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San Diego Home & Garden Remembers Marston's
March/April 2018
By Bobbie Bagel
The venerable San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine has lent a helping hand in SOHO's search for vintage merchandise with the Marston's department store label for a permanent exhibit in the Marston House Museum.
We hope you saw the February issue. It includes a feature story by Phyllis Van Doren encouraging readers (and you!) to support the upcoming Remembering the Marston's exhibit, opening August 8. The article briefly traces George Marston's rise to prominence as a brilliant retail entrepreneur, then focuses on preparations for the new exhibit. The story appears in the popular annual Homes of the Year edition, so the Marston features are sure to attract attention.
Realizing that Marston label items are rare finds these days, since the iconic store closed almost sixty years ago, Van Doren writes, "While SOHO has already collected a trove of old photographs, a few hats and suits, ties, and a pair of never-used nylon stockings in their original box, it needs a wide range of items from every decade of the store's existence. So start looking! Contact friends and family; dig in your closet and trunks; and donate memorabilia, photographs, clothing or furnishings you might have from Marston's…"
Shot in the Marston House, excellent photographs by Stacy Keck in the attractive two-page spread highlight some of the gems already acquired. A selection of ladies hats from the 1890s to the 1950s is shown. A brown felt and pink velvet hat with a wavy brim and a splash of orange feathers looks as if Mamie Eisenhower might have just taken it off! Men's silk ties with bold patterns are evocative of the 1930s and '40s.
In addition to the two-page spread, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles gives additional coverage in their recipe column. The Marston Tea Room was famous for its legendary coconut cream pie. San Diegans of a certain age may remember it. And younger bakers will be able to test out the recipe for the first time. Photographed on the store's signature yellow-and-white striped wrapping paper, the pie is topped with generous swirls of whipped cream and piles of freshly-chopped coconut. Read the article.
Both Van Doren's article and the Recipe column elicit a nostalgic craving for bygone days in downtown San Diego, when a truly remarkable department store graced C Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. And that is why we remember Marston's.
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