BLOCK 3 - Main Street     Locate on map


Across the street on the north-west corner of Main stood 
a building that, for many years was a center of activity—
the Paramount Hotel.  The building was much more than just 
the hotel, however. In its lobby was the Western Union 
Telegraph as well as the Greyhound Bus Terminal. Not to 
be overlooked was a taxi service booth.  Other doors 
opened to the barbershop (Gaffner’s) & beauty shop 
(Pat’s) and the coffee shop, where both locals and bus 
riders could be promptly served around U-shaped counters 
or in booths. In the exact corner of Main and Austin was 
Ervin’s Jewelry, where its wares were proudly displayed 
in lighted windows facing both the lobby and the sidewalk.   
(This Ervin’s location is not to be confused with the one 
operated by Don Ervin on the south side of Main, one block
west of the Paramount.)  For many years the Paramount 
continued to be the bus station until it seems the hotel 
was becoming an unprofitable enterprise. At that time the 
bus station moved a block north and east. The hotel itself 
was torn down many years ago. It was not one of the many 
victims of fire.


Next door was Ranger’s answer 
to fine clothing for the well-
dressed man, the Globe Clothiers, 
owned and operated by Saule
Perlstein. 

 
Continuing down the block the next store was Duke and
Ayers, a five-and-ten variety store that had taken over 
the spot previously occupied by Woolworth’s.   A tiny 
little store next door sold, among other things, shoes. 
It was a mom-and-pop store owned by Mr. and Mrs. Starr. 
Formerly this site, with a yellow tile front, had also 
been a jewelry store. Then came a narrow office for C.E. 
May Insurance and Real Estate. 

Joseph’s Department Store and Apartments, the next large 
building, has  a varied history. Its lower floors, which 
served as  the senior citizen meal site for several years, 
once housed a thriving business. On its east edge was the 
entry to Betty’s Flowers. To the right of Betty’s was the 
tiny office of First Federal Savings and Loan, which later 
moved into the former Commercial State Bank building.  The 
upper floors were advertised as fireproof apartments. Ranger 
Junior College later used the same rooms as supplementary 
housing for its students. Most likely RJC purchased the 
building. What was a narrow and deep vacant lot before
E. L. Martin’s Dry Goods may have been the location of 
Terrell Drug Store and possibly a clinic. In the 50’s a 
snow cone stand was sometimes operational in that spot. 


Martin’s, which has stood vacant and silent on the corner 
of Main and Rusk for many years, housed a contraption that 
fascinated children who could insert their foot and see an 
X-ray of it before buying shoes. Old timers will remember 
that prior to being owned by the Martin family, the store 
was called Hassan’s.  End Tour