Drive-By Photos 24
Penn Fruit/Old Navy, Wynnewood, PA
This most likely opened in the 50's as a Penn Fruit, which closed in 1977. The façade tries to hide it, but it has an arched roof which is still visible inside, too. I doubt Old Navy has been operating out of here for almost 40 years, but I'm unsure what it was in the middle. Update: Was Food Fare in between.
As luck would have it, I happened to get a perfect picture for Independence Day last week! One of my cousins was up from Florida, so I took her on a quick tour of Philly. What this picture doesn't show is the massive crowd of Taiwanese tourists each coming up individually to get pictures with the bell. We ran by and took a selfie when there appeared to be a break in the crowd.
This room is nearly complete; all that needs to be done is adding the flooring and new lighting.
This was taken not long after my last photo and shows the building fully converted to a BB&T. The roadside sign has had the Susquehanna logo scraped off, BB&T will have theirs put up before too long. Update: Closed as of 7/17/16. They have relocated to the National Penn across the street.
It took me until about a year after they closed for me to finally get a picture. :P
Good thing I didn't wait any longer, or I would have missed my shot! Starbucks completely redid this building when they moved in this past spring. It's hard to tell there was ever even a Taco Bell, let alone Burger King, in the building! You can see it when it was open as a Taco Bell here, and after BK closed here.
I already have a picture of the pump side, but I decided to put one up of the side facing 113 as well. This is a very unusual gas station. It's still full service, so you have to go inside and get the cashier to pump the gas for you. As a result, it is open very limited hours. You can almost always find a police officer or two standing around in here, talking politics with the cashier over coffee. The store itself is only three aisles, but has a wide selection. You can get anything from sandwiches to chainsaw blades here.
This bag probably dates back to the early 90's.
This was built in 2012 in a corn field right next to the Rt. 30 Bypass. Given that this was built from the ground up as a CVS on such a large lot, I can't think of any reason why they put the entrance in the middle of the store.
This location opened in the 60's, and closed in the late 90's as a SuperFresh. Afterwards, it became Amelia's Grocery Outlet, which was bought by a chain just called "Grocery Outlet" in 2014.
Judging by the building this station is operating out of, I would assume it was originally a general store that sold gas. The Coastal chain went under in 2002, Sheller took over this station not too long after that.
This was built the same time as the Wawa, opening around 2005. The work they did trying to make this fancier than usual really didn't come across. I think it would have looked better using their standard design. It might just be the angle the photo was taken from, but it appears the sign facing the Wawa (right) is larger than the one facing Rt. 30 (left).
This location opened around 2005 as a relocation/combination of the two Thorndale Wawas. Update: Remodeled 2017.
Service King bought out Grand Sport early last year, rebranding every one of them. This location appears to have been closed instead. This sign is a little misleading. The former garage itself was a couple miles down the road from the sign, which was probably placed here for more visibility from Rt. 30.
This was most likely built in the mid-70's along with the Kmart behind it. This looks like it may have been a bank originally. I see some similarities between this and some old First Pennsylvania locations.
Rite Aid, Westtown, PA
This opened in January, 2016. It was built on the site of a former PNC Bank. It replaced a former Eckerd across the street. The Giant took over the lease of that store and the one next to it so they could expand. I believe they are now waiting for Citizens Bank's lease to run out before they start work.
Those loading docks have to be original.
This was built as a Grant City, part of W. T. Grant's, in 1971. Kmart took over the space shortly after they closed, and lasted until Lowe's bought their lease in spring 2015.
Catnapped has a very in-depth stour while it was still open. It can be found here.
I suppose that's one way to disguise a cell tower. :P
Wawa, Frazer, PA
I know this picture is from a strange vantage point. I was driving out the parking lot when I realized I forgot to get a picture of the outside of this. I was more focused on the road, but tried to get a picture with my free hand. This is why I usually try to convince whoever is in the passenger seat to get the photos for me. :P
UPDATE: Remodeled Fall 2016
Linden Hall, Frazer, PA
It looks like plans to raze this house and build a shopping center have fallen through. Townhomes are now being built around the back of the property, and they are now trying to lease the house out as an office.
Sports Authority, Exton, PA
This opened in the early 90's, and was heavily remodeled in 2013. Their final day of business will be July 28.
I completely forgot I had this picture. This is the same store I posted yesterday (above), prior to the 2013 remodel.
