Center Street

Center Street is one of Derry's principal downtown arteries, connecting the three-way intersection of Kansas, Center, and Main Streets with the upper residential neighborhoods. It is a commercial street lined with shops, banks, and theaters, and it plays a central role in the daily lives of the children of Derry, particularly the members of the Losers' Club.

Location and Character

Center Street runs uphill from the chaotic three-way intersection that Bill Denbrough navigates at high speed on his bicycle Silver, an intersection described by a Derry News editorial as "a traffic-rotary conceived in hell." The street is home to the Center Street Drug Store, where Eddie Kaspbrak gets his asthma medication refills and where Mr. Keene later reveals to him that the medication is a placebo. It also houses the Aladdin Theater, where Ben Hanscom, Richie Tozier, and Beverly Marsh watch horror movies on a Saturday afternoon, and the Costello Avenue Market, where Ben buys candy with his bottle-return money and where Eddie is attacked by Henry Bowers and his gang after leaving the drugstore.

Key Events and Encounters

Center Street is the setting for several pivotal confrontations. After the apocalyptic rockfight in the Barrens, the Losers' Club flees up Center Street, pursued by Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, and Belch Huggins, and collapses on a bench in front of the police station. It is also where Beverly Marsh, after escaping her father's abuse, meets Ben Hanscom, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Bradley Donovan pitching pennies in Richard's Alley, which connects Center and Main Streets. The street's commercial character is further emphasized by the presence of Freese's Department Store, where Richie Tozier eludes Henry Bowers by hiding in the toy department, and the Derry Public Library, which is located at the corner of Center and Kansas Streets.

Transformation and Decline

By 1985, Center Street has undergone significant changes. The Center Street Drug Store is gone, and Richard's Alley has become a "mini-mall" housing a record shop, a natural-foods store, and a toys-and-games shop. The Aladdin Theater, however, survives, having been saved from demolition by a citizens' committee led by Mike Hanlon. During the catastrophic storm and flood of May 31, 1985, Center Street is severely damaged as downtown Derry collapses into the Canal. The Derry Mall, built on the site of the old Kitchener Ironworks, is destroyed by a series of explosions, and the street's commercial vitality is dealt a devastating blow.