First National Bank of Chester County, West Chester, PA
I know I've detailed on the history of this bank in the past, so I'll keep it short this time. This bank was chartered by the state legislature in 1814 after the First Bank of the US's charter wasn't renewed. In the late 1800's, it split between National Bank of Chester County and
First National Bank of Chester County. Many buildings were added onto the complex over the years, mostly by First National, which in its later years was rebranded 1N. This one was added by 1N in 1912. 1N was bought by Susquehanna in the 2000's, who in turn was bought by BB&T in 2015.
This building is the oldest in the complex, actually predating the bank. It was built in 1792, and the bank moved in from their previous location in 1818 (meaning this building has been continuously operating as a bank for over 200 years). This building became NBCC when they split, which was bought by Fidelity Bank in 1987. Through a series of mergers, it is now Wells Fargo.
This was my favorite building in the complex. It opened in 1837 and currently serves as Wells Fargo's main banking hall.
The door isn't as big as it looks. There's a smaller set of doors within it that open up to the bank.
Grandway/Kmart, West Chester, PA
This store was built in 1959 as a Grandway, one of their two PA locations which were the only connection Grand Union ever had to the state. Kmart bought the chain in 1979, this store was a success right off the bat. In 1996, it was expanded and renovated. It was given an interior remodel twice more since then. As of 2019, it is the only former Grandway still up and operating as a Kmart, and the only Kmart (out of 5 at one point) left in Chester County.
It was remodeled to the red-and-white look in 2011. Prior to that, it had the orange and brown décor.
I haven't seen cosmetics shelves like these at any other locations. I'm assuming these were from the 90's expansion.
I'm fairly certain those pillars are where the original store ended, the expansion is just beyond that. The K on the wall's from the orange and brown remodel (which might have been my favorite décor of theirs).
One thing I really like about this store is its wide aisles.
Looking to the front of the store from hardware.
Another K on the wall. These were backlit originally, but were turned off at some point. There were also spotlights installed in the orange remodel that were removed, but the track was left behind.
I'm not positive, but those pictures on the back wall might also be from the orange look. That CFL bulb is really starting to make this look dated.
Tiny little layaway counter, with restrooms off to the side of it.
Some parts of the store had a faux wooden floor, which I thought was a nice touch. I'm not sure what remodel that would have come with.
I know a few stores with lighting like this have replaced them with nicer looking fixtures. I'm curious how this store survived so many remodels without these being upgraded.
The area off to the right used to be the Kcafe, which was taken out in the orange remodel.
Swiss Farms, West Chester, PA
This location opened in the late 90's and semi-closed in 2017. Swiss Farms still owns and uses the building, but only for wholesale.
These pictures were from shortly before they closed. They were closed on weekends when I stopped by, which unfortunately happened to be on a weekend.
The drive-thru is more enclosed here than at other locations.
Westtown, Pre-Demolition
In the time between demolition and closure, they were removing asbestos. I was a little surprised by that, since this was built a few years after asbestos was banned.
The back of the store. It looks like it used to be green; the cream-colored paint was probably put up by Clemens.
Porta-potties would indicate the water to the building has been cut off at this point.
A lot of land has been cleared behind the store in preparation for construction. Since the property's fairly small, they had to build the new store much deeper and narrower than usual.
Excavator parked out front, ready to tear into the building.
This was the best view I could get into the building through the papered-over windows.
Staples, Downingtown, PA
This store opened in 2000, and was downsized in 2016. I'm not quite sure why they did, as the vacant part is still empty.
The wall on the right was put in when the store shrunk.
When they downsized, they replaced the carpeting and décor. It's a pretty nice location.
One thing I don't like about Staples is how dark the aisles are.
The front of the store's usually much brighter. In addition to the shorter shelves, there's 2 bulbs in each light instead of 1.
This was the best view I could get of the downsized portion. Between the sun and how dark it was inside, I couldn't get a good photo this time.
Grand Union has more of a connection to PA than you think. The company was actually founded in Scranton, and headquartered there until the 1950's when they moved the HQ to New Jersey. They also had stores in Matamoras and Milford until the company collapsed in 2001 (although the Milford store lingered on a bit longer as a GU Family Market).
ReplyDeleteAlso, those bookshelves in the West Chester Kmart were from the orange remodel done around 2007/2008-ish, so I'm guessing the matching wood floors would have been from that same remodel as well.
Never knew that! Did they ever go into southern PA?
DeleteThat makes sense about the shelves. The orange look was pretty nice, I wish they stuck with it.
I think Grand Union retreated from most of PA in the 1940's, only coming back later on for those Grandways and those few stores on the fringes of NEPA. Grand Union left their home territory of the Wyoming Valley a really long time ago, long before supermarkets in shopping centers were a common thing. If Grand Union was ever in Southern PA, they had to have left that area by the 40's or 50's. It's weird Grand Union would later expand into far-flung places like North Carolina and Florida in the 50's and 60's, yet not pay much attention into going into PA again, which was so much closer to their headquarters and was the state of their founding.
ReplyDelete