"Death of a Corner Drugstore"

                                                 a documentary by Brooke Maroldi

Is America turning into one vast network of strip malls?
Are we trading the charm of "Mom and Pop" businesses in real neighborhoods for the convenience of homogenized corporate-owned chains that look the same in every strip mall across the country?
These are some of the questions addressed in "Death of a Corner Drugstore."

The Oriental Pharmacy was a Milwaukee landmark for decades.  For many of its regular customers, it was a comfortable home away from home, a place where individuals from all walks of life were accepted and appreciated.  It was more than a place of business; the Oriental served as a kind of town square where news and gossip were exchanged, where you could mail a letter, fill a prescription, find some obscure piece of hardware, pick up some beer, or just sit at the vintage lunch counter and people watch.

But nothing lasts forever.  The Oriental closed its doors in 1995 due to strong competition from chain drug stores, rent hikes and drastic changes in the pharmaceutical and health care businesses.  But for the last few weeks of its existence, Brooke Maroldi shot over 23 hours of interviews with Oriental employees and customers and captured many day-to-day scenes, mostly around the lunch counter.

The closing of the Oriental not only marked the loss of yet another city landmark, it was a cruel reminder of the current trend toward homogenization in all areas of contemporary life.  "Death of a Corner Drugstore" recognizes that the Oriental's demise affects much more than one corner in Milwaukee; it is indicative of a culture which no longer appreciates individuality and community ties.   It's a reminder of the fragility of our neighborhoods.  The kindred spirits of the Oriental -- independently owned hardware stores, Mom & Pop grocers, ethnic delis, and so on -- are all threatened.  As we quietly lose these places one by one, we lose part of the uniqueness of our daily lives; we lose connection with the world outside of our private lives; we lose a little bit of our selves. 

Total length: 30 minutes.   © 2000 Magpie Media, Inc,

"Brooke Maroldi’s engaging, heartfelt video..."Death of a Corner Drugstore" is a reminder of what is lost as well as an excellent example of an independent producer telling a story that needs to be told."

– Elfrieda Abbe, film critic and editor of Angles magazine.

"It is a sad thing when a neighborhood coffee shop dies. Where do the regulars go when the counter is no more? Where else can they go to get a prescription filled and then sit down and have coffee with friends? For the regulars, the last weeks of the old Oriental Pharmacy were filled with such thoughts. Brooke Maroldi, a regular who also was a filmmaker, put aside shock and anger over the 1995 closing of the pharmacy and picked up her camera."

Jan Uebelherr, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 8, 1998