Throwback Thursday | People’s Drugs

Perhaps the most famous circle in DC is DuPont Circle, where chess players, crazy drivers, casual eateries and infamous snowball tossers share space in one of the busy intersections in the region. And, of course, there are all of the buildings. Amongst the array of structures that house such DC staples as associations, book nooks and museums, there is one building – and one business that stands out more than the others. The CVS that lies right on the Circle. Why is this corporate giant worthy of a Throwback Thursday (#tbt) mention?

<a href=”https://sweethomeva.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Peoples-Store-4700-Lee-Highway-Arlington-DCPL-reduced.jpg”><img class=”size-thumbnail wp-image-4468 ” alt=”This People was at 4700 Lee Hwy in Arlington ” src=”https://sweethomeva.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Peoples-Store-4700-Lee-Highway-Arlington-DCPL-reduced-150×150.jpg” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a> This People was at 4700 Lee Hwy in Arlington <a href=”https://sweethomeva.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Peoples-in-Arlington-today.png”><img class=”size-full wp-image-4470″ alt=”People’s-in-Arlington-today” src=”https://sweethomeva.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Peoples-in-Arlington-today.png” width=”588″ height=”206″ /></a> The old People’s Drugs on Lee Highway is now a Capital One Bank.

In 1905, People’s Drugs was formed by an ambitious transplant to the area named Malcolm Gibbs. He succeeded at rewriting the drug store script. Instead of filling prescriptions like the apothocaries of the time, he diversified the product offering and advertised his business. Eventually, People’s Drugs grew from it’s humble DC beginnings into a regional powerhouse. According to <a title=”Sweethomeva Real Estate Throwback Thursday Spotlight | People’s Drugs” href=”http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2011/11/once-ubiquitous-peoples-drug-stores.html?q=people%27s+drugs”>streetsofwashington.com</a> you could find People’s Drugs “squatting on street corners in almost every neighborhood” in the DC region. It’s success was such that in just 50 years, People’s Drugs held 155 stores in 7 states. And before their reign was over, there were over 500 stores stretching from Georgia to Ohio (wikipedia).

See amazing turn of the century photos of People’s and DC residents (thanks to <a title=”Throwback Thursday People’s Drugs | Sweethomeva.com” href=”http://www.shorpy.com/Peoples-Drug-Stores?page=1″>Shorpys.com</a>).
<h3>#tbt – 1994</h3>
It took almost 90 years for this giant to fade away. It was sold a couple of times before it’s eventual owners, CVS, took over in 1990. In 1994, they changed the name of all locations, including the beloved DuPont Circle store in 1994.

Search For Arlington, VA Homes For Sale (this map is near 4700 Lee Hwy, but you can change the search criteria).

How does your mortgage compare to the average full rate mortgage and adjustable rate mortgage rates of May 1994 (the year when People’s officially became CVS)?
<h3>1994 rates</h3>
15-Year FRM @8.23%
30-Year FRM @8.73%
1-Year ARM @5.49%