by Christine Lorraine Morgan ~ Feb. 24, 2025

It’s time to clean out the dusty corners of your little Italy memories and take a fun quiz to see how much knowledge you possess about this old-time local neighborhood.

Little Italy in Erie, PA was a busy community, a bustling hub of commerce and family living from the late 1800s well into the 20th century. Situated on the City of Erie’s west side, many of Erie’s Italian families resided in this neighborhood.Thus, within that part of town one could find various bakeries, churches, movie theaters, banks, grocery stores, private clubs, restaurants and an array of other businesses.

This collection of trivia questions and answers was inspired by the Facebook group: Memories of Little Italy in Erie, PA ~ an online community where people reminisce and discuss this neighborhood as it was then, and keep up on events that take place there now.

Be sure to keep track of your answers as you take this brief quiz because there is a scoring guide at the end. 

QUESTIONS

1. What was the name of the busy corner store on the north side of 18th Street just west of Chestnut St. in the 1960s? 

a. Sheetz

b. Market 18

c. Luigi’s 

d. Corsi’s

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2. True or False:

In the early 20th century there were various places to bowl in Little Italy.

a. True

b. False

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3. Which were names of theaters located in Little Italy during the 1900s.

a. The Lyric, The American and the 18th Street Theatre

b. The Warner annex, Nickelodeon, and the Universal

c. The 19th Street Moviehouse, Radio City Theater and Columbus Cinema

d. The Palace, the Moving Picture Showplace and Treasurehouse

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4. True or false:

At least two the bakeries from old-time Little Italy are still operating today.

a. true 

b. false

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5. What was the name of the business previously located on the northeast corner of 18th and Cherry before it became Arnone’s?  

a. Frazzini’s Fix-it Center

b. West End Hardware

c. Bigsy’s Pool Hall

d. Spaghetti Factory

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6. Name the restaurant that sold delicious Italian dishes, antipastos and pizzas in the 1970s and 80s in the 500 block of W. 18th on the south side toward the middle of the block.

a. Sicilian Sanctuary

b. Pal’s Pizza Palace

c. Little Italy Italian restaurant

d. Barbato’s on 18th

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7. In the 1950s, the sign hanging above the entrance to Henry’s Ice Cream shop offered which of these choices?

a. “root beer floats”

b. “ball and jacks for a nickel”

c. “cotton candy”

d. “hot roasted peanuts”

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8. What was the name of the neighborhood store in which many people from Little Italy purchased construction materials in the early 20th century? Hint: It was located at Huron and Chestnut streets.

a. Dominick’s Lumberyard

b. O. C. Thayer’s Building Supplies

c. Cravani Construction Co.

d. This Old House Depot

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9. St. Paul’s Church was built with pieces from:

a. City of Erie discarded curbing

b. Lake Erie rocks

c. scrapped Amish buggies

d. bricks from A. Duchini

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10. What was the name of the Church that burned down in the 1970s that was located on W. 17th Street?

a. Our Lady of Little Italy

b. St. Stanislaus Satellite Church

c. St. Michael’s

d. Erie Cathedral

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11. What was the name of the drug store located near the NE corner of 18th and Liberty in the 1970s?

a. Marty’s Medicine Shoppe

b. Anthony’s Apothecary 

c. Arrow Drugs / Pal Pharmacy

d. Rexall 

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12. Name the old-timey mom-and-pop store located in the 400 block of W. 18th Street, near Walnut, a little ways west of Vagnarelli’s on the same side of the street. It closed in the 1960s.

a. Madonia’s

b. Kubeja’s

c. Delilah’s Deli

d. West End Grocers

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13. Larry’s Central Market at 1626 Sassafras has been open at that location since 

a. 1860

b. 1963

c. 1999

d. 2020

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14. What was the name of the restaurant at 1602 Walnut St. from 1926 to 1949 where Guy Lombardo, Frank Sinatra and other famous celebrities dined? 

a. Curly’s Corner 

b. Pasta Heaven

c. The Ritz

d. Italian Oven

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15. When Erie’s little Italy was in its prime, most residential homes had a _______ in the backyard.

a. gazebo

b. large garden

c. barn

d. replica of the Roman Colosseum

ANSWERS

1. d. Corsi’s – this is the store where the author’s mom used to send her to buy cigarettes when she was 10 and there was never an eyebrow raised. The store always seemed busy to my little kid eyes, and they had a deli in the back of the store with rounded glass filled with delicious looking foods, most of which I couldn’t imagine having. Sometimes I was allowed to buy a toy ring as my reward for making the trip to the store for my mom.

2. a. True – There were various places for bowlers to enjoy the sport in old Little Italy, including the Calabrese Club, La Nuova Aurora Society, the Coliseum and the Monte Club.

3. a. The Lyric, The American and the 18th Street Theatre. My dad never forgot how thrilled he was as a youth to visit the “nickelodeon” on West 18th Street for a nickel every Saturday.

