Celebrating 60: Rolling Meadows' Crawford's long gone, still remembered

Although it no longer exists in the city, Crawford's department store was for a long time one of the landmarks that made Rolling Meadows stand out. Residents still reminisce about the store that closed its doors in 1993.

When it first opened in 1957, it was the largest department store in the Northwest suburbs. Crawford's, along with 12 other local stores, also helped Rolling Meadows create a shopping center on Kirchoff Road.

The area was touted as the "largest one-stop shopping center in the far Northwest suburbs," according to "They Took the Challenge: The Story of Rolling Meadows," a book published by Esther Perica at the city's 25th anniversary.

The center housed Suburban Drugs, Jewel Foods, Ace Hardware, A&W Foods, the Suburban Snack Shop and Rolling Meadows Currency Exchange, among other shops.

• Celebrating 60 is a daily feature in Neighbor marking 60 of the things that make Rolling Meadows a great place to live.