Broad Street
Four Way Texaco
This page is dedicated to the evolution of Broad Street. This will include the Blue Circle, old homes on Broad, the first fast food chain (Hardee's) as well as other businesses in the area.
(Editors Note: After this page was published, I was contacted by a reader and found out that Hardee's was the second "Fast Food Chain" to come to the area. If you know what the first one was...... contact me at: [email protected] . Here is a hint, it was not on Broad Street and the investors came from the west coast.
(Editors Note: After this page was published, I was contacted by a reader and found out that Hardee's was the second "Fast Food Chain" to come to the area. If you know what the first one was...... contact me at: [email protected] . Here is a hint, it was not on Broad Street and the investors came from the west coast.
Broad Street in the 1960's
The earliest memories I have of Broad Street are in the early 1960's. During those days, Broad Street was mostly residential with a couple of Service Stations and the Blue Circle Market. There was also a small grocery market that sat just behind the current McDonalds on Lynn Avenue. It was called Hick's Grocery and was the site where I ate my first banana Pop-Cicle.
The two service stations I recall were the "Four Way Texaxo" and a white stucco service station on the corner of Broad and Lynn that also housed "Roby Danner's Barber Shop" where I got my first hair cut. As far back as I can remember, Broad Street was already a 4 lane road down to the Doe River Bridge. On the other side of the bridge, the road merged into two lanes. The 4 lane section had a grass median that separated the flow of traffic. There are a few video clips below that are a brief representation of Broad Street during the late 1960's
The two service stations I recall were the "Four Way Texaxo" and a white stucco service station on the corner of Broad and Lynn that also housed "Roby Danner's Barber Shop" where I got my first hair cut. As far back as I can remember, Broad Street was already a 4 lane road down to the Doe River Bridge. On the other side of the bridge, the road merged into two lanes. The 4 lane section had a grass median that separated the flow of traffic. There are a few video clips below that are a brief representation of Broad Street during the late 1960's
The Current Hardee's Location
This footage was shot in the area that is currently Hardee's. The gentleman is Ray (Grinner) Lyons which worked for many years at the Elizabethton Post Office on Sycamore Street. Ray is with his late wife Faye and their daughter Kathy. The white framed house to the left was the house that I grew up in. We sold our house and large lot to a company that represented Hardee's sometime around 1970 for a mere $16,000. The rose colored house to the far left belonged to Harry Fair and was the third house purchased in the deal.
The Four Way Texaco
Below is a short bit of video of the "Four Way Texaco" as it was in the 1960's. Notice the lack of traffic back then. I am the little fellow that is struggling to keep up. My earliest memory of "Four Way Texaco" was when I was four years old and snuck out of the house and wondered across Broad Street alone to see the man with a raspy voice and golf hat that would give me a penny for the gumball machine. "Boy Did I Get In Trouble!" (The raspy voiced man described above was Caleb "Cale" Hathaway. Some of his family knew him as "Uncle Texaco". Information submitted by Deb Gouge.)
The Pan Am Service Station (Located on the corner of Broad Street and Lynn Avenue
Back in the 1950's there sat a uniquely shaped service station on the corner of Broad and Lynn in the location where McDonald's now operates. This white building with red stripes was a full service station. The west side of the building housed a barber shop operated by Roby Danner. The station had a rounded front with large glass windows where the operator of the business could watch for potential customers to pull up to the pumps. In the 1950's this station was operated by local businessman Link Lyons. Below is another photo taken from the current Walgreen's location.
This photo is courtesy of Brenda Ryan
The Grass Median of Broad Street
Until sometime in the 1970's, the traffic of Broad Street was separated by a raised grass median. The median was always mowed by an older gentleman that used a big red tractor. I assume this was a city worker. Whenever I saw him, I would wave at him and he always took time to wave back at the little boy on the porch.
Early Broad Street Days
Below is rare footage of Broad Street in the late 60's. The white house that the lady and her son are exiting is where Hardees's now sits. As the video pans across Broad Street, notice the grass median that is no longer there. Across the road you will see a white mobile home. This was a temporary branch of Carter County Bank that was used while the permanent structure was built. It was called the "Piggy Bank". This site is where Sloan's Automotive is now located. Oh, by the way, the little boy is staff member Rusty Melton.
Broad Street in the 1960's and the 1980's.
The above photos were taken from the corner of Broad and Lynn looking westward. The photo on the left was taken in the 1960's and and the photo on the right was taken in the early 1980's.
Broad Street in the 1960's and the 1980's.
The above photos were taken from the Broad Street Bridge looking westward. The photo on the left was taken in the 1960's and the photo on the right was taken in the early 1980's. During this 20 year time span, Broad street transformed from a quaint residential area to a business district.
