Elmhurst’s downtown wasn’t added later, like Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Il, for instance. That shopping sprawl subs as a downtown for nearby ‘burbs that forgot to have one in the first place.

Our downtown was, and is, one street, York Road, with short cross streets cleverly named First, Second and so on. Primary additions since the 1960s are eating establishments, which means now you can order something other than malted milks and turkey sandwiches.

Some places are gone. The penny candy store is history, as is penny candy. The Bell Telephone office, where residents swapped their rotary-dial phones for the Princess Phone is gone.

That phone, however, sustains icon status. Not only was it NOT black. It was shaped a bit like a ballet slipper, a bit like a jewel box. If there were any doubt this was one serious girl phone, its colors pearly aqua, precious pink or prom-dress blue proved otherwise.

Prior to the Princess Phone, a phone call’s primary function was to convey bad news, or call the doctor. AFTER the Princess Phone, calls became as nature intended: a means for women to convene, commiserate, scheme, scream, seduce, and otherwise declare our supremacy of the planet.

I love the Princess Phone.