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Lewis's Department Store

In the late 40's I was always taken to Lewis's to see Father Christmas. One year though he must have felt like a change annd was at the Beehive in Albert Street. You did not have to walk upstairs go in a lift. No you went by ship. I can't remember much now but you entered a space that I thought was a lift. But it was decked out like a ship. When the gate shut behind you and the ship sailed, the sea got rough. The ship rolled and lurched. Finally the sea calmed down and we landed. The gate at the end away from the entrance opened and there he was, Father Christmas ! Magic.
 
In the late 40's I was always taken to Lewis's to see Father Christmas. One year though he must have felt like a change annd was at the Beehive in Albert Street. You did not have to walk upstairs go in a lift. No you went by ship. I can't remember much now but you entered a space that I thought was a lift. But it was decked out like a ship. When the gate shut behind you and the ship sailed, the sea got rough. The ship rolled and lurched. Finally the sea calmed down and we landed. The gate at the end away from the entrance opened and there he was, Father Christmas ! Magic.
When writing the above (#833) I had intended including the following. I was also a member of Lewis's Boys' Own Club. I still have my card. I was number 560. I do not remember much about it but I did go to one members' Christmas party.
 
I had forgotten about the escalators. Older people are often wary of them - or are to my knowledge - being less fleet of foot. That maybe why Nanny preferred the lifts.
 
I travelled a section of Macy’s escalator in 1981. Found this 15 min trip up and down on YouTube.

Thank you for sharing that video Pedrocut. I would have had loads of fun on these when I was a lad. We only had 5 floors at lewis's, but these just keep going. It could so easily have been Lewis's as they looked exactly the same lay out. I wonder who had them first, then maybe they were copied.
 
The other thing about these escalators is that they were narrower than the modern ones, I remember being very aware how they seemed to be almost claustrophobic, because there was not the space there.
Bob
 
I remember Lewis's well and can also remember the smell of the fresh food area.
They always had a great Father Christmas grotto for the kids too.
I remember Lewiss with fond memories too. As a 70s baby, Lewis's was a staple visit on a Saturday with my mum. My dad worked in the fabric department, as a manager, the first black man ever to have such an accolade. ( he was well known in our community as ‘ the black man that worked in Lewis’s lol) black people used to go in there to make sure he wasnt a myth. He Evenutally ended up working on the Aramis counters, (we had lots of samples at home-can still smell it now) i loved the Santas Grotto too, still have the pics to prove it. My mum was an avid seamstress we visited the haberdashery department - what felt like every blessed week, but i did enjoy going through the boxes of Buttericks and McCalls clothing patterns.10yrs later my mum worked in the beauty department for Zuri cosmetics, another first. Zuri were the first make up brand for women of colour. I remember the childrens department and buying school shoes. Lewis’s will always have a fond place in my heart as a very inclusive store with happy memories, in a time when the rest of the world was not so kind, to folk like us.
 
Welcome Niqs. You’re joining a big Lewis’s fan club on BHF ! So many of us have fond memories of the store. Lovely to hear about your family connection.

And Aramis - once smelt never forgotten ! Very strong stuff.

Viv.
 
I remember Lewiss with fond memories too. As a 70s baby, Lewis's was a staple visit on a Saturday with my mum. My dad worked in the fabric department, as a manager, the first black man ever to have such an accolade. ( he was well known in our community as ‘ the black man that worked in Lewis’s lol) black people used to go in there to make sure he wasnt a myth. He Evenutally ended up working on the Aramis counters, (we had lots of samples at home-can still smell it now) i loved the Santas Grotto too, still have the pics to prove it. My mum was an avid seamstress we visited the haberdashery department - what felt like every blessed week, but i did enjoy going through the boxes of Buttericks and McCalls clothing patterns.10yrs later my mum worked in the beauty department for Zuri cosmetics, another first. Zuri were the first make up brand for women of colour. I remember the childrens department and buying school shoes. Lewis’s will always have a fond place in my heart as a very inclusive store with happy memories, in a time when the rest of the world was not so kind, to folk like us.
Lovely story please post more, your folks have a wealth of history that would be welcomed here on BHF
May sound strange for some today that your dad had people come by to see if it was true a person of colour worked in Lewis,s.
Welcome and thanks for sharing a little of your family history.
 
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