23: Woolworth Building

The building at the intersection of Main and Pleasant streets was built in 1937 for the F.W. Woolworth Co which had come to Laconia in August 1909, leasing space in another building on Main Street, next to the Winnipesaukee River, until moving here to Bank Square. A  “five and dime” chain, Woolworth was one of several national companies which sold discounted general merchandise at a fixed price, originally usually five or ten cents, undercutting prices of local merchants, and was one of the first American retailers to put merchandise out for the shopping public to handle and select without the assistance of a salesclerk. Woolworth was one of several such chain stores which operated in Laconia.