Drive-By Photos 21
Even though the original ACME has been gone for almost 20 years, they kept its roadside sign. It would have originally had a larger rectangle on top spelling out ACME in neon.
The road has a couple of large hills on it, which allows you to take pictures that almost look like aerials.
These are becoming increasingly rare around here. Most of the ones I knew of closed within the past few years.
A 70's styled Arby's, which has unfortunately lost its original "big hat"-style sign.
Penn Fruit opened here in the 50's, and closed with the chain in 1977. Not long after that, Burlington opened up store #7. I don't think the outside has been changed since then.
UPDATE: Closed as of late 2017. It will be demolished for a new Super Wawa.
I imagine this opened in the early 70's. Judging by the fact that it is still IHOP blue, it was probably still open somewhat recently. It is now El Greco Diner, which appears to be a Spanish steakhouse.
I'm not sure what was here after Pizza Hut closed, but that's closed as well. It looks like something else will be moving in soon. Correction: Was Pizza Hut up until 2013.
UPDATE: Nothing was moving in, still vacant. Wawa will be building a new store on the site.
I imagine this opened in the mid-90's, and was required to have a modified façade for the shopping center. I would love to see what its like inside. Update: The inside's nothing special, sort of a mix of the first and second Fun House decors.
This building is a lot older than it looks. It was completely redone when bottom Dollar opened in 2011. The only information I could find about the previous tenants is that Blockbuster closed in 2007. Update: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/3939428333/in/photolist-qe938K-raWEcK-GKiEKU-71aHzu-717ANa-x7HATp-5q2n3t-5mVuXq-auLNbd-GKiDo5">Here's</a> what it looked like previously. Update 2: Looks like this is actually a new building, Bottom Dollar demolished the old Blockbuster.
This opened around 2008. A Rediclinic was recently added. I'm not sure if the entire store was remodeled, but that is definitely within the realm of possibility.
This was built in the 30's as an Esso, and later became an Exxon. It was most recently J&M Auto Repair, which appears to have closed. Update: It's open again.
This opened in the 60's as a Mobil, which was divested to Lukoil after the Exxon merger. Fun fact: The Checkers in the background was the first (and so far only) one I've eaten at.
This is a 90's store. It was remodeled to the latest Wellness look around the time this picture was taken, which I thought was sorta surprising. This area is fairly trashy- there was a gang-related massacre only a couple blocks away from here earlier this year.
Almost every Citgo in the area was shut down a couple of years ago. Some of them, like this one, continued operation without a name [or, as Retail Retell pointed out in the comments, it's been operating as ( )]. This was originally a 50's Sunoco, which moved to the location pictured next in the 80's.
This station sits in the nicest part of West Philly, so I'm a little surprised they haven't remodeled it yet.
Nighttime shot of Philadelphia's City Hall. Fun fact: This tower was once the tallest manmade structure in the world.
I tried to get as many Susquehanna pictures as I could before the BB&T buyout went through. I really liked their logo.
This opened in the 1930's and served as the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Railroad. After they went under in 1971, Amtrak took over. While this is not technically their headquarters, it is by far their largest office and where many of the higher-ups work.
It was remodeled recently. The exterior was completely rebuilt, yet it appears the 90's décor is still intact inside.
This was one of SuperFresh's more successful stores. It opened in the late 90's, and was given the wellness remodel shortly before the first bankruptcy. ACME took over last November.
UPDATE: opened as a Penn Fruit in 1950, making it ACME's oldest store building. The original structure remains, but the arched roof was cut off at some point.
I think this sign has to be really old. I like it.
This opened in the 90's, and hasn't changed much since then. I'm pretty sure they aren't opening any more Tiger Marts.
There aren't too many 76 stations in the area. I think this is the only one in Chester County. Update: Closed 2018 after the canopy collapsed.
Susquehanna opened here around 2004. It was sold to BB&T last fall.
