If you’ve gone to Barley’s Backyard Uptown for a bite and enjoyed their famous rooftop deck, you’ve probably noticed the "Finkelstein’s Towson” sign at the entrance.
It seems like each year, fewer and fewer locals can remember its origin.
For about 70 years, the Barley’s Uptown location was home to a Towson clothing institution known as Finkelstein’s. It was a family owned clothing store that specialized in western wear.
Finkelstein’s was started by immigrants Ellis and Fannie Finkelstein in 1922, originally as a clothing store on Chesapeake Avenue. Over time it grew into a well-known department/storefront in downtown Towson.
The shop moved into a larger space at 408 York Road in 1929 (just before the Great Depression) and remained a recognizable Towson storefront for many decades; the old Finkelstein’s sign was still visible on the building for years after the store closed.
Ellis Finkelstein died in 1951; his sons Jack and Arnold took over and ran the family business for many years.
The store eventually closed in 1994 (reporting around that time described it as one of the county’s long-standing homegrown department stores)
Finkelstein’s had a small but loyal following until the late 1970’s… when the fashion gods smiled upon them. As the disco craze rapidly faded in the late ‘70’s, America went through the “great country cross-over phase.”
Disco balls were out and mechanical bulls were in as happy hour celebrations let visits the ER and months of physical therapy. Some of you out there remember Kenny Rodgers at the top of the charts, people buying CB radios, country yoke shirts, and “Smokey And The Bandit” grossing $300 million.
The Cowboy hat became a must have accessory
The high water mark of the craze was the release of John Travolta’s “Urban Cowboy.” If I remember correctly, when I got in line on that beautiful June evening to see the movie’s opening night at the old Towson Theatre (now The Recher),
Forever in Blue Jeans
I was standing in front of that very sign. The lost shared cultural experience of waiting 45 minutes in line to see a movie is a conversation for a different day. Anyway, Finkelstein’s was perfectly positioned to ride the wave, and for a few years the place was packed with TU students and locals buying cowboy hats, Frye Boots, Levi’s preshrunk jeans, and those forgettable down ski vests (that Michael J. Fox would later make famous in the beloved classic “Back To The Future”).
It was THE place to be outfitted. Like everything from The Starland Vocal Band to Hammer Time, America’s country crossover craze faded into pop culture history and Finkelstein’s season in the sun would come to pass. They could no longer complete with Towson’s (and the County’s) new retailers and mega-malls. They closed their doors in 1994. But that little piece of Towson pop culture remains.
