420 Moreland Ave

Our building at 420 Moreland Ave has not always been a clothing store. Working on the floor, I heard so many stories from old punks reminiscing of the days when the building was a concert venue called The Point. The Point was a staple in the alternative music scene and had a wide range of performers ranging from small local bands to Pearl Jam. The venue was open for almost two decades but had it's last show in 1999 when the club eventually went bankrupt after loosing it's liquor license. There are still remnants of The Point scattered throughout Clothing Warehouse if you know what you are looking for. Parts of the stage were repurposed into the platform for the checkout counter, the classic graffitied restroom looks the same as it did in the ’90s, and the sound booth is now the back office.

I have heard so many stories of what the building used to be but my favorite comes from our exterminator. I can’t be sure if this story is true, but it’s a good story nonetheless. According to him, the building was a bank back in the day. His wife’s uncle was a career criminal bank robber who robbed the bank that stood at 420 Moreland Ave. The uncle and his partner in crime were arrested and given the option to go to jail or to be sent overseas to fight in the war (this was during World War II). Both opted to serve time in the military rather than serve time in jail. The pair were captured as prisoners of war and because of their background in bank robbery, devised a plan and successfully broke out of prison. This was apparently the prison break that the book and movie The Great Escape was based on. This seems far-fetched but our exterminator tells the story every time he visits, so even though we can’t fact-check him, it’s fun to believe 420 Moreland Ave has such an interesting history.

420 Moreland Ave

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