Strawbridge's/Macy's, Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem, PA
This opened as a Strawbridge's in 1968, which was sold to Macy's in 2006. They closed down this, along with most other former Strawbridge's locations, in early 2017.
Lit Bros/Pomeroy's/Bon-Ton/Boscov's, Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem, PA
This was part of the mall's first expansion, which opened in 1974 and closed with the chain in 1977. It was quickly replaced by Pomeroy's, which Bon-Ton bought in 1987. Bon-Ton closed not long after in 1994, and was replaced by Boscov's the following year.
Hopping back over to Macy's, liquidation was about halfway done at this point. Most of the remaining merchandise was consolidated onto the main floor, leaving the basement for fixtures and a limited supply of furniture on the top floor.
The staircase, heading down to the basement.
Blurry look at the basement. That red carpet's definitely a Strawbridge's holdover- not that there were many things in this store that weren't. Macy's did practically nothing here.
Fixtures lined up for sale. It was a little strange how they had the spotlights turned on here, but the fluorescent ones off. I would have expected it to be the other way around.
A darker, emptier corner of the basement.
The mannequins here looked unsettling. The way they were all together made me think they were ganging up to revolt against the management.
One of my favorite things about 60's/70's Strawbridge's stores were the massive chandeliers they had over the staircases. Even with stores with the same design, the chandeliers were all different.
The appliances department still seems pretty well stocked. That bright red tile looks very 80's, which was probably the last time this store was remodeled.
I want to say this was on the top floor, but don't remember for certain.
Beds, which were definitely on the top floor. This department seemed pretty fully stocked as well.
Furniture, also on the top floor. This section of the store was walled off from the rest of the floor, which I thought was pretty weird.
Parts of the bedding department are starting to get that mid-liquidation entropy look.
Other parts of the top floor were totally blocked off. I think the one thing Macy's did here was downsize.
Most of the top floor was emptied out totally.
This was the main part of the store, between the mall-side entrance and staircase. Most Strawbridge's of this style had the same layout here, with the terrazzo flooring and higher ceiling. It's not a great picture but it was an important enough part of the store I felt obliged to include it.
The entrances facing the parking lot had these neat backlit signs above them, which I'd assume were original to when this store opened. The lights here aren't set into the ceiling because they were added more recently (probably in the 80's). This store originally would have had round recessed incandescent lights.
Mall-side picture of the store, complete with the landmark Lenape Indian fountain.
Here's how it looked when Strawbridge's first opened (if you look closely, the drywall ceiling wasn't even painted yet!). This picture's misleading- the mall is only one story. Strawbridge's just stuck a balcony above the entrance for some reason. I'm assuming this would have been their sit-down restaurant originally.
Aeropostale, one of a few stores carved out of the former Woolworth.
Sears, the other original tenant to the mall, which eventually wound up closing in January, 2019. I have a feeling with two vacant anchors, this mall is going to start drying up quickly.
A recently-closed Zumiez. This wouldn't sit vacant for long; Foot Locker moved from their original location into this, which means this space has come full circle. It was also part of the old Woolworth, whose company evolved into Foot Locker.
A quick glance down the Boscov's hallway. Boscov's redid their
mall-side façade when they expanded the store in 2015.
I agree about the mannequins, and also the basement lighting being eerie. I wonder if they did it that way because having just the smaller spotlight fixtures was cheaper? (Or at least, they felt like that would be the case? I'm not so sure that's how electricity bills work, but the logic of smaller lights = less money is one that clicks easily, regardless of its truth :P )
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about it from an energy standpoint, but I think you're right. I'm pretty sure those spotlights had LED bulbs in them, and the larger lights were fluorescent. Those would use a lot less energy.
DeleteAh, good! Glad that had some logic to it and I wasn't just talking out of nowhere XD
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