More Flickr Photos
So I went through my entire photostream trying to keep very little up, but was still at 1,677 photos by the time I was done. Now, I'm going back through a second time with some stricter criteria on what to keep.
Arco/Vinny's, Chester Springs, PA
Eckerd, Macungie, PA
Looks like a 2000's store that Rite-Aid didn't take or was unsuccessful with.
Weis, Emmaus, PA
SuperFresh/Redner's, Lionville, PA
Sunoco, Chester Springs, PA
Opened in 1992 as a Sunoco with a Country Cupboard convenience store, which was later rebranded to A Plus. The station has been entirely renovated in the last couple years. Signs and lights have been replaced, store redone, pumps replaced, decals refreshed with others just like the old ones.
Frazer Diner, Frazer, PAThe Frazer Diner opened in the 1940's, and has done pretty well since then. One of the coolest restaurants you will find.
P&F Barn, Malvern, PA
This was an old barn that was converted into offices and a P&F Plumbing Fittings in the 1980's, was abandoned by the early 2000's. At the time this photo had been taken, the roof had been rebuilt and work had started converting it to Pinnacle Integrated Systems.
Genuardi's/Giant, Edgmont, PA
This was an earlier '90's store, had closed shortly before Giant bought out most of the chain. Since Genuardi's still had the lease, Giant reopened this store. The picture was taken shortly before Giant began work. Update: The Staples next door has closed.
I held off on posting these originally because they weren't high-quality pictures, but I stopped by here again, as it is now a Giant, which has completely remodeled the store. We can see the 90's flooring and checkout lights in front, but the 2000's aisle markers. I wonder if it ever got the full remodel, though.
Lionville Shopping Center
Pennhurst Power Plant, Spring City, PA
Looks like a power plant or factory that was part of the Pennhurst Insane Asylum, Which was open from the late 1800's to 1988. Some of the buildings have been repurposed, but the majority lie in ruins. CONFIRMED: it was the power plant.
Wawa, Kimberton, PA
Sunoco, Ludwig's Corner, PA
The service center has been converted to the A Plus Convenience store, the station itself is a Sunoco.
Weis/Ollie's, Pottstown, PA
Opened in the early 60's as a Weis, which moved in 1995, and closed in 2013. Ollie's took over at some point, keeping the Weis façade intact.
Arco/Citgo, Pottstown, PA
Looks like a 60's Arco, which at some point became a Citgo, which surprisingly still open!
Eckerd/Rite Aid, North Coventry, PA
Newtown Square Post Office
Closed in 2012-ish and was gutted shortly after. It sat like this for a while, and was turned into a mini strip mall early 2015.
Shell/Oceanic/Gulf, Newtown Square, PA
A 60's Sinclair gas station, at some point became Oceanic. UPDATE: In mid-2015 has been converted to a gulf.
Hallman's Gulf, Chester Springs, PA
Was Hallman's General store originally, then the owner bought a Gulf Franchise. Still has was I assume are the original pumps.
West Whiteland Township Building, Exton, PA
Built in the 70's, moved in the early 2000's, demolished in 2013 to make room for additional parking. Porch had been removed in this picture to in early stages of demolition.
China King/Ruchi, Exton, PA
Probably built in the 1960's, heavily remodeled in 2011-12, when the rooms on the right were built. Converted to Ruchi Indian Cuisine in 2014.
Winner's Circle, Exton, PA
Sports bar, probably opened in the 90's, the shopping center was built in the mid-80's. Recently converted to Doc Watson's pub. Like with China King, there was no in between period. The old owners sold it. Update: Demolished 2017 for a CVS.
Montesano Bros, Chester Springs, PA
Built in the '70's as a deli (which they have a picture of inside), more recently became Montesano Bros, suffered a massive fire in 2013 (which they also have a picture of inside). Rebuilding is seen in this picture. They have since reopened.
ACME, Chester Springs, PA
Opened in 2003, has Albertson's Marketplace décor. I actually know a lot of the employees here, so this is my preferred shopping destination.
