Flickr Photos 42
Carino's opened here in the early 2000's, and closed around 2013. It was briefly occupied by a vegan restaurant in 2016, but that has since closed. Last spring, a new Italian restaurant opened in the space.
Wendy's built this location in 2016, on the site of a demolished Key Bank.
It seemed like kind of a waste, since the bank wasn't very old, had some neat architecture, and was roughly the size of the Wendy's.
I believe the optometrist was also a new addition.
I always thought it was strange that a wholesale club has an optical department.
This was probably Gander's last new store. It opened in September, 2016, and closed less than a year later. Surprisingly, it was not picked up by the new Gander. Update: as of mid-2018 has finally reopened as Gander Outdoor.
Produce department. Prior to the 2016 refresh, there were wooden lattices hanging over the cases. I think I prefer how they looked before.
This was part of another development that was a little slow getting on its feet. The 7/11, a service station, and a preschool were the first things built here, which takes up about half the property. As of this summer, construction was starting on the area in back of this. I'm not sure what it is yet, but it looks like it will be fairly large relative to the rest of these stores.
So as I promised a few months ago, we're finally going to get a few more interior photos of the Parker King Soopers. My exterior pic this time didn't come out, so I'm going to link my 2014 photo here.
Just to recap: this store opened in the 90's with a more regional version of Kroger's neon decor. It was remodeled to the Script decor around 2005. There were a couple minor changes made in 2015-16, including repainting the facade to a chocolate brown color, and the addition of a Little Clinic, among other things.
It began a major remodel again last summer, which I only saw the beginning stages of. I should be back here around Christmastime, so I'll be sure to get some more photos.
This is the newer of two stores in town, which opened around 2007. It was originally supposed to be part of a larger development, which came to a halt after this, a bank, and the Valero station were built. Work started back up again this summer, a charter school is now being built in the area to the back of it. There are still a couple pad sites left undeveloped, but I'm sure that will change before too long.
Unlike in Pennsylvania, Valero seems to be going strong out here. They have a few brand-new stations out there. This one was built in 2007.
This building was first built as a lawn tractor dealership. That closed in 2009, sat vacant for a couple years, and made the surprising conversion to an animal clinic in 2012. Aside from painting the front and paving the gravel parking lot, they didn't change the exterior at all.
This was built as part of one of the earliest centers out here in the 60's. The center has a few stores and restaurants in it, but this building is mostly government office space, including a post office.
I snapped a picture of this when I saw the old logo. I didn't catch the motto next to it until I was uploading these pictures. I guess that makes it easy to tell how old this is. It also seems like a really bad idea to say something like that on the side of a truck that's probably going to last for at least 30 years.
Based on the logo, we can safely assume that this is a California-based bank. This location opened in the mid-2000's.
This location first opened in the mid-90's. It was remodeled around 2010.
This was actually the first Carl's Junior I had ever eaten at. i have to say, it was pretty good.
I'm pretty sure this opened as a Conoco in the 80's, which more recently has switched to a generic brand.
This opened around the same time as the McDonald's. Although the design uses a lot of stone, they somehow got out of having to use wood. That makes more of a difference than you'd think; the building really sticks out from the rest of the center.
Sorry about the picture quality.
This McDonald's opened in the early 2000's, and was given a slightly modified design for the shopping center. They went with a mountain-style look, so there's a lot of logs and stone. I really like how this one looks.
I'm not a Target expert, but I believe this design was used from the late 80's to early 90's. It was given a major remodel sometime in the 2000's, which is when the current sign was put up.
Kohl's opened here in the early 2000's. I think it's funny how they adapted the design to fit in with local codes- just the normal design with two stone towers at either end.
King Soopers opened this store in the early/mid 2000's. I believe it opened with the script decor, but was later remodeled to Kroger's 2012 look. It is the only supermarket for miles, so I imagine it does some decent business.
