Franklin Square Shorts
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Description: Pretty much everyone was aware of the Colonial Square grand opening in 1959. The opening of 16 new stores including Wayzata Rexall Drug, Red Owl, Ben Franklin Variety, Community Credit, Coast to Coast, Olson’s Shoes, Walbom’s Apparel, Pink Pony and Colonial Coiffures was a big deal in the west metro. The shopping center boasted of design innovations and grand opening celebrations stretched from October through November. Visitors to the new center saw, as the Minnetonka Herald reported Oct. 1, 1959, “a striking use of color and highlights of wood paneling throughout.” The interior lighting used was new for this area of the country, which was supposed to to be three times brighter than conventional lighting.