Giant Christmas Decorations
So what if it's mid-July? These pictures were taken in late November last year. I liked how they decorated the store for the holidays. They had lights strung up along the front of the store as well. Giant is the only store in our area that really goes all out decorating. It really feels more festive.
Old Gas Sign, Springfield, PA
I think this probably dates back to the 70's or earlier. I'm not sure if they're still using it. The price seems a little off for the time the picture was taken.
America's Choice Soda
This is the greatest lemon-lime soda I think I have ever tasted. My uncle disagreed, so he gave me this almost full pack. I still have a couple cans left that I'm saving for a special occasion. If anyone knows the company that made this for A&P, I'm dying to know where I can get some more!
America's Choice Syrup
My uncle was always a dedicated Pathmark shopper. Even a couple months after his store closed, he still had some A&P products sitting around. I snagged some pictures while visiting.
Fairfield Inn Remodel
If I had remembered I had this picture coming up today, I wouldn't have made you suffer through that freakishly zoomed-out one from yesterday. The new tower on the right has been painted white, which sadly may be the permanent color, the way things are looking, The windows under the black portion of the façade are being removed, They will be replaced with smaller windows before too long.
Exton Sears Auto Center
When Sears and Kmart merged, it didn't really make sense for the company to have two auto centers in the same mall. They understandably decided to keep the newer, larger standalone Sears one. With all the Auto Centers SHC has been shutting down lately, I am surprised that this hasn't been one of them. I guess it must be really profitable! Update: Spoke too soon. This closed, although the Sears itself remains open.
Exton Wendy's Remodel
I also had a picture of this I forgot to upload from 2013, but I could not find it (hence there being only 9 photos in this set; I couldn't add another to make up for it without starting another stour a day early) This held off almost three years after Fairfied Plaza was remodeled before work began on this. The new Wendy's look is my favorite new fast food design. It seems so much less generic than McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Burger King.
Sloan Ford RemodelIt looks like they may be putting a wall over the windows. Wouldn't it have been easiest to remove the windows first, like they did on the other side? To the left of the former entrance, framing has begun for the new entryway.
Sears Hardware, Phoenixville, PA
This opened the same time as the Kmart and Giant did. Before they built the Home Depot in Downingtown, we did most of out hardware shopping here. It was great. I remember they used to have a popcorn machine in front, that I would eat from every time. A couple of years ago, we stopped by here again on the way home from somewhere. It was the most depressed looking store you could imagine. It was completely disorganized, and the shelves were nowhere near fully stocked. The popcorn machine was still running, thankfully. Flash forward to 2016- Sears Holdings ditched the hardware stores. Most became Sears Appliance & Hardware, but this one was converted into an outlet. They pretty much stripped out everything from the inside, painted it all grey, and filled it with scratch-and-dent products. It can be seen in the background of this picture as Sears Hardware.
Kmart, Phoenixville, PA
I know this picture is from a strange vantage point. I was driving out the parking lot when I realized I forgot to get a picture of the outside of this. I was more focused on the road, but tried to get a picture with my free hand. This is why I usually try to convince whoever is in the passenger seat to get the photos for me. :P
UPDATE: Remodeled Fall 2016
It looks like plans to raze this house and build a shopping center have fallen through. Townhomes are now being built around the back of the property, and they are now trying to lease the house out as an office.
This opened in the early 90's, and was heavily remodeled in 2013. Their final day of business will be July 28.
So what if it's mid-July? These pictures were taken in late November last year. I liked how they decorated the store for the holidays. They had lights strung up along the front of the store as well. Giant is the only store in our area that really goes all out decorating. It really feels more festive.
I think this probably dates back to the 70's or earlier. I'm not sure if they're still using it. The price seems a little off for the time the picture was taken.
This is the greatest lemon-lime soda I think I have ever tasted. My uncle disagreed, so he gave me this almost full pack. I still have a couple cans left that I'm saving for a special occasion. If anyone knows the company that made this for A&P, I'm dying to know where I can get some more!
My uncle was always a dedicated Pathmark shopper. Even a couple months after his store closed, he still had some A&P products sitting around. I snagged some pictures while visiting.
If I had remembered I had this picture coming up today, I wouldn't have made you suffer through that freakishly zoomed-out one from yesterday. The new tower on the right has been painted white, which sadly may be the permanent color, the way things are looking, The windows under the black portion of the façade are being removed, They will be replaced with smaller windows before too long.