Blockbuster/Liberty Union, Chester Springs, PA
TD, Paoli, PAPretty sure this was an M&T Bank, but I could be wrong. This was built or redone probably in the 80's, closed around 2012. Currently vacant. Update: Okay- turns out that it was a TD Bank that relocated when they bought out Commerce Bank.
VIP/Potts & Penn Diner, Pottstown, PAGlitzy steel diner, probably from the 50's. Has been redone since photo was taken. Update: This style of diner was manufactured in the late 40's. This was built in 1947.
Pizza World, Limerick, PA
roadside sign. The empty space used to have one of those panels where you could switch out the letters, the other side still had one as of last time I saw it. A bar/grille near us actually has a photo of this sign on the wall. I just found out that it was renamed Pizza World in the 70's, but I could find nothing on its original name. It was probably something with five letters. UPDATE: December 2015: Sign is gone. :(
Opened in 1956, has a pretty interesting story. So, for those of you who don't know, Daryl Hall and John Oates, members of 70's pop group Hall & Oates, were from Pottstown, which is very close to this place. They ate here frequently according to online sources. This place was owned by the same man who owned a diner that was previously across the street, which had closed by the 70's. This diner, formerly the Rosedale Diner, was used on the album cover of Hall & Oates' "Abandoned Luncheonette". The permissions papers for using the old diner were signed across the street, at Pizza World. Within the next few years, the old diner was ripped to shreds by souvenir-seeking Hall & Oates fans, and had to be demolished. Pizza World remained open until the 1990's, when it was shut down due to a murder. Turkey Hill owns the property and has the intent of building a store there, but in the words of Daryl Hall, I can't go for that, no can do.
The restaurant in it's entirety.
I can imagine that at one point, these looked like UFO's at night. There were a couple of these in the parking lot, which seems a bit overkill for a tiny restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
Hanging Lake, Colorado
Looks cool. Really has nothing else to do with the rest of this besides that it was in the same folder. My camera groups the pictures by the month they were taken, so there is a lot of diversity there.
ACME, Paulsboro, NJ
70's décor still completely intact! In this picture, there is flooring, its just dirty enough to pass for concrete. Both the flooring and the ceiling were taken out recently, probably for asbestos issues.
Dairy, the paneling is starting to fall off of the walls.
Looking towards the produce wall.
Late 60's store, closed in the 90's when the Willingboro store opened. Has fallen into serious disrepair since then. Since this picture was taken, not much has changed on the outside, aside from some more windows being boarded up.
Road sign. As of now, none of these stores are still open. ACME would have originally had either the top sign or the one under it, at the other side of the center was WT Grant's.
front doors closed off.
Looks better on the other side. Anyone know what is in that wooden outcropping up top?
In back, awning over the delivery doors is starting to fall through.
Hechinger/ACME, Exton, PA
Opened as Hechinger Hardware in the 80's, relocated to Downingtown in the 90's where it closed in 2004, to become a Wegman's immediately thereafter. Acme opened in 1997 and closed in 2014. It had Albertson's Marketplace décor. ACME has yet to remove the furnishings from this store, one year, 2 months, and 16 days after the fact. Update: Now a Hobby Lobby as of 2016.
Front corner, floral is to the left.
General overview of the store
Seafood. The marketplace remodel was really more of a repaint here. Most of the '90's décor is visible here. To see what it would have looked like originally, please refer to my pictures of the Morrisville store.
Produce. Store opened in the mid-90's after the Hechinger in the center relocated. Originally had R/W/B décor, got the Marketplace décor, closed Feb. 20, 2014.
Beijing Garden, Greybull, WYNot sure what this was originally, looking at Google Maps indicates it was something with Main Street in the name.
Canyon Lodge Restaurant, Yellowstone Park
Appears to have opened in the 50's, when they were doing a bunch of upgrades here. Has some really sexy architecture.
Close-Up of the side of the building.
