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Since You Asked: Medford had ice cream parlor similar to Farrell's in the '60s Thursday Dec 15, 2016 at 12:01 AM Regarding the ice cream parlor mystery, you missed one. It opened in the summer of 1968 where you'll find Mr. Smith's now, at the corner of Jackson and Pine streets. The design and decor were very similar to Farrell's, and it was actually an offshoot of nearby Larry's Ice Cream, though I can't remember its name. I think it folded in 1970. — Mike M., via email   For those of you just tuning in, a reader asked Tuesday whether Medford ever had a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant, and our answer was no, but we suggested maybe the reader was thinking about Mr. Candy Maker's Ice Cream Parlour, which was around in the 1970s. Following that Tuesday column, four readers chimed in, including you, Mike, saying there had been another old-fashioned ice cream parlor similar to Farrell's in the late 1960s. And like you, none of them could recall its name. After a bit more research, we believe the business on the tip of everyone's tongue was Ice Cream Palace, which was located where you'll find Mr. Smith's today, at 401 E. Jackson St. In the 1968-69 Yellow Pages, we found reference to Ice Cream Palace, with ads featuring a hand-drawn picture of the distinctive corner building and an old-timey circus-font sign. The owners boasted that the old-fashioned spot was reminiscent of the gay 1890s, offered a complete soda fountain, served family food and specialized in birthday parties. Confirming your timeline of a 1970 closure, we found no reference to the business in the 1970 phone book. The Polk Directory somehow overlooked the building's existence until 1981, after it had been Mr. Smith's Tavern for a decade. Although no one could remember the name, readers remembered the ice cream parlor offered an atmosphere similar to Farrell's. "No, it wasn't a Farrell's, but it had a lot of the trappings: marble-topped tables, a fireplace with a sitting area around it, a stage area for melodramas," Jim L. wrote in. Poring through our dusty archives, we found that the building was under construction to become the ice cream parlor in March 1968 by Rex Goble, owner of nearby Larry's Ice Cream, the site of the recently rebuilt Barney's Better Burgers at 415 N. Riverside Ave. Another reader waxed nostalgic about Larry's ice cream and its 3-scoop banana splits, open from the 1950s to the 1970s. "They were so good, and if Mom didn't notice, we'd lick the serving dish clean," David M. wrote. Former University of Oregon linebacker Dane Smith opened Mr. Smith's at the corner of Jackson and Pine by 1971, after a fateful tackle the previous year during practice ended his football career. According to a 1995 profile on Smith, he had only just reached drinking age when he opened the tavern and restaurant — open four and a half decades now. — Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. To see a collection of columns, go to mailtribune.com/youasked. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.