When Sears and Kmart merged, it didn't really make sense for the company to have two auto centers in the same mall. They understandably decided to keep the newer, larger standalone Sears one. With all the Auto Centers SHC has been shutting down lately, I am surprised that this hasn't been one of them. I guess it must be really profitable! Update: Spoke too soon. This closed, although the Sears itself remains open.
I also had a picture of this I forgot to upload from 2013, but I could not find it (hence there being only 9 photos in this set; I couldn't add another to make up for it without starting another stour a day early) This held off almost three years after Fairfied Plaza was remodeled before work began on this. The new Wendy's look is my favorite new fast food design. It seems so much less generic than McDonald's, Taco Bell, or Burger King.
This opened the same time as the Kmart and Giant did. Before they built the Home Depot in Downingtown, we did most of out hardware shopping here. It was great. I remember they used to have a popcorn machine in front, that I would eat from every time. A couple of years ago, we stopped by here again on the way home from somewhere. It was the most depressed looking store you could imagine. It was completely disorganized, and the shelves were nowhere near fully stocked. The popcorn machine was still running, thankfully. Flash forward to 2016- Sears Holdings ditched the hardware stores. Most became Sears Appliance & Hardware, but this one was converted into an outlet. They pretty much stripped out everything from the inside, painted it all grey, and filled it with scratch-and-dent products. It can be seen in the background of this picture as Sears Hardware.
This opened right before the bankruptcy, making it the newest Kmart in the state. It was actually announced that this location would be closing months after it opened, but they changed their minds. I would imagine that they were looking at sales, and this store was a little low since it hadn't been open even three months yet. Update: It couldn't be saved a second time- closing January 2019.
Exton Wawa Remodel Update
Putting the stone pillars on the canopy was a genius idea. It looks so much less cheesy than it used to.
Once they finished pulling everything off the front, the new façade actually went up pretty quickly. It was open by the end of the week.
Wawa, Chester Springs, PA
Former Lionville Natural Pharmacy
A look inside before everything gets cleared out.
Nova/LNP, Lionville, PA
Lionville Natural Pharmacy finally opened the doors on their new store in early December last year. Here's what the building looked like before they moved in.
Wawa, Downingtown, PA (South)
This was built around 2006 on an old industrial property. I'm not sure whether it was part of Sonoco or a separate site. Wawa is surprisingly still using the original parking lot lights in addition to the ones they installed. This location is unusual- it has an entrance on either side of it, since most of the parking space is in back.
Phar-Mor/Wegmans/Stein Mart, Downingtown, PA
Wegman's was in the process of opening their Downingtown location elsewhere in the center, and had an agreement to take over the files from Phar-Mor when they closed. Either Wegmans' construction took longer than anticipated, or Phar-Mor went out of business early. In order to keep their agreement, Wegmans took over this store and operated it until their main store was completed. Stein Mart opened in 2004.
EB/Gamestop, Downingtown, PAEB Games had the area here thoroughly saturated. Their headquarters was nearby in West Chester, which probably explains why. Surprisingly, Gamestop kept all these locations open, as well as the ones they were operating beforehand. As a result, they have three locations within a two mile radius.
Putting the stone pillars on the canopy was a genius idea. It looks so much less cheesy than it used to.
This one opened in 2004 as part of an effort to build up Chester Springs. There were a ton of houses being built in the area at the time, and they wanted more stores within the immediate area. Being a more upscale location, they used stone facing instead of the traditional yellow stucco for the bottom portion of the walls. This is one of the few instances where I prefer this design over the new one.
Despite being a very nice location, it doesn't exactly have a positive reputation. There was a stabbing here in 2012, which seemed to have scared off a fair portion of the clientele.
Over the years, the store seems to have recovered to the point where Wawa feels like investing in it some more. This was remodeled this past March. It doesn't exactly feel too unique anymore. :(
A look inside before everything gets cleared out.
Lionville Natural Pharmacy finally opened the doors on their new store in early December last year. Here's what the building looked like before they moved in.
This was built around 2006 on an old industrial property. I'm not sure whether it was part of Sonoco or a separate site. Wawa is surprisingly still using the original parking lot lights in addition to the ones they installed. This location is unusual- it has an entrance on either side of it, since most of the parking space is in back.
Wegman's was in the process of opening their Downingtown location elsewhere in the center, and had an agreement to take over the files from Phar-Mor when they closed. Either Wegmans' construction took longer than anticipated, or Phar-Mor went out of business early. In order to keep their agreement, Wegmans took over this store and operated it until their main store was completed. Stein Mart opened in 2004.
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