Giant, Audubon, PA
An 80's store, had been remodeled in the early 2000's, where the slanted sides of the awning were covered. Correction: Opened 1996.
Produce in all its glory
Deli has 2 different signs, this being the old, previous image being the new. By the way, a couple pictures ago, I said this was an interesting store, I should clarify that this is interesting, not necessarily good. As far as Giants go, it is tiny, dark in the corners, and a bit run-down.
Meanwhile, the deli has received the deluxe version of the newer décor.
Bakery, has the newer pillars on the sides, but otherwise is all old décor.
The meats wall, tiles have been replaced with the v. 2 murals.
Dairy wall, this is somewhat what the one at Exton would have looked like, except the pictures between pillars would have been a set of tiles and the soffits would be backlit. These were distastefully disconnected when the LED lighting went in.
Aisle 18, old aisle markers. I have a feeling that this store will not be getting a full remodel soon, based on all of the small fix-ups. This is rather unusual for a Giant, as they tend to keep all of their stores the same.
Eckerd/Rite Aid, Downingtown, PA
Blue ceiling brackets. Probably an Eckerd standard.
Opened in the 90's as an Eckerd, bought by Rite Aid in 2007. Has received the Wellness remodel.
Albertsons, Butte, MT
Opened in 1964, has been completely redone, or perhaps rebuilt even, in the 90's. Has Industrial Circus décor. Update: This was divested to an independent grocer as part of the Safeway merger. Interestingly, there are only 9 Safeway's in Montana so I'm surprised they kept them instead of this one.
Pretty sure this store was either heavily redone or rebuilt in the 90's.
Has the industrial circus look, but appears to have previously had the blue & gray marketplace décor.
First time I have ever seen this type of aisle marker. Note the beverage case sign to the right. I wonder how they ensure that everyone pays?
Has a strong resemblance to an early 90's ACME, one built before the Albertsons buyout. Besides everything in the ceiling here, the floor pattern matches ACME's red/white/blue flooring, except in different colors!
Clearly not in Pennsylvania here!
Cosmetics aisle.
Looking towards the dairy
dairy. Notice how the newer décor was just put up over the old stuff.
Card Free savings here too!
Hamilton's Market, Hamilton, MTSorry, don't have any pictures of the outside. Based on the complexity of the décor, I would assume it was part of a chain originally, but I can't tell what.
Albertsons(?)/Saving Center, Idaho Falls, ID
A view of the sign up top. The building would probably sell faster if they gave the realtor's number. Just Saying. UPDATE: Has been demolished. Another neon parking lot sign remains.
Looks like it was built in the 50's or 60's, possibly was an Albertsons, and more recently was Saving Center, currently it is available. UPDATE: Has been demolished
Albertsons, Jackson, WY
Very classy exterior. I would assume that it was built around 2007. Correction: It actually opened in 2003, so the décor pictured isn't original. Update: Remodeled to Quality Built in 2017.
Another view of the classy exterior.
Produce.
Drum lights in the refrigerated aisles. They must be a pain to maintain, as half of them are tilted.
SavOn is here!
Giant Albertsons leaf on the wall. Looks better here than it does at remodeled stores
These pictures went in backwards, this was not at the front of the store. Wild Harvest was originally exclusively a ACME brand, but that whole Supervalu fiasco robbed them of it, so now this area is probably stocked with the inferior O Organics brand.
DuPont Estate DevelopmentJohn DuPont lived on this estate up until his imprisonment. Shortly after his death, all of the buildings except for the barn and gatehouse were razed. A subdivision is being constructed. The name of the development is Leister, which was DuPont's mother's maiden name. My grandfather and uncle both knew him, and were not surprised to learn that he was a homicidal maniac. They say that watching the movie Foxcatcher was just like spending 2 hours with DuPont. An antique auction my mom works for auctioned off his stuff around this time.
