Certainly, Hedy, a senior citizen who works at the CVS drug store across the street from the Central Square Woolworth, said she had no plans to buy any Nike Air Jordans.

Despite working at CVS, Hedy--who offered only her first name--said she would frequently pop across the street to buy "little things that she needed" or to eat "whatever I felt like at the lunch counter."

"I'm certainly going to miss it," she said.

Woolworth was bustling with activity only a week ago. But now it is just 16,000 square feet of empty space, covered by men from a construction crew and little else. The last time Woolworth was remodeled was in 1954, the former store manager said.

The only remaining vestiges of the bygone Woolworth dynasty are a few red shopping baskets at the store's entrance and a sign on the floor which announced the store's hours.

An elderly woman wearing a pastel, flower-print scarf stopped to stare into Woolworth on a busy Monday afternoon and then shook her head sadly and walked away when she realized it was closed.

Joanna, an employee at TAD Incorporated Temporary Contract Services on 639 Mass Ave. who didn't want her last name to be printed, said she used to buy "the things you put on the bottom of chairs to prevent their legs from scratching up the floor" at Woolworth.

She also bought Christmas decorations and "those pumpkin lights you get for Halloween" there.

"I'm gonna miss it," Joanne said, in between puffs of a cigarette. "But I guess I'm gonna save my money now--get some sneakers."

Part of Woolworth's charm lay in its eclectic merchandise, which were often so small and obscure that even customers had no idea how to ask for the things they sought.

David A. Hoicka, a Central Square resident who is now a spokesperson for Save Central Square, an activist group supporting the survival of the area's older businesses, said he got "special hangers for his pants there."

"They have really wide ones which are exactly the right width to hang my pants on without getting a crease in them," he said.

Filling the Niche

Woolworth is now a distant memory, and customers will have to do without some of their more unusual goods.

Maxi's 99-cent store on 589 Mass Ave. hopes to fill the niche left by Woolworth.