous heart attacks.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Third-Ward-typewriter-repairman-keeping-busy-2436269.php#photo-1987590
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Unfortunately, I think Smitty passed away in August 2021, at the age of 84 years old.

Here is a current view of the old typewriter shop location.  The main house looks boarded up and being gutted.  The typewriter shop (what may have been a garden shed in its previous life) is still there but with bars on windows and the door.
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     Thread Starter
 

16-9-2022 20:36:39  #20


Re: Old Typewriter Repair Shops...

The Everest Typewriter shop in Sutton, England had shut down in the past 1-2 years...after operating for 35 years, possibly, at this location.

1st. Photo is of the shop, presently vacated.

2nd. and 3rd. photos are of the shop in operation and with some inventory on display.

I wonder if any of our Forum members in the UK might be able to shed more info. about the shop and its proprietor and history ?
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