Exton Square Mall, Exton, PABuilt in 1974, originally anchored by Strawbridge & Clothier, which was bought out by Macy's in the mid-2000's. In the late 90's, it was remodeled beyond recognition, adding 2 parking garages, 3 anchor stores, and a food court. The JCPenney on the right closed in early 2014. Another massive expansion is set for 2016, which will involve demolishing the Kmart in the parking lot. I am desperately curious to see what it will be like. Currently, it is at 86% occupancy. Joseph A. Bank was relocated to the north end of the mall in 2014, and it's space was turned into a medical center.
SuperFresh, Lionville, PA
Pictures of the Lionville SuperFresh shortly after closure. This store was open from 1996 to April 15, 2011.
The windows were papered over, so it was a little hard getting a look inside. I believe this is looking back towards meats.
Shopping cart parking area, along with the doors to get in the main sales floor.
Vestibule, pharmacy is through the window. Side note: They took things out that really should have been left in, like lights and plumbing, yet they somehow managed to forget their trash can.
You sure?
Former pharmacy and exit doors.
Looking to the former entrance doors. They are trying to save the flooring in the vestibule.
The following weekend, the entire ceiling has been removed over the main sales floor. Picture taken through the Pharmacy window into the vestibule. Workers left the doors open, I snuck in about 10 feet.😉
Looking to the former deli, some of the old wall tile can be seen
Not sure if that's new drywall or stuff they didn't have to take down. I think Redner's kept the back wall where SuperFresh had it.
Tile from the walls relatively intact here.
Somebody was having fun here!
Roadside sign, the original sign panel remains, just reversed and upside-down
Walls of the vestibule are gone, but they will be rebuilt in almost the exact same configuration. Along the back wall, everything right of the window will be reused notice some old SF décor remains behind the slanted area with the exit sign. That wall will be extended down to become the new Bakery, this is where the deli was.
Most of the vestibule walls have been removed at this point, just the pharmacy walls and this post remain.
Pharmacy's final days
(newer set of pictures) The old bakery has been completely removed. There are a bunch of temporary work lights on the floor next to the lift.
This picture was taken exactly one year after closing, the inside remains entirely furnished.
View along the awning in front
One year after closing, the store remains entirely furnished, with the Ingredients for LIFE sign hanging up. It remained like this until last weekend, when something began to move in. The owner of a creperie in the center is offering free crepes to any employee who can find out what it is. Long story short, that's why I uploaded them today. Update: Well that was a lot of excitement for nothing. Still empty as of 2019.
Looking through the front to the Custom Cuts section
Bank would have been to the left.
Formerly the café, chairs still laid about here.
SuperFresh/Redner's, Lionville, PA
Small produce section, takes up half what SF's did, though had much better quality.
Bakery in the old SF deli, new deli in SF's butcher area.
doesn't seem like there's too many Clemens relics left behind. I think the mercury vapor lights are original, and I'm unsure if the boxed out area in back was left over.
This area here may have been the service departments. There are remains of a wall going across the top, along with a different ceiling height.
Exton Mall
East River Drive, Philadelphia (Fairmount Park)
KFC/Jerry's, North Coventry, PA
An older KFC location, which closed sometime around 2005, is being prepared to become Jerry's Chicken.
Weis, Emmaus, PA
A view inside, has the latest décor. I don't know why I took this picture, and why I took it here of all places.
You May be Eligible for a Discount on Pharmaceuticals
Vitamins and such seem to be moving pretty slowly, I don't think 10% really has much of an effect on sales here.
Dairy Runs Dry
Only 10% off, and they seem to have cleared out of everything except yogurt.
Hitting the (Produce) Floor
Produce had been pretty much emptied out. I think they kept stocking the lettuce, as that seems to sell fast and they never ran out. To see this place in more fruitful (pun intended) times, click here. Side note: something about that tomato sculpture thing looks pretty suggestive...Its starting to bother me.
Kmart, Exton, PA
More Exton ACME
Center aisle stocked with "Great Deals!"
Still seem pretty well-stocked on Jell-O.
Old meat case filled with Valentines day stuff. This closed on February 20, 2014.
hallway to the back rooms, restrooms on the side.