This has to have been something else before BK opened up. The building isn't shaped at all like a Burger King, and the pitch of the roof is way too steep. Update: It was originally a Gino's. Update 2: Has since been remodeled.
There are always tons of cars parked here for the service center, although I never see anyone using the gas pumps. Actually, I don't think I have ever even seen a person here. They must keep some really obscure hours.
Family Dollar closed this location in 2014. It sat vacant for a while before becoming a restaurant/market in 2017.
St. Michael's, Phoenixville, PA
This church was built in the 1920's, although it looks much older. It has some fantastic architecture inside as well. There are tons of fresco murals and wood carvings, and all the windows are ornate stained glass designs.
As abandoned as this looks, this was actually still in business until recently. I believe it shut down in 2013. Unfortunately, this will more likely be demolished than repurposed. The area is seeing a lot of new development. UPDATE: Auto Zone will be taking over the site. It is unclear if they intend to reuse the structure. Update 2: Demolished August 2018.
This one opened in 1965. After Folsom closed, this briefly became the oldest store left in the chain. It was remodeled recently, as indicated by the new logo (the goose switched from white to yellow very recently). The roadside "Enter" and "Exit" signs still have the old sunset logo on them. I haven't seen anything like them before. Hopefully, next time I'm here, I can get a picture of them. Update: Demolished late 2017. A new fuel center Wawa will open on the site in late 2018.
This store relocated across the street to the old Nova Bank late last year. This location is technically vacant, but the feed and farm store at the end of the center has been using this as storage space.
This was built in the 1970's. It has been a True Value for as long as I can remember, although it does have some ServiStar-brand merchandise lying around, making me think it may have switched banners before the company merged. If anyone can identify who used this décor, it would be greatly appreciated. ServiStar ground wires for sale. If this was always a True Value, it is possible they just would up with some leftover ServiStar price tags.
Willow Financial/Harleysville/First Niagara/Key Bank, Exton, PA
I can't say I remember this being anything else, but Google Maps clearly shows this as being Willow Financial as recently as 2007, which I assume was bought out by First Niagara. Correction: "Willow Financial was a merger of, I think, 'Willow Grove Bank' and 'First Financial', so it was probably either of those previously (likely the later given the area). Then after, Harleysville National bought out Willow Financial, but again, this was short lived as First Niagara acquired them maybe a year or two later. To top it all off, First Niagara is in the process of merging with Key Bank...so we will likely see another name change later this year..phew!" -mbz32190
This opened around 2000 as a Mexican restaurant. That lasted until around 2008. After spending a couple years vacant, PJ Whelihan's opened up. They actually did a good job disguising the Mexican design elements to make it look more like an Irish restaurant by simply covering stuff up with awnings.
The Downingtown Chili's closed for remodeling last Fall. It looks like they replaced the windows and did some repainting, but the outside looks surprisingly similar.
LNT opened with the shopping center in the late 90's, and later closed with the chain. Almost immediately, HH Gregg and Harbor Freight Tools took over the space. Update: Becoming a relocated Best Buy in early 2019.
This opened around 2010 on a plot of land previously owned by a nearby quarry. They do have an outdoor seating area to the right of the building.
Although this is a fairly normal sight in Philadelphia, most railroad bridges are just run-down steel trusses. This one might be different because it goes over the Schuylkill River.
This opened in the early 90's. The "Photo" box next to the sign appears to have been for a 24 Hour sign originally.
BP took over most Amoco locations in the area when they got bought out, which is why I think this was originally an Amoco, despite not having any traces of architecture left. It was rebranded to Gas & Go more recently.
Andorra Shopping Center, Philadelphia (Roxborough)
Everything to the right of the Kohl's sign was built in the late 60's. This picture shows the original half of the building. The strip mall was doubled in size in the 80's, which is everything past the left of this picture.
