Corr's Hobby Shop

[boxcab]

In the fifties there was a terrific hobby shop in Washington, D.C., on ninth street ,if I remember correctly, called Corr's. Recently I was in DC and it was not there, apparently long gone out of business. Anyone know when and why?

[Anonymous]

I remember Corr's, that's where I bought my very first Athearn GP9 in the spring of 1968. Didn't go there regularly enough though to know when it disappeared, or why...

There was also another excellent little shop on G Place, called Keane's - went there alot too, before I left the area.

[IRONROOSTER]

When they put the subway in D.C. and did some revitalizing of the area both of those shops as well as many others were bought out/lost their lease. Corr's moved to Rockville, Md where it lasted for a few years, but wasn't really the same and eventually went out of business. I don't recall off hand exactly when.
Enjoy
Paul

[boxcab]

Thanks for the replies. I figured something like that had happened. I remember my first trip there and just as you come in the door on the right wall was a glass case full of steam and diesel locomotives. I stood there for a long time dreaming of them on my 4 x 8. Ah, the good ole days.

[Cass-Shay-#3]

I lived in Falls Church Va. in the 40's, and my Dad worked in DC.  I used to visit Corr's every chance I got.

In about '51, I bought a Union Pacific twin A-unit freight train set, to go with the early 40's or pre-war Lionel steam set I had - it had 3 passenger cars.  I used to lust after the NYC or AT&SF twin A-unit sets, but they were out of reach price wise.  Those engines had two electric motors in them!

I remember, Corr's had a 5 cylinder radial aircraft engine on the wall, at $75 it was way out of reach. 

I thought Corr's was on 16th Street.  Maybe in the post war years?

My O-Gauge track was on a 4'x8' plywood with casters on the corners.  I slid it under my bed to keep it safe from my little brother  :-=)  Like you said, the good old days <!>

    Charlie       [e-mail]

 

[7j43k]

When I went there in the early '60's, Corr's was on 9th around H, on the East side.  It certainly may have moved over from 16th.  I expect the exact address(es) would show up in the back of an old MR.  It was pretty much a full-line hobby shop.  I recall the HO being in the back and on the right of the store.  Timplate was in the front and on the right.  I didn't get in there much because I went to Clark Keene's on G place, about a block to the southwest.  He was HO only and a bit more hard-core.  His shop was pretty much a very large closet, maybe 10 feet wide and 20' deep.  He managed a good stock of brass--better than Corr's--more PFM, less Akane, and lots of Kemtron parts.  I bought my first HO steam loco from him--a Tenshodo cast 0-6-0T and some parts to customize it like in the Kemtron catalog.  I later bought my first brass from him--a Tenshodo GN 4-8-4.  I didn't customize it.

I'll also note that when I was a bit younger and doing Lionel, I saved up some bucks and went over to Superior Lock and Electric to buy a couple pair of 022 switches.  During Christmas season, at least, they advertised in the Washington Post with REALLY low prices for Lionel.  That was about '56-'57.

 

Ed

[Piedsou]

I used to go to Corr's in the 60's and early 70's but usually only if I had extra time to spend.  My trips were to Keene's Model Railroad which was just down the street and around the corner on "G Place'. His shop was not only just model railroads but was just HO scale.

Clark Keene passed away a number or years ago and I was able to attend an estate sale at his home. When he had the shop he had a number of buildings which I believe had been built by the manufacturer for sales display.  One of them was an Alexander water tower.  It had sat on his display shelves for many years and is now on my layout serving my steamers.  The structure has to be at least 50 years old. I'm sure Clark would happy to know it finally left the shelf, made its' way to a layout and is still serving the miniature steamers it was intended to do.

Dale Latham, Piedmont Southern Railroad, GMR 2009

[7j43k]

Piedsou

 

Clark Keene passed away a number or years ago....

Clark always treated this high school kid nicely when I visited.  I remember saying to him how I'd love to run a shop just like him.  He said that it wasn't as much fun as it looked and that I'd most likely not view model railroading in quite the same way as I did at the time.  It (surprisingly) took a few years to actually understand his point.  

Some years later, I asked a friend to drop by and ask Clark to autograph a copy of MR for me.  November 1977.  Still got it.

 

Ed

[BernardD]

I remember going to Keene's by bus when I was a teenager.  It was a long narrow store filled with model delights.  I found the name again by chance as I was perusing an old issue of MR in my digital 1934-2009 set, and saw it advertised in the back of a 1952 issue.

My biggest memory of Keene's was of being fascinated by a built-up version of the Alexander Haunted House on display (I loved Charles Addams's cartoons in the New Yorker).  I asked about it, and an older customer told me that it was much too difficult a kit for a youngster; that even he wouldn't attempt it.  My hopes were dashed.

Decades later, I got back into model railroading and the first thing I wanted to get was that Haunted House kit.  But too late!  It was out of production, and eBay was still ten years off in the future.  Mr. Alexander was still around though, making detail parts, so I wrote to him, asking if the plans were still available.  He generously sent me a copy, charging me $2.00 (which I sent by return mail), and I set about designing my own haunted house, using Autosketch on my home computer.  I bought all the parts -- scalloped roofing from Plastruct, windows from Grandt Line, etc., and built the house, using a lot of the information in Alexander's plans.   It took a year, but turned out beautifully, with a central tower and other embellishments (so it really looks like an Addams' haunted house).

Thank you Mr. Keene, and thank you, dratted customer, who made me feel bad that day, but stimulated me to build a much better model 35 years later!

Sandy

[RobPHX]

I worked at Coor's part time from 1966 to 1967 while I was in High school (Yorktown HS in Arlington, VA). It was located at 9th and H streets. I worked in the model airplane dept, but knew the people in trains. The head of trains was Phil. The head of model airplanes was Herb Clukey. The mananger of the floor was Matt. I loved working there and have many fond memories. It was also my first job. 

 

[riogrande5761]

Holy mulitple thread necro's batman!

---

Coors or Corr?  One is beer, the other was a hobby shop?

[NittanyLion]

Was this in NE or NW? 

[chutton01]

Those who remember Corr's, is this image relevant?
Getty Images: General view of Corr's Hobby Supply Store

[IRONROOSTER]

chutton01

Those who remember Corr's, is this image relevant?
Getty Images: General view of Corr's Hobby Supply Store

 

That picture is from the late 40's.  I first saw Corr's in the late 50's.  The last time I was in there in the 70's there were 2 halves to the store - I think they had joined 2 store fronts, but I don't know when.  This looks like one side and the other side was about the same size.

Paul

[7j43k]

Yeah, the Corr's I went into in the early '60's was wider.  The trains were on the right side in back.

 

Ed

[7j43k]

NittanyLion

Was this in NE or NW? 

 

 

NW.

 

Ed

[RobPHX]

Misspelled 'Coor's' It is 'Corr's' and not 'Coor's'.