Looking for something out of the ordinary to do when you visit Palm Springs, look no further than a trip to Ruddy’s General Store and Museum.
If you still remember sarsaparilla, fly ribbons, Rinso, silk stockings, Mazda lamps, Father John’s Medicine and Uneeda biscuits in the old cracker barrel, or wish you’d experienced, a quieter, less hurried time, you’ll find true nostalgia when you step into the General Store Museum. It’s a treasured bit of the past, conveniently located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive.
As you pass through the entrance, you are suddenly transported back in time to the 1930s and early 1940s. The museum is an authentic, lovingly re-created general store of that period.
In 1983 Jim Ruddy integrated his extensive 35 year collection of general store merchandise with a museum that he purchased in the Mid-West. The museum had been the collection of a Depression-Era liquidator who had kept his pick of the finest store fixtures and merchandise in his basement for 40 years. The result is one of the largest complete displays of unused general store merchandise in the country.
Every detail is authentic, including the original showcases, fixtures, signs and products – groceries, tobacco, hardware, clothing, medicines, beauty aids, soaps and notions. More than 6,000 unused items and individual products – 95% of them filled with their original contents – line the shelves and counters.
Whether you are a collector, a history buff, or wish to relive the “good ol’ days,” you will truly enjoy a nostalgic visit to Ruddy’s General Store Museum.