This was also added on after 1971, although I would assume it was built in the 70's. It was sold to Kohl's in the late 90's, who replaced the signature green roof with their beige box, like they so sadly did with all the other locations they picked up.
Historic aerials shows this as being built after 1971. I would assume it was put up as part of the same expansion that added the library.
This shopping center was built up between the 50's and the 80's. I would imagine that this was one of the later additions, in all its tacky postmodernist glory. That sign almost looks like it was photoshopped on. I'm willing to be Robert Venturi was the architect here.
The garage area is pretty nondescript, but the canopy definitely looks Sunoco. I feel like a lot of gas stations in the outskirts of the city look like this.
This was built as a Mobil in the 60's, and was divested to Lukoil after the merger with Exxon. It appears to have a larger store than most Mobils from that period, but there are only four pumps.
This may have been something else originally. The awning going around the building is mounted to a slightly slanted surface, indicating that there may have been a false roof facade at one point. This building looks pretty old- it has the exterior bathrooms and no convenience store.
This was probably built originally in the 80's, and appears to have been expanded/remodeled in the mid-90's. The exterior/parking lot lighting appears to have been replaced sometime since then. This store was remodeled beyond recognition, and reopened within the past month or so. I was able to find a nice before/after pic here.
My last picture of this place wasn't too good, so I decided to come back and give this location the justice it deserves. I'm really surprised how they still keep stores without any interior seating in operation like this. They own this entire parking lot, so they could easily rebuild if they wanted to- not that they should, though.
I believe this was a 40's store. When Albertsons took over ACME, the first thing they did was close down all the remaining 60-80 year-old stores, mainly on account of their size and proximity to other stores. This store in particular lasted until 2002. CVS opened up not long after, using an all-brick design to fit in with the area. They also moved the front of the store to the longer side. ACME's entrance would have faced the street.
I always thought this was an interesting building. Rather than have a metal or slate roof on the steeple, they built the entire thing out of stone. This was probably built in the late 1800's. Something like that would cost a fortune to build today.
I'm positive that this was something else before Wachovia, although they bought out so many other area banks, it's hard to tell what it was exactly. It was converted to Wells Fargo in 2008.
The entryway to this place has a distinct 50's look to it. The building itself appears to be much older. I would bet it originally looked more like Chiang Mai next door. I'm not sure how two unrelated Chinese restaurants can operate right next to each other, especially considering how Conshohocken doesn't exactly have a large Asian population.
Since my last picture only showed the roof, I thought I should probably do a retake. Update: Remodeled mid-2018.
Is the forthcoming Best Buy relocation the same one you posted about on Discord? I knew it was a former HHGregg, but didn't realize the Linens 'N Things part - that will be a cool conversion!
ReplyDeleteIt is! Actually, it's only about 2/3 of the old LNT, since Harbor Freight Tools took over the part that HHGregg didn't. This store's only going to be a fraction of the size of the one they're moving out of.
DeleteThe Lukoil In Conshohocken,PA Was Actually Built In The 1980's As A Mobil Station. Those Circular Things On The Canopy Are Basically An Updated Version From The 1980's. You Notice That The Round Part Is Only A Line, Not A Full Circle.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/maps/@41.8585626,-88.0919006,3a,15y,42.52h,90.53t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQqVT0IOnjscKwXTuAXphIg!2e0!5s20120601T000000!7i13312!8i6656
Here Is How A Round Mobil Canopy With A Full Circle From The 1960's Would Look Like With A Modern Flat Canopy On Top.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ferret111/4903518766/
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8716563,-87.853397,3a,42.2y,252.48h,94.58t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxuMKU4GVTiCAix1WJri1jQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Here Is How The Round Mobil Canopies From The 1960's Would Look Like.
http://www.roadarch.com/10/3/mobil.jpg
http://www.roadarch.com/10/3/mobil2.jpg
By The Way, Gas Stations Started Having Their Food Marts In The Middle Of The Pumps And Canopy In The Early 1980's.