View along the back
I was going to post these photos anyway, but this morning I heard someone say Whole Foods was going to move in. Now I have heard it from 2 sources, so I am pretty sure this is going to go through. Dairy has finally sold out of yogurt at this point.
Where the ceiling lowers. Normally 90's stores that got this remodel had the slanted part painted a shade of green. That plug hanging down was for suspended lights they had over the meat cases with the original décor.
Seafood and Deli, it seems they didn't take down much of the 90's stuff at all when they remodeled. Seems they got the cheap version of this décor.
The international section in its entirety. I don't think too many stores ever got this.
We're back at Exton's closing sale again today. This is in the International section. It appears people aren't buying that much tomato paste here.
Cheese is still here. The lights on the drop ceiling over the cases had lampshades on the other side of the store, I wonder what's up here?
10-for-10 is looking a little ransacked.
Aisle markers. Apparently, they sell their website here.
Sold completely out of snacks! I'm not sure what is on the shelves to the right, since they can't sell wine in grocery stores in Pennsylvania.
Very limited lunchmeat supply at this point.
Produce. I don't think they call it Farmstand in all of their stores with this décor. The hanging lights in the arches were replaced in the last remodel.
Lancaster Meats sign captured entirely in one picture. I'm pretty proud of it.
Bakery department wasn't too big here.
Seafood cases emptied. I like how this décor has all those custom metal signs for each department.
They had gotten rid of the SuperCard a while back. I guess they still had some papers lying around.
Last of the lettuce.
Clemens/Giant, Lionville, PA
Deli in a former additional storefront. A state liquor store is in the next storefront over, but can only be accessed through the doors in here I think everything in this room is original to Clemens except for the décor and spotlights. The Café in the front of this room was converted into floral.
Produce. I remember there were wooden structures hanging from the ceiling with the spotlights mounted on them. Produce received a half-remodel last October.
There is a butcher. It has a tiny room with a saw in it. There isn't even a counter.
Seafood is a prime example of the department removal. Seafood and meats used to come out in a wedge shape into the middle of the store. I don't remember too much about it except it was dark with some kind of lampshade ceiling, ceramic tile floor, Clemens latest décor tile on the walls, and a had a lobster tank. You can still find relics of it, the flooring has cracked on the uneven surface it was put on, in the patterns of pipes and walls were revealed.
Lunch meats.
Frozen. Those bonus card signs hanging up were removed shortly after these pictures were taken. I think they're in the process of redesigning their cards, so they didn't want these old things hanging around.
The 14 aisles is a little misleading, as it is a tiny store, the aisles are pretty short. Giant tried to expand in the remodel by taking out the departments along back. The bathrooms there were originally in a hallway with what I think was the bakery where I am standing.
Eggs, yogurt, etc. Clemens had the same lights throughout the store, but I think Giant may have replaced them, as they look pretty new.
Aisle 13. There were some flat frozen cases here originally, and the ceiling was raised around it. Around the perimeter, there were slanted glass panes with lights behind them. They also went around the edge of the store as well.
Bakery. I think this was something else originally, as it has the Giant tile pattern, but the Deli still has the Clemens tile. Checkout is under the drop ceiling.
It has the Fun House, v. 2 décor, which was put in sometime around 2008, 2 years after Giant bought it. Anyone know what the soup sign could be from? I don't think it was the Clemens décor.
Exton ACME No More
The night it closed. I just narrowly missed being able to get there again. Some of these pictures were featured on ACME Style
Signs were still up, C was still burned out.
Looking at this, you probably wouldn't have guessed it was closed for good. The remaining merchandise was shipped over to the West Goshen store. Employees were given to other surrounding stores (Chester Springs, West Goshen, Paoli, Thorndale)
Looking towards produce
Thanks to a leaky sprinkler, we can see part of the original Hechinger façade.
The next morning: Sign on the back is gone.
Sign facing Rt. 30
The neon has been removed, the frame and transformers remain.
By the evening, the signs were all down.
