SummerFest: Small Town Feel in Downtown Doylestown
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DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Ask around, and you'll hear Doylestown called "old time, small-town Main Street America."
You can't go through downtown Doylestown without spotting the blue and gold County Theater, which was a state of the art movie palace when it was built in 1938.
Chris Collier, County Theater's co-director, said, "As with most small town movie theaters, it started to go through some serious problems."
But the community didn't want to lose its landmark. So 25 years ago, it formed a nonprofit and saved the County Theater. Now it's a haven for moviegoers, upgraded with digital technology while keeping its classic feel.
SummerFest Heads To Fonthill Castle In Doylestown
"And we helped revitalized the town, bring things back to life here," Chris said.
Around the corner, the old Musselman's Department Store is now the Doylestown Bookshop, with not only best-sellers, but Bucks County books, too. The Bookshop just celebrated its 20th anniversary, says owner Glenda Childs.
"The community supports independent stores, not just bookstores," Glenda said. "Shopping local is important. It keeps our dollars in the community."
On State Street, you'll find Doylestown's unofficial restaurant row. That's where Karen Slattery opened Paganini in the 1990s.
"It was quiet, very quaint, there wasn't much here," Karen said, "and we thought it would be a perfect spot for a nice little Italian restaurant, and well, we were right."
If you really fall in love with Doylestown, you can let everyone know with gear from Monkey's Uncle.
Co-owner Derrick Morgan said, "We really are kind of the go-to for the I Love Doylestown, the T-shirts, glasses and mugs."
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Derrick said the store's quirky sports styles draw fans from all over the world.
"Just yesterday I had three people come in from Florida because they were looking for Eagles stuff and Doylestown stuff," Derrick said.
Simeon Pritchard, who lives in England, was working in Doylestown for the summer and picked out a Doylestown T-shirt and an Eagles hat. "I'm gonna buy this in a minute. It's going to be top."
"People do really go out of their way to try to find Doylestown things, because they move away or they go away to college," Derrick said. "They still want to take a piece of Doylestown with them."
