The golf range was a 23 acre site that stretched from South Broad Street to Independence Avenue. Golf balls were driven from a sectioned wooden platform that ran parallel to South Broad Street. Distance markers were positioned on the range. Gravatts custard (soft ice cream) store whose exterior resembled swirls of soft ice cream and their hot dog stand was located on the corner of Oldfield Avenue. The Independence Plaza now sits on the land of the former driving range.
Ummm. I was only a little girl, but the frozen custard stand ws my favorite place to go.
ReplyDeleteI think that Custard Stand was Black Agnus Meats in my day:)
ReplyDeleteVic Rice was my wife's uncle, and one helluva golfer. He was Pro in residence at Greenacres Country Club in Lawrence Twp.
ReplyDeleteWhen ever there was a Realtor's or Appraiser's golf outing, I would go out to see Uncle Vic, and get a refresher course. Vic finally gave up on me as I never got any better.
The one thing I remember about Gravatts Custard stand, which incidently was not like a "Custad Swirl", but more like an Igloo, but the eyes on the beautiful Mrs. Gravatt. The made Paul Newman's famous blue eyes look lie stones!!
I learned to eat a lot of custard just to see her smile with those eyes!!
Best wishes
Mike Kuzma
Mr. Colello - I, too, remember Gravatt's frozen custard stand and those swirls! Doesn't someone out there have a picture of this landmark so we can show our children a truly 1950's icon? What great memories!
ReplyDeleteLakeside Girl
I enjoyed the miniature golf course adjacent to the driving range. I think the 18th hole was a clown's mouth on an up-ramp. If you got a hole-in-one you received a free miniature golf round.
ReplyDeleteRich
As a boy in the 50's and 60's I grew up across the street from Vic's. My brother Bill and I would be there all summer helping out picking up empty ball buckets, hitting balls, watching Vic's Butchie hit laser 300 yard drives,at times helping gather up the balls on the field, watching Andy Chuma make golf clubs in the backroom. Andy was a #1 maintenance man taking care of the entire course. In the winter time Vic's was the place to buy your CHRISTMAS TREES. Gravatt's had the Best tasting Ice cream , unmatched even to this day. 10cents a small cone,25 for a large and 35cents for a pineapple sundae.
ReplyDelete