Free In-Person Event

“Have a Cheap Day”: Remembering the Golden Age of Building 19 Advertising  

Thursday, August 27, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

American Ancestors - 97 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116

For generations of New Englanders, a trip to Building 19 was part bargain hunt, part adventure. Join the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center as authors Randy Cogill and Tripp Underwood discuss their new book on the beloved discount retailer and the history behind its iconic, witty advertising campaigns. Illustrator Mat Brown, whose humorous artwork became synonymous with the Building 19 brand, will share memories from his years with the company and reflect on its lasting impact. The program will also feature a display of materials from the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center’s Building 19 Records collection, a memory-recording station for attendees to share their own Building 19 stories, and a book signing with the authors.

Randy Cogill and Tripp Underwood grew up on Boston's South Shore, where Building 19 was a fixture of their childhoods. They were first dragged there by their moms in the '80s, then returned on their own as cash-strapped teenagers in the '90s. Randy even worked the registers at the Hingham location from a brief period as a teenager. Decades later, a series of conversations and a shared wave of nostalgia sent them down a deep Building 19 research rabbit hole. That eventually connected them with Mat Brown, the artist behind Building 19’s famed, ubiquitous ads. That journey led to their book, Have a Cheap Day.