Wednesday, September 01, 1999
Centenarian still raring to go
Newport native shares memories
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP — John Greenblatt knew everyone who was anyone in Newport in the raucous years before and after World War II, when he was one of the notorious river city's leading businessmen.
Now, at age 100, the man who operated Greenblatt's home furnishings store at 646 Monmouth St. for 40 years and outlived almost all of his contemporaries, fondly recalls Newport's vibrant and some times illegal past.
“There was a lot of gambling and other activities in the '40s and '50s,” Mr. Greenblatt said as he relaxed in his apartment at Seasons retirement community in Kenwood, where he has lived for five years.
“But those places brought in a lot of business,” he said. “There was a lot of activity in Newport up through the 1960s. I had people come into my store from other cities. They came to Newport for the gambling and entertainment, but they shopped.”
Mr. Greenblatt, who started the store in the late 1930s and closed it in 1972 when business on Monmouth Street had dwindled to a trickle, didn't just rely on the casinos and strip joints to bring business to Newport. He was one of the first businessmen in the city to actively promote the area.
“He did a lot of things for Monmouth Street and the business community,” said Marvin Polinsky, whose father, Saul, was a friend and fellow downtown businessman of Mr. Greenblatt when Saul Polinsky started the clothing store on Monmouth Street that still bears his name.
“My dad, who is 93, talks about how Johnny Greenblatt worked to get parking lots in downtown Newport to help businesses,” Marvin Polinsky said. Mr. Greenblatt “was really active in the city.”
Mr. Greenblatt, who lived above his store for many years, helped form the Monmouth Street Business Association and served as its president. He also established Newport Day at old Coney Island, with a pair of riverboats carrying people from the Newport riverfront to the amusement park on the Ohio River.
But his eyes really twinkle when he remembers some of Newport's bawdy past, especially the nightclubs and numerous gambling establishments.
“I knew all those guys,” he said with a laugh, recalling nightlife figures such as Red Masterson and Frank “Screw” Andrews. “They all came into the store, and I ran into them on the street. Everybody got along really well. I knew the police and I knew the judges.”
Mr. Greenblatt has special memories of the old, original Beverly Hills Supper Club nightclub and casino on Alexandria Pike in Southgate. The club was hit three times by fire over the years, the last in 1977 when 165 people lost their lives.
“I went to Beverly Hills many times,” he said, recalling his friendship with the reputed gangsters who ran the famous club in the 1940s and 1950s. “I had a lot of celebrities who worked at Beverly come into my store.”
He said he's pleased that Newport is experiencing a resurgence of inter est and business, especially on the riverfront. He recently visited the Oceanic Adventures Newport Aquarium and was impressed.
He also remembered that the aquarium is located, in part, on the spot below the Taylor-Southgate Bridge (formerly the Central Bridge) where “Screw” Andrews had his last Sportsmans Club bar and casino.
“I didn't know I'd live to be 100, but I'm glad I'm still here,” said Mr. Greenblatt, who swims and walks every day to stay in good physical shape.
“I go day by day. If I'm still here tomorrow, I'm here. Life is just a bowl of cherries for me.”
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