The photo for this postcard was taken by somebody atop Fire Station #2 (constructed in 1941).
It’s post WWII, maybe late 40s. There are lots of people frolicking in the pool.
Legion Pool
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Monthly Archives: March 2026
The Big Store
This is one of the oldest Kingsport postcards in my collection. It is a real photo card, meaning it was produced by a local photographer sometime early in Kingsport history. This is the Big Store, or J. Fred Johnson & Company, at the corner of Main and Shelby Streets. Note that Main Street isn’t paved yet.
The Big Store had it all. Saying was that “you could go from birth to death” at that store. Even the Post Office was located there.
The mound behind the store appears to be wood for the paper plant.
There is no useful information on the reverse of this card.
Latimer Looney Chevrolet
This was issued in 1963 when Latimer Looney was still at 707 East Sullivan Street. The dealership dated from 1938, when it was in the building at 315 Cherokee Street (the building later became apartments. We lived there when I was a kid. There was a concrete car-width ramp that went from the first to the second floor)
Around 1957, my buddy and I trooped down to this dealership, where there was a new Jaguar in the showroom. We were majorly impressed.
Bob Lawrence's Kingsport 