Loaf N Jug, Conifer, CO
This n location was built in the early 2000's, around the same time as a King Soopers just down the road. King Soopers does not have its own gas station, which I'm assuming is by choice.
This place is sort of an everything store: grocery, restaurant, auto parts, gifts, fishing, gas, liquor, and tech support. It was formerly a Texaco, although now sells gas independently.
Inside, everything is trimmed out in wood still. I like the look and am not saying they should change, but think how much a coat of paint would modernize this.
Oh, and I also found a cowboy. Franktown is right down the road from Parker. Parker is like the textbook definition of suburbia, while just a mile down the road is still rural ranch country.
Kohl's was originally part of the department store chain, but was sold to A&P after the Kohl family left the business. A&P tried running the stores as Kohl's Food Emporium, but ultimately shut down the chain as the company's footprint shrunk. Kohl's stores were mostly in the Wisconsin area.
The part of the building on the left looks like an old Gulf station. I'm not sure if it was still a gas station when the wooden part was added, but it looks pretty old. It's now become a mountain furniture store.
Texaco had a station here from the 70's to the early 2000's. After that closed, it operated as a service center for a while before being demolished in 2014 to make way for a new Family Dollar. Despite that, the Texaco sign frame still stands.
This station lost their Phillips 66 franchise in 2015, and now sells gas generically. The store here is the closest thing Fairplay has to an actual supermarket.
This place has been a number of restaurants over the years. Throughout most of the 2000's, this was an Irish pub. That closed sometime after 2009, and was replaced by Asian Fusion in 2015.
This is one of the smaller gas stations in town. Most of the business here seems to come from tourists passing through. Fun fact: In the show South Park, the town is said to be modeled off of Fairplay. I don't see much resemblance, but I guess it's the closest match as this is the biggest town in the South Park region.
They could really use a better sign. The current one looks more like a labelscar than an actual sign.
Moo
Black Angus ranch out in the prairie.
It looked like they were cutting into the hill so they could straighten out some of the bends in the road. This looks like quite an expensive project.
This station has probably been abandoned since the 90's. Being in the desert, it hasn't had the chance to rot away, more or less preserving it.
Update: This has been restored, and is now up and running as an auto center as of August, 2018!
This station opened in the 70's as an Amoco. After that closed, the service center was turned into Gunsmoke, a general store. The gas was rebranded to Cenex, and again to Conoco sometime after 2012.
This was built in the 60's as a Phillips 66 station. It rebranded to Shell around 2010. Shell sure seems to do a lot of shuffling around here, opening and closing stations unusually often.
Coyote Cantina was a popular local Mexican restaurant. They lasted here for a while, but shut down sometime in early 2016. It recieved some very mixed reviews online, ranging from 22-86% average ratings. I love the architecture of this place, and hope somebody reopens it.
Update: Unfortunately, this place has been renovated beyond recognition. Not sure what's moving in yet, but my guess is another restaurant.
This is an older Sears Hometown store that is sort like a miniature Appliance and Hardware store.
Update: Closed as of August 2018. A new fireplace store has opened up in here.
Of the three stations Shell once had in town, this is the only one still open. The building hasn't changed much since it was built. It looked a little more interesting in person.
This is one of the last places I'd expect to find a Thai restaurant. All things considered, it looks pretty good. Or maybe I'm just hungry, who knows?
Shell gave up on this station in the late 2000's (they had 3 of them in a very small town). It was taken up by Western a few years later, who seems to have reused three of the Shell pumps.
This was a small but busy restaurant in town. Not surprising, considering that Poncha Springs doesn't have too many to choose from.
While this area may be surrounded by mountains, this shop seems a little out of place. The basin this sits in is not exactly a touristy place- miles after miles of flat, dry land. The mountains make a ring around the outside, essentially trapping sand in there, and keeping water out.
I really liked this town. It looked like it was straight out of the 1800's.
This store closed after several decades when the owner retired in 2012. I believe he still lives in the back of the store, so I didn't check this place out as much as I was originally planning to.
