Remembering a popular Shreveport Shopping Center: Twin Blends History Corner

Mark and Mike Mangham
·2 min read

Designed by Wiener, Morgan, and O'Neal and built in 1961, the Shreve City Regional Shopping Center was ground zero for shopping back in the 60s and 70s. In the early days, people had shopped downtown but when this shopping center was built people started spending their money there.

Unfortunately, the downtown stores began moving away and before long not many stores were left. Shreve City didn't have that problem until years later when malls started popping up and then the shoppers left the Shreve City stores for bargains elsewhere.

Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.
Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.

What Shreve City did provide was many fond memories that will last a lifetime! The Original tenants were: Big Chain Supermarket, S. & H. Greenstamps, Shreveport Appliance, Buckelew Hardware, Walgreen’s, Woolworth’s, Bell Bros. Shoes, Butler Shoes, Grayson’s, J.C. Penney’s, Helen Terrell Dress Shop, Walton’s Ladies Accessories, McCarey’s Jewelers, Harris Stationers, Avalon Studios, G.C. Murphy, Margolis Shoes,Trickett’s, Toy Fair, Heller’s Shreve City Beauty, Big Chain Cafeteria, The Fashion, Palais Royal, Shreve City Florist, Louisiana Bank and Trust, New Way Laundry, Liquor Mart, Texas Optical, Martin Rogers, Stan’s Records, Hobby Shop and Smart Shop as well as a few others.

Woolco was founded in 1962 by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was billed as a full-line discount department store, unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores. This one sat about where the Walmart Supercenter on Shreveport Barksdale Hwy sits now. We have photos from the opening day and well as years later with the closing.

As many know, we were recently given the opportunity to search through the Thurman Smith collection of negatives and photos that date as far back as the 1920s and earlier. We uncovered thousands and thousands of photos and negatives of this area that haven’t been seen in decades. We came across some incredible photos of Shreve City taken in 1965 and the 1970s!

We want to say thank you to Thurman C. Smith for capturing and preserving these incredible photos of our past and thank you Northwest Louisiana Archives for doing all that you do to make sure that Northwest, Louisiana‘s history is never forgotten!

Shreveport History Corner is produced in partnership with Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends. 

Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.
Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.
Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.
Images researched by Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends Photography for their continuous efforts to preserve Shreveport history.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Remembering a popular Shreveport Shopping Center history photography