When I first moved to Ann Arbor in 1985, I drove down Hoover St. and thought I was in heaven. Right next to one another was Purchase Radio and a bike shop whose name I forget. These were my two biggest hobbies at the time.
The bike shop, as I recall, didn’t last long at that location. Purchase Radio, however, persisted until 2007, at which point it closed because the last proprietor–the founder’s son-in-law–decided to retire. I actually thought about buying the business, but for one reason or another, that just wasn’t to be.
The building has been vacant since then……until now anyway. I drove by there yesterday, and discovered that the building had been razed.
I don’t know what’s planned for that site, but life moves on.
As a kid I had a paper route in that neighborhood and would stop at Purchase radio to get a pop from the vending machine and ogle all the used equipment. Later I would buy supplies or magazines there but never any big purchases. I guess that’s why they went out of business.
I’m guessing the site is going to be an event space/parking lot for football Saturdays. I noticed that’s what it had been used for before the pandemic.
The shop next door was ‘Mike Kolin’s Cycling Center’. I bought my first 10-speed there around 1979. I still have it… well, parts of it. I can’t say the same thing about my first ham radio.
Purchase Radio and a second store, Purchase Camera, were on campus. One was on South U, and the other around the corner.
In 1982, having just received my Novice license, I went to Purchase Radio on my lunch hour and came away with a used Heathkit HR10 receiver. I won’t forget that day. The shop radio was tuned to one of the CW bands and Roy was head copying and relaying the QSO to others while at the same time talking to me and ringing up my purchase!
Cool story. I moved here in 1985, and Roy died not too much longer after that. :(
I would think that that space would be more valuable with some kind of building on it, but I’m certainly not a real estate person.
Maven is building a 6-unit building there. Hope you like marching band if you live there…. but who doesn’t like marching band?
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2019/04/new-apartments-next-to-noisy-train-tracks-get-ann-arbor-councils-ok.html
Well, I guess we can be glad that it will still be on the tax rolls, anyway.
I also note that it’s right next to a power station. I wonder how bad the electrical noise would be. So, all in all, those condos will definitely not a good choice for a ham radio.
I discovered RP’s one Saturday afternoon in 1963. I had ushered at the stadium with my boy scout troop (27), and after kickoff when my job was done, I walked down the street to RP’s where I hung out until I had to go home to deliver my paper route. I bought my first receiver there (Hallicrafters SX110), My second (Drake 2B), and all the parts for the many homebrew projects I undertook.
My parents gave me grief for being gone all day. They were sure I was getting into trouble of some sort, but as long as I showed up for dinner without hitching a ride in a cop car, they let me continue.
Fond memories of a misspent youth!…