4. a. True – Majestic and International Bakeries. Majestic is located at 1501 Walnut St. and International’s address is 610 W. 18th Street. Both have been in ttheir respective  locations for many decades.

5. b. West End Hardware. This brick store was a familiar fixture to anyone who resided in the little Italy neighborhood for many decades. It had tall windows with different window displays, depending on the season. As a child walking the neighborhood I can recall seeing snow shovels in winter, brooms in autumn and saws in summer. It has since relocated to 1912 Liberty Street. 

6. c. Little Italy Italian Restaurant. Just about any sort of home-cooked Italian dish could be found at this establishment. On a personal note, this author never grew tired of eating their personal pepperoni pizzas, which were often shared with grandma who lived on the next block.

7. d. Hot roasted peanuts. See the right side of the sign above the entrancway in the photo below.

8. b. O.C. Thayer’s Building Supplies. “It was well known for building materials such as cement, clay, tile, pipe and all kinds of plaster for walls,” according to “Growing up in Little Italy Book Two” by John L. Fatica

9. a. City of Erie discarded curbing. …….. however, A. Duchini has been in Erie since 1932, so it would have been possible, considering the church was dedicated in 1935. But there was a very tight budget and utilizing discarded street chunks helped keep construction material costs down. “Due to restricted finances the stone for the outer shell or walls of the structure was obtained from the discarded curbing in the city streets which were then in a process of modern improvement. Italian workmen were hired to put their skill and art to the task of refashioning the huge blocks of stone and to shape them into the growing edifice.” https://sites.rootsweb.com/…/StPaul/StPaulChhistory.htm“https://sites.rootsweb.com/~paerie/church/StPaul/StPaulChhistory.htm?fbclid=IwY2xjawLXoTZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF4cHNPdkJ3dHg5Q0R5cXBUAR7zuEWj67W-weaQLW_Q0l2yh6XlVkywpe4S5Kvn-eFXQoEjWfCczKHJISzJwg_aem_6c-wI9BTR7OzCHk0byR-Xg

10. c. St. Michael’s ~ This beautiful church was situated on the south side of W. 17th Street between Cherry and Poplar. It burned down in 1973. Read more about this sad community loss by clicking the link below the photo.

11. c. Arrow Drugs / Pal Pharmacy. The entrance of this old-style drug store was situated much closer to W. 18th Street than the large store that is there now. A thrift shop operated by the St. Martin’s Center was located a couple of doors east. (I shopped there with my grandmother a couple of times. She especially loved their fill-your-bag-for-a-dollar days in the 1970s.)

12. a. Madonia’s. The interior of this long, narrow store was fairly dim as there were no windows on the sides of the building. It was stocked with provisions up to the ceiling on both sides, and there was an elderly woman at the counter in the back of the store who counted out individual tea bags for my grandma to purchase so she didn’t have to buy the whole box.

13. b. 1963. This well-known store at 1626 Sassafras has been serving food and other delights to people for over 60 years. (I’ve been there recently to purchase cold cuts and Italian bread, and it’s a bustling place.)

14. c. The Ritz. The food was prepared by Chef Curly Maracci at this renowned dining establishment. Interestingly enough, he was known for putting a pound of butter in his sauce every day. 

Read more about the Ritz here: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10222912596027886&set=gm.729463612251090&idorvanity=211508404046616

15. b. large garden. It was customary for people who settled here from the “Old Country” to plant and maintain gardens to provide food for their families. Many people preserved their crops by canning them, then enjoying the fruits of their labor during the winter months.

SCORING

0-1 correct: Resta Li (hang in there): Participatory Recognition – You might not have had the right answers for this quiz, but by participating, you gained a cornucopia of new local knowledge that you did not possess before. Well done!

2-6 correct: Buon Lavoro (Good Job) – You took the time to rattle the brain and score some correct answers for a rather challenging local history quiz. What you weren’t sure of, you probably guessed correctly which is an art unto itself so Bueno! 

7-11 correct: little Italy Campione (Champion) – Good job! There’s a good chance you have some sort of local roots tied to this historic Erie neighborhood. Maybe you or a family member grew up there, or perhaps you purchased sub rolls from Arnones, or dined at Hectors. Your foundation of knowledge of little Italy is strong, be sure to pass it on to anyone who will listen.

12-15 correct: Sei Il Numero Uno (You Are Number One) – Without a doubt, if you scored in this category, you are absolutely Neighborhood Numero Uno. You might have attended Columbus School, spent your pennies on ice cream cones at Henry’s, and purchased delicious baked goods at International Bakery. Congratulations on being a very well informed person, make sure to share this knowledge every chance you get.

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Author Christine Lorraine Morgan with Antonina Siggia at the St. Paul Italian Festival in the heart of Erie’s little Italy in August 2024.

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If anyone spots a discrepancy in this quiz, please feel free offer correction/s via IM on Facebook or by email to xtine926@gmail.com. Also please send your questions/answers for the next quiz and you will receive credit when it is released.