New life for old corner drugstore

Sid Simmons, 90, prepares early 1900s medicine bottles for display in the new Colonial Drug museum at Heritage Square. Simmons is fussy about the condition of the labels, corks and contents but chooses the best from tens of thousands in his collection. Many are from his father’s original store in Highland Park.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A display of late 19th and early 20th century healthcare remedies in the Colonial Drug museum at Heritage Square.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Daniele Pineda inspects the cork of an early 1900s medicine bottle that reads “Pill and Tablets W.R. Warner & Co., Philad’a”.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Sid Simmons, 90, and his collection of early 1900s medicine bottles in the “pharmacy” of the new Colonial Drug museum at Heritage Square. The contents are original and the most items have never been opened.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A file cabinet drawer in the pharmacy holds bottles whose labels list ingredients such as morphine, narcotine, and phenobarbital-- and a warning, “MAY BE HABIT FORMING”.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

John Kearns, development manager of the Heritage Museum in Los Angeles, and Linda Simmons prepare for the opening of a replica of the original early 1900s-era Colonial Drug store that Linda’s husband’s grandfather once operated in Highland Park.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)