ACME, Chester Springs, PA
Originally a Starbucks, which was converted to a Seattle's best, and then a Bucks County Coffee (Fun Fact: Bucks County is north of Philadelphia, and borders New Jersey). Now, it had been removed. I think they are planning on adding a Frosted Mug department here.
The Pharmacy.
Side wall.
I think the milk cooler was expanded at some point.
Lancaster Meats. The sign on the right is "The official supermarket of the Philadelphia Eagles" This year, they also became the official supermarket of our local soccer team as well. I wonder how this will go over when they get their New York Stores.
Bakery. I have to say, it is a pretty incredible one.
Deli. The blue boxes off to the sides are sometimes turned on. Not sure why they aren't now.
The hanging lights were removed early this year, and the fluorescent strips were extended over produce. This is the opposite of what they have been doing at Giant: removing the ambient light and adding spotlights over produce. What they have done here made it much brighter, but it also made it feel less classy
As of posting, this store still has the self checkouts. Note the aisle marker is missing the number here.
At last, we get to my local store. This was built in 2003. I don't think I have seen any other stores with signage quite this large.
Exton ACME No More
This was about as cleared out as the store was going to get until over a year later.
Albertsons Basket
seen inside the closed Exton ACME
Weis, Pottstown, PA
Outside. Recently, the Walmart at the other end of the center was expanded into a supercenter and a Sears Appliance OPENED next to it.
Looking through the vestibule
Left a bit of a mess behind them, it seems.
Former Deli.
Emptiness.
Closed Nov. 9, 2013. For a June visit of the same year, see this.
Giant, Pottstown, PA
Opened in early 2010 among the last pre-Ahold style stores, replacing an older store. It is huge, you could fit 3 Lionville stores in here. Easily.
Deluxe fun house V. 2 décor. Notice the spotlights- Giant had switched to square ones before this store was built, meaning that these were brought over from the old store. I was going to upload some of the now-closed Pottstown Weis, but right as I was finishing up, Flickr crashed. It wasn't too many photos, but I had like 10 links put in. You will be seeing them tomorrow.
ACME, Westtown, PA
Pharmacy labelscar on the right, Citizen's Bank on the left. It has an interesting wood ceiling in the porch.
One. Just one checkout removed. This store had the 80's décor originally (the floor remains!), but was expanded and remodeled in the 90's to the red/white/blue décor. Finally, it had the Albertson's Marketplace décor. It has since been completely gutted out and converted to a farmer's market.
The one on the left still had the letters. When it was cleaned out, I was able to get the A, C, and E. The M was broken
Right hand vestibule has been emptied
Exton Giant Sign
It is really hard to get a good picture of these. What's interesting here is that when they redid the sign, they kept the old Giant Food sign. They dropped the Food from their name probably almost 20 years ago. However, they did replace the orange plastic with red.
Giant, Phoenixville, PA
Old & New lighting.
Two rows in the back have already been replaced with the LED's. Personally, I liked the old ones better. Part of this lighting "upgrade" was removing all of the décor backlighting. If you look on the left hand side of the ceiling, you can see some beams that were cut off when the addition was put on.
I found an old price check machine, which shows a picture of the store with the od décor.
A present-day view from the same vantage point.
Produce department has yet to receive the newer, dimmer lights.
And the bakery.
Chairs and a pole blocking the dairy sign
The backlighting is sorely missed here.
Butcher
Seafood
Café & Coffee Shoppe
TKMaxx, Heidelberg, Germany
"There was already a chain in Europe called TJ Hughes, so TJX Companies decided to change the J in TJ Maxx to a K to avoid confusion between the two unrelated chains for their European division." -AFB
Hofer (Aldi), Vienna, AT
Hofer is Aldi's Austrian division. It is also the only place they aren't called Aldi. I have a better picture coming, so don't worry.
Demolition, Oberammergau, Germany
I think these houses were built as a subdivision or something in the 80's. I don't see why they needed to tear this down. All houses here look the same, so if they build something different than what was originally here, it is going to stick out.