Those vintage Barrington St pics are always interesting. As a shopping destination it seemed to peak in the early '60s and like virtually every other shopping street in virtually every North American city, succumbed to the emergence of the shopping center.
One thing I find interesting is that canvas awnings were used quite extensively on Barrington. I remember them as a tyke, where someone would crank the mechanism to extend it over the sidewalk to provide shade. One thing I recall as a kid from visiting other places with my parents was how some buildings on shopping streets had permanent overhangs built above the sidewalk - I'm unsure of the proper name for them. They not only provided shade but also protection from inclement weather. This is an example:
I'd guess we might have had some similar examples here but I cannot think of any at the moment, at least on Barrington. These, combined with a vertically-oriented neon sign above the overhang, along with compact signage on the underside visible to pedestrians, always seemed a striking way to make your downtown store building stand out.
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