As evidenced by the sign post, this place at one point sold gas for Amoco. After that closed, the restaurant continued to operate until recently. It has since become an agricultural development agency named Scseed (which just sounds like something straight out of Schrute Farms if you ask me).
Abandoned Homestead, Mosca, CO
This is a very dry climate, which is great for preserving old buildings like this. I doubt anyone has used this building since the 50's.
Trust me, this wasn't photoshopped. I thought it was hilarious how out of place this looked.
A view from on top of one of the smaller dunes. This park is one of the most interesting places I've been to.
Walmart opened this store in the 90's. It was repainted in mid-2016, although the interior still has an older generation of the Project Impact décor.
Silver Ridge Lodge opened in the mid-60's. It hasn't seen much change, if any, over the years. That being said, it still felt clean and well-maintained.
I assumed this place had been here forever. It looks ancient, right?
Well, turns out this was actually operating as independent Lallier Pharmacy as recently as 2012. The Five & Dime opened in 2014.
Victoria Bar, Salida, CO
Salida has a lot of old neon signs hanging around. While this one has unfortunately had the tubing stripped from it, the bar is still open and seems pretty popular with the locals. There is also apparently a hotel on the upper floors, which they really don't do a good job advertising.
Salida is the first major town the Arkansas River flows through. It forms a little farther north in the mountains.
I thought this sign was really cool. Shame not all the letters are working, but at least it is still in use.
This hotel opened in the early 1900's , and most likely closed mid-century. It has since reopened as a restaurant that also does boat rentals. The numerous ads painted on the wall have been restored so they are all still visible.
Built in 1909, this is one of the oldest hotels in town. Over the years, this place has become a little more upscale than the original mining town lodge it was built as.
This store looks a lot like an old Ames, although I'm not sure they ever came this far west. I could also see it being a former Walmart since they have a newer store further down the road. Murdoch's has been here for a while now.
McDonald's, Salida, CO
McDonald's originally opened this location in the 70's. Surprisingly, it maintained the colonial look (complete with the wooden roof brackets!) up until it was remodeled in 2013. With a store this old, I'm surprised they remodeled rather than rebuild entirely.
Gold Mine Rock Shop, Cañon City, CO
This is a little store that seems to sell just about every kind of rock, from construction aggregate to collectibles. They built a new store on the same site a little while after I was here. Hopefully, the new store kept the old roadside sign.
Buckskin Joe was built as a movie set in 1957. The buildings in the park were all authentic pioneer buildings brought in from nearby ghost towns, mostly from a nearby one of the same name. Over the years, it was used to film over 20 different movies and TV shows, most notably 1969's True Grit. When it wasn't being used as a movie set, the site was open to the public as a Wild West theme park. In 2010, the park was sold and the historic buildings were moved to a ranch near Gunnison, CO.
The park had a tourist railroad that took people to the edge of Royal Gorge and back, which was the only part of the park to stay open after 2010. That was shut down in 2013 when the tracks were destroyed by wildfire. The remaining things were auctioned off last summer, and the property now sits abandoned.
Royal Gorge Bridge park opened in 1929, around what was then the highest bridge in the world (clocking in at 955 feet at its highest point). Over the years, several other attractions were added to the park. Unfortunately, 90% of the park was destroyed by a 2013 wildfire. Everything was lost except for the bridge itself and 4 of the original 52 buildings. Work rebuilding began in early 2014, and the park had fully reopened by mid-2015.
This location was built in the 80's. The interior hasn't been remodeled at all- it still has the original purple/red/teal striped decor. The outside has been repainted twice: once to the look you see here, and again to the current colors, which was done within the past couple months.
Walgreen's opened here in 2006. It replaced another building on the site, although I can't say for certain what it was.
Alco/Big R, Cañon City, CO
I believe this was built as an Alco in the 60's, which closed with the chain in 2015. It was quickly turned into a Big R Ranch Supply. I don't think the space was remodeled at all.
The current building here was built in 2012, on the site of an older location. I'm curious how they decide which new locations get Playplaces. It seems like they've been on a push to get them out of older locations, and not many newer ones are getting them.
Burger King first built this location in the 70's. It was remodeled in the 80's, then left alone until 2014., when it was given its current look. The bump-out next to the entrance used to be a glass atrium.
This store opened in 2008. It's not one of their more interesting-looking stores, so I'm guessing they built this on a budget.
I thought this was an interesting Ace store. That's a very 70's facade. It may have started out as something else, but I'm inclined to think this was built as a hardware store.
I thought this was an interesting Ace store. That's a very 70's facade. It may have started out as something else, but I'm inclined to think this was built as a hardware store.
Bealls is a relatively new addition to the shopping center. They moved in in 2015, in a space vacated by Famous Labels. When Bealls moved in, they repainted the center and repaved the parking lot.
Denny's opened here in the early 2000's. They closed and were replaced by IHOP sometime between 2012 and 2015. IHOP did a little work on the building when they moved in, but it still looks more or less the same as it did as Denny's.
Home Depot opened here in the 2000's. It doesn't have their standard orange vestibules- or any vestibule, for that matter. I guess this has something to do with local code, but I really have no explanation.
Instead of a contractor pick-up canopy, this store actually has a drive-thru lumber yard. You drive into the store, load up your car, and pay at a kiosk, and they'll open the gate to let you out. I thought that was really cool.
Domino's closed here around 2012. The building has sat vacant since then. I'm pretty sure this opened as something other than a Domino's, but I can't tell you what. Maybe Arthur Treacher's?
Up until 2015, this place advertised themselves as Discount Tire Co. Apparently that name was too long and not generic-sounding enough, so they ditched the "Co."
They seem to be a fairly large chain, with 42 locations in the greater Denver area.
Walgreen's opened this store in the 90's. It was given a nice remodel in recent years, but still has some very low ratings. You know I hate Walgreen's, but I swear I didn't write any of them!
I was positive this started out as a Long John Silver's. After looking into it, it appears it was always just a Dairy Queen.
Last November, this was remodeled into a Grill & Chill, obscuring the roof.
This restaurant opened in the 60's as part of the motel behind it. The motel has changed several times over the years, but the Grill has somehow managed to stay put. I feel like the two were probably related at some point, but the grill is now running its own operation.
Pueblo's Home Depot opened in the early 2000's. It was one of the first to use their current exterior design, although it was built in the size of their 90's stores. Perhaps it was still in the planning stages when they came out with the facade design.
By some miracle, this is still open over a year after I got this picture. Kmart opened here in the mid-70's. It still mostly has the Big K decor inside, with some elements of the more recent red decor scattered through. It also has bilingual signage.
Update: The exterior sign has been de-bigged as of 2018.
This bridge replacement is actually the beginning stages of a massive road construction project. The entire highway interchange surrounding it is being rebuilt. I think the roads are also being widened while they're at it.
Colorado Springs is to Denver what Conshohocken is to Philadelphia: a decently sized city right next door that's become a breeding ground for businesses.
This city is also home to the US Olympic Committee's headquarters (as advertised on the side of the train shed to the left), and is considered to be one of the best places in the state to live.
This station originally opened in the 90's or early 2000's as a Conoco. The convenience store started out as their generic brand, but was converted to a 7/11 in 2014. The following year, the station was converted to Conoco's sister chain Phillips 66. I'm not quite sure why they did that, since Conoco has a much larger presence in the area.
Domino's moved here in 2014 from a smaller location elsewhere in the center. This space was previously home to a carpet and tile store, which didn't have a name advertised on their sign, unless their name was just Carpet - Tile.
Kmart opened here in 1984 (and judging by the façade, expanded/remodeled in the 90's), and closed shortly after the 2002 bankruptcy. It was then split up between Big Lots and Hobby Lobby. Big Lots didn't make it, and closed in 2013. It sat vacant for a while, but was finally leased out sometime after I got this picture. The facade was redone, covering up the old Kmart look, and the inside was gutted out. I'm not sure what's moving in yet, but I'll report back when I find out.
Update: Looks like a Planet Fitness!
This sign made me laugh. I had to put up a picture of it.
It also seemed like an appropriate segue back to my Colorado pictures. :P
McDonald's opened this location in the 90's, and has been remodeled twice. The first remodel was in 2008, although they didn't eyebrow the building, only repainted the green mansard to a copper color. That was ripped off altogether in 2013, when it was redone again to its current look. In the early days of my photostream, I put up an older (but still post-remodel) picture of this place; I decided to post this one, too, since it shows the whole building.
I thought it was neat how they kept the brick outlines from the old mansard roof.
As I was leaving the restaurant we ate dinner at, the sun was starting to go down. It looked neat, so I took a picture. My phone washed out a lot of the color but it still looks cool.
Papa John's opened here in the late 90's. The red facade was surprisingly a recent addition. It used to be the standard beige color everything else around here is.
Waffle House opened here in the early 2000's. I'm not sure if it was local codes that stopped them from using their usual 60's-style facade, but this one just got cinderblock.
This is one of my favorite restaurants, but I unfortunately can't find an excuse to get it very often. Their closest location to me is out in Lancaster, about an hour away.
After sitting vacant for a little over a year, the short-lived Lionville BB&T finally has a new tenant: uFinancial. From what I can tell, they are not another bank. It looks like they exclusively deal with financial advising. They only have 10 locations, and they are spread out all over the state. Since they currently have a location a couple miles down the road in Exton, I think this is going to be a replacement and not a new location.
Last week, work began on a new town center in Downingtown, too. The borough's biggest eyesore was finally condemned, and will be replaced by a retail/apartment complex and a new train station.
Work started across the street, demolishing a block of mostly abandoned houses. I imagine they will be moving onto this behemoth sometime next week.
Some More good News From Coventry Mall
Since I'm coming off of Thanksgiving Break, I thought it would be an appropriate time to stick in some updates for what's going on around home.
The Coventry Mall is continuing to fix itself up, and is currently a complete mess because all the stores are being shuffled around. The block of stores across the hall from Pier 1 have all been dispersed throughout the mall, so Jo-Ann Fabrics could carve out a new larger store, to replace their current location in the strip mall out back. I think Giant still might be interested in building a new store on that site, without knocking down the old SuperFresh (which is now a floor & carpet store).
FYE moved out of their original location, and into the former Abercrombie & Fitch. The original store, along with the two vacant spots next to it, have been gutted out and are being converted to a gym. I think the new FYE is a temporary setup, since they didn't do any remodeling of the old A&F, and even reused the signage from their old location. My guess is that a new space is being built out for them.
The former Ross finally has a new tenant: a medical center.
I think that by the time things settle down, Coventry will be back up to at least 80% occupancy (it was around 60 when I last covered it).
It took a little while, but I finally found an excuse to shop here and check it out.
It's been a few weeks since I first showed you this store, so just to recap: this opened in 2015 on the site of an older King Soopers that closed around ten years prior.
Housewares on the left, pharmacy on the right. This was the first supermarket I've been to that sold furniture. It's also the first one I've seen with a jewelry store inside.
Park Meadows opened in 1996 as the largest mall in the Denver area. The original anchors were Dillard's, United Artists (later Galyan's, now Dick's), Nordstrom, and JCPenney. The following year, Foley's (now Macy's), and Jouslin's (which we'll discuss in the next picture [Edit: now that that's been deleted: it later became Lord & Taylor, which closed in 2006, was demolished, and replaced with outdoor shopping]) were added to the mall. This mall doesn't have much competition, so it stays pretty busy. I believe the Macy's here is one of the chain's top stores.
