Flickr Photos 50

So this is the final set of Flickr photos I have coming over in the order I posted them (Except for a Bishop Tube post). My next few sets will be things I was initially planning on keeping up but couldn't. I'm highly satisfied with how this worked out to a nice even 50 posts.

 Wawa, Chadds Ford, PA

This store was in the beginning stages of a remodel (and a snowstorm!) when I drove by. I KNOW I have some pre-remodel interior shots of this place, but I have no idea where they're saved. 

This remodel added an alcohol section, making it their first PA store to have one. Update: Found the photos. Apparently I had already posted them and was looking in the wrong place. :P

 ACME, Wilmington, DE

ACME first opened here in the early 60's. It had a 30-year run before being demolished and replaced with the one seen here. This store not only replaced the 60's one, but also 70's location down the road in Claymont. It was remodeled heavily in 2008 to the Fresh & Healthy look, and again in 2016 to their current décor.

You can compare the new exterior treatment to my awful 2013 Photo.

 The dairy signage. It was a little hard to get pictures in this aisle with all the people in it, hence why I'm hiding behind the Cadbury display.

Looking across the back of the store. There's a reason why the store has 2 different kinds of lighting- originally, it all would have been recessed fluorescent strips like the higher part of the ceiling. However, they decided to get fancy and replace the lower ceiling ones with CFL hanging lights in the 2008 remodel. They were pretty notoriously dim, and were replaced again in 2016 with regular fluorescent strips.

I'm pretty sure they've been removed from practically every store they were in at this point, even if they weren't remodeled.

 On the other side of the signage are the oldest logos. The cursive ones were used from the 30's to the 50's; the rectangle dates all the way back to 1891.

 The earlier stores to receive this decor got a wall of ACME's old logos, which I thought was an awesome touch. Unfortunately, they haven't included it in the more recent remodels. This side has the logos that directly preceded the current one. From left to right- the red oval, used from 1987 to 1999 (overlapping 8 years with the current one); ACME Super Saver, a short-lived late 70's/80's concept; and my personal favorite, the eye used from the mid-60's until 1987.

They skipped over the "football" logo, which was only used in 1987. It looked like a cross between the eye and red oval.

 Meat and Seafood. I think this department was bumped out from the wall in 2008- a lot of other 90's stores only have a small counter off to the side.

 Interesting seeing the Lancaster Brand signage separate from the meats sign. They might have just had extra wall space they wanted to fill.

 The boxes along the bottom of the parapet wall were from the 2008 remodel. It goes surprisingly nicely with the new décor.

Inside, they kept the 90's layout.

I'm not sure if the flooring was redone, it's hard to tell from the picture whether that's wood-print ceramic tile like they used in the 90's, or if it's the actual hardwood they're using today.

Close-up of the produce sign. Of course my camera decided to cut out the "Wilmington's" above. That was my main reason for getting a picture of this sign. :P

Giant's Coming to South Philly!

Giant recently announced they'd be opening their second store in Philadelphia- but there's something different about this one. They're calling it Giant Heirloom Market and it will only measure 9500 square feet.

My understanding is the store is going to be more of a "neighborhood market" type store, although will also be a Peapod pick-up center and serve alcohol.

It's not supposed to compete with Fresh Grocer, the full-scale supermarket in the neighborhood. Instead, it's supposed to serve the densely-populated residential area surrounding it.

"They tried an even smaller store called Everything Fresh near Rittenhouse Square from 2014 to 2017; they also had stores called BFresh in Boston as part of Stop & Shop, but closed all of them at once. It sounds like this is their newer attempt at an urban store, but with more Ahold branding this time." -JoshAustin610

 Levitz, Tri-State Mall, Claymont, DE
This building has been here since the mall opened in 1970. I'm not sure if it was built as a Levitz, although it wouldn't surprise me. It was extensively renovated in the early 90's to the look seen here (I think they went as far as to totally rebuild the exterior walls- precast concrete wasn't very popular until the 90's). It closed in 2007 with the Levitz chain, and has sat abandoned since. Time has not treated it well, as you'll see in the following pictures.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see inside since the doors (which were the only windows the building had) were boarded up. Thankfully, there's a little glass above them that wasn't covered. I wasn't able to see the interior for myself, but I could hold up my camera and have it do the work for me.

In addition to the rot and mold you see along the back wall, there's another major issue. See if you can guess before going to the next photo. I'll give you a hint: It's awfully bright inside for not having any windows uncovered or lights turned on.

 The loading docks off to the side of the building. The outside looked surprisingly nice considering the shape of the rest of it.

 Former Wendy's in the parking lot. I wonder how bad a mall has to screw up for them to even lose a Wendy's.

 This opened as a Pantry Pride supermarket with the mall, and went out of business in the 80's. It was then turned into Tri-State Liquors, which over the years has also expanded into adjacent storefronts. It has done incredibly well, mainly due to the fact that it is literally 500 feet from the Pennsylvania border (the mall runs up to the state line). With Burlington gone now, it is the mall's largest retail tenant.

 The lower level of the Dry Goods, which is now split between several tenants.

 The strip mall is the only part of the mall still in operation (not counting the former Kmart, which is temporarily being used as a facade glass company's warehouse). It's mainly filled with lower-end tenants. I'm pretty sure there's more than one title & loan and check-cashing place.

Across the parking lot from Levitz, we see the actual mall. The Burlington up top was originally Wilmington Dry Goods

It was actually a 2-level location. The stores directly below it were also part of the WDG. After they went out of business, the lower level was subdivided. The top became Value City and later Burlington, which has since relocated.

Sound of Tri-State is another larger store. This place seems to do a lot of tech installations in cars in addition to stereos.

I didn't get to step inside here, but it looked awesomely early-90's inside.

 The way things are looking, I doubt Music and DVD World will be around much longer, although based on what they have on display out front they might be making up for falling entertainment sales with winter coats and sleeping bags.

 Levitz, as seen from near the Wendy's. The large ruin in the background was Claymont Steel at one point. It was in the process of being demolished when I got this picture. The site is slated for redevelopment, although plans are still in the works. A comment on Flickr indicated this may have been a Caldor originally.

 Bottom floor of the former Wilmington Dry Goods. Save-A-Lot is the largest tenant here, taking up about a third of the space. I think they opened in the later 2000's, shortly before the mall began its decline.

 There has been an auto center here as long as the mall's been around, though I'm not sure whether or not it was always a Goodyear. Of the mall's 3 outparcels, this is the only one still in operation. It seems to do decent business, but was closed for the snowstorm the day I visited. It's probably pretty hard to keep your store running when the mall doesn't plow the lot at least partially for you. I ran over a couple curbs trying to find my way in here.

 Wendy's, Tri-State Mall, Claymont, DE
If Wendy's wasn't an original tenant to the mall, it was probably added in the early years. I don't know the closing date, but I'd guess early 2000's. Afterwards, it became a Chinese restaurant (who repainted the facade), but they were gone by 2007.

 From the front atrium, this was the only view I was able to get of the inside. The place is being used as storage for the audio store across the parking lot.

 The inside of the mall closed for good at the end of 2015. The glare from the snow made getting interior photos practically impossible. This was unfortunately the best I could do this time. However, Dan Bell has a video of it from shortly after Kmart closed. It looked really neat inside. Had I known it was closing at the time, I definitely would have made the trip down here to get some photos.

Under the awning to the main mall entrance. To the left of me would be the Burlington Coat Factory (which was one of the rare new logo ones with the Coat Factory name). That stone wall along the edge of the parking lot is the back of the strip mall part, which was mostly buried into the hill.

To the right is the former Kmart, which we'll be getting a look at this weekend.

 Looking to the old Claymont Steel site from the mall parking lot. Burlington was open the day I was here, but there were only three cars (including mine) in the lot.

 Looking along the awning again, towards the former Kmart again.

 Another empty storefront, which appears to have been used as office space most recently.

 A section of the awning was missing. I'm guessing there must have been some storm damage that never got fixed.

 No clue what store this was. Evidently they didn't need both rows of lights as the bulbs have been pulled out of one of them.

Grant's/Kmart, Tri-State Mall, Claymont, DEThis opened as a WT Grant's in 1970, which liquidated and sold to Kmart in 1976. We actually have a strange family tradition stemming from this- towards the end of Grants' closing sale, my granddad came in and asked if there was any food left at the restaurant. The cashier joked that the pepper packets. Granddad reciprocated by buying the pepper packets, boxing them up, and giving them away for Christmas. The recipient then regifted it the following year, and it sorta just kept going. The pepper lasted longer than Kmart did, since they closed in 2014.

 Looking down the walkway in front of the old Kmart. For some reason they salted the concrete despite it being covered. Even if ice did somehow form here, is there any reason somebody would need to walk this way and the sidewalk be cleared?

 Kmart kept the red stripes on the doors, but peeled off the sections that had their logo.

 Unfortunately, this is the best look we'll be getting of the inside. Nothing too notable to see here though- 90's customer service counter and everything else from the 70's Grant's conversion.

 The garden center as viewed from the front. The store's awning sorta wrapped around the side here, and probably was originally supposed to shelter people going into the garden center's entrance in back.

 I think the enclosed part of the center was the area in back, and this part was always a sort of semi-open area. The mall cop now uses this as parking. That car looks awfully new for this mall to have, especially considering it most likely hasn't been moved since 2015. "That car is the original version of the Nissan Versa hatchback, which was made in that style from 2006-2012 to give you an idea of how old that car may be." -AFB

 Old Kmart Garden Center, with the mall's water tower in the background. I think that tower serves all of Claymont, so I figure it's only a matter of time before somebody else gets their name up on it.

 Back of the former Kmart. I'm not sure if that's a ramp or just snow pileup. Now that the glass company is using this space as a facility, I think a few more doors have been carved in back here.

 Claymont Steel Demolition, Claymont, DE
I'm not quite sure what this little brick building was. It was the only full building still up when I drove through, and as of last July was the only building left on the premises. I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic and hope this is saved.

 I was hoping these towers from the old mill were still up to be preserved in whatever they build here next. Unfortunately it looks like the demolition crews hadn't gotten to them yet.

 Gas Orb
I'm not sure what the advantage of having a spherical gas tank is, but Sunoco's Marcus Hook refinery has a few of them.

 American Viscose Factory, Marcus Hook, PA
The 60's part of the building. I didn't like how it looked at first, but it's grown on me. The steel siding's an interesting touch.

 The third building, which was added on in the 60's. It is by far the largest, and was still partially in use up until recently. As the sign says, this was at one point home to the Marcus Hook Community Center. That moved out a few ears ago, leaving this building totally vacant once again.

 Most of the windows on the middle building are boarded up. Surprisingly the entrance isn't, and hasn't been broken into yet either.

 There's a few broken windows on the building, but they've kept this sealed up tight enough that I don't think many vandals have managed to find their way in.

 The middle building, which I think was an early addition to the original one, from probably no later than the 20's.

I believe there are plans to rehabilitate these buildings, which I hope happens soon. They're neat enough and still in passable shape.

 I think this is the oldest part of the facility. It and the middle section are both in noticeably worse condition than the newest part of the factory, meaning these were most likely taken out of service earlier. I'd guess since the 2000's based on its condition.

 This was built in 1910, and was the first place to produce Rayon. From what I understand, this stayed in business until around 1990. The facility sits abandoned now, although I think these buildings that face the road were all in use more recently.

 Former Factory, Chester, PA
This building was originally a factory, which sat abandoned here until 2012. It was restored and converted into office space. I think most of the tenants are from the industrial sites nearby.

 Former Power Plant, Chester, PA

This opened as a coal power plant in 1916 and operated until 1984. After sitting abandoned for several years, it was finally fixed up and turned into offices and facilities for the Union MLS team. 

There's still two other abandoned power plants like this along the River in Philadelphia. I'm a little surprised this got fixed up before they did, seeing how Chester is a very poor city and has the highest crime rate in the state. :P

 Pharmacy/Black Moses Deli, Chester, PA

I first got a picture of this because I thought the sign was cool- the deli took over a former pharmacy and swapped out their signs on the mortar-and-pestle frame.

I researched this place some more and it unfortunately has a very sad backstory. Black Moses deli was opened in 1997 by a local couple (by the name of Moses, who were black, and apparently had a sense of humor, hence the restaurant name) that already owned a few other restaurants in town. It closed abruptly in late 2001 after the owners died in an accident, and has sat abandoned and untouched since then.

I'm not sure what those holes cut in the wall on the second floor are for, they appeared sometime after 2007 and seem to go straight through the wall. That can't be good for the structure.

 Muhammad's Market, Chester, PA

This corner store appears to have been here for a long time. The ice cream sign looks like its from the 50's.

Most businesses in Chester look something like this, there aren't too many chain stores, with the exception of dollar stores and pharmacies.

 Shipley's Seafood, Chester, PA
I can't say fr certain how long this has been abandoned, but I think the 80's would be a safe guess. The building it is built around is in deplorable shape, I'm sorta surprised the adjacent business (coincidentally also a seafood market) hasn't done anything about this.

 A&P/Dollar Tree, Chester, PA
A&P opened this store sometime in the 40's or 50's. It was closed by the time they brought around SuperFresh, and more recently operated as a discount shoe store until Dollar Tree opened in 2015.

 Howard Johnson's/Days Inn, Chester, PA
This opened in 1971 as a Howard Johnson's hotel (there was a restaurant out front that I have a picture of coming up much later). I believe the Days Inn name change came in the 90's. It was renovated in 2014, giving it its current color scheme.

 Dunkin Donuts, Brookhaven, PA

This location opened in the 80's. Aside from the occasional repaint, it remains more or less unchanged from day one.

I'm sorta curious what their plans are for this, since they haven't really been known to relocate or rebuild their freestanding locations.

Amoco, Brookhaven, PA
This opened as Amoco in the 60's. It moved out in the 80's, and the station became an auto center. It sat vacant for a little while before the current tenant redid the exterior in 2010.