When I first moved to Charlottesville, I quickly discovered that if there was anything you needed in the way of tools and hardware, Downtown Hardware was the place to go.
What a neat store – with hardwood floors and chests and most any tool or doodad imaginable
No matter what you needed, they had it and the experienced clerks had all been there since Teddy Roosevelt was president.
I loved to prowl around in the store and discover some of the many wonders.
Then, if memory serves, the store up and moved to Hydraulic Road around 1972. They added gifts and lots of merchandise you would not normally find in a hardware store, and they were out of business within 3 years. The Daily Progress took over the building and Downtown Hardware was no more.
It is hard for an independent to survive in a world of Lowe’s and Home Depot’s, but for many years, Downtown Hardware was a fabulous store and an icon in the Charlottesville community.