Tractor Supply built this store in 2013. It's a standalone store with an unusually large outdoor section, probably because of the ranches nearby.
Safeway first opened here in the 80's. It was given a halfhearted remodel to the lifestyle decor a few years ago, but still retains the open ceiling and old lighting.
RadioShack opened here in the mid-90's. Unfortunately, it shut down in the bankruptcy.
Walgreens opened here in the mid 2000's. I think this one is slightly smaller than the average store, which doesn't really make sense, given the amount of open land around it.
These opened around the same time as the Taco Bell behind them. I'm not sure how this works, since Yum divested A&W a couple years ago.
There were a couple phases of construction in this center. The first went from the mid-90's to the early 2000's, and the second began in 2015. Taco Bell was one of the later parts of phase 1.
Heading back home, if you couldn't tell by the last 11 pictures in this set. :P
Somewhere over the Midwest. It sorta reminds me of a quilt.
Hope Creek began operation in 1986. It's a somewhat small plant, with only one cooling tower. It's separated from civilization by several miles of swamp, so it's pretty safe.
SuperFresh opened this store in the 80's, as one of their Futurestores. They converted this to Food Basics, their discount concept, which didn't last too long. The right of the store was turned into a liquor store, the middle into a Bottom Dollar (Now Aldi), and the left still sits vacant. The Futurestore facade is still visible on both sides. Here's what it looked like when BDF was under construction.
Grant City was added onto the shopping center in 1970. It was bought by Kmart a few years later, after Grant's went bankrupt.
The LA Fitness on the left was built as a Penn Fruit in 1965, and was sold to ACME following their bankruptcy. This was one of two remaining stores they picked up from Penn Fruit at the time it closed in 2012, leaving only Audubon.
Shoprite is known for having some pretty dated stores. This one is probably among the crustiest. It opened in the 80's, and hasn't had a remodel since then. It still actually has the old logo up on the front. All the interior signage is neon, so I definitely want to check this store out before something happens to it.
Shoprite opened here in the late 80's, and moved in 2002. In 2014, about a third of the store was turned into a health clinic. The rest still sits empty.
ACME opened this store in the mid-90's. It was given a slight remodel around 2009, but still keeps all of the old red/white/blue decor's trimwork.
This mall opened in 2015. Funny thing is, it's closer to Philadelphia than the actual Philadelphia Premium Outlets. I guess they decided that it's more trouble than its worth renaming the preexisting mall.
A&P operated here from the 60's until 1975. The green metal facade that was put over the walkway made me think it could have been a SuperFresh at one point, but that is unlikely given the time it closed. It most recently operated as Sure Value IGA, which closed around 2010. The center is currently being redeveloped, so I'm assuming they have a new tenant lined up.
Walgreens opened here in the mid-2000's. I think the solar panels here were a more recent addition. You can't tell they're there from street level, thanks to a parapet wall. That would indicate that they were original, but I know of a lot of newer locations that don't have them.
Three years after the old Chinese restaurant was taken out (pun definitely intended) the new expansion to the shopping center has been finished.
Petvalu and a health clinic have since moved in. One space is now vacant.
So this is the fifth photo I'm putting up of this place, and it won't be the last. I figure since I have a decent picture of it while it was open, I might as well post it.
This opened in the 70's, replacing an older 60's location across the street (which, surprisingly, has remained more intact than this one). 7/11 relocated down the road again in the 80's. It later became Sleepy's, which was bought out by Mattress Firm earlier this year. Update: It was heavily remodeled in 2018, then strangely closed later that year.
ACME opened this store in 1966. It was one of their first "Colonial Cottage" model stores. The pyramid tower was added in the mid-90's. The pyramid design had two variants- one for the smaller, older stores, as seen here (Unfortunately, I think those are all closed now), and a two-pyramid variety for the larger stores. It wasn't used for long: the brick fortress design replaced it pretty quickly.
ACME closed this store down in 2003, after doubling their nearby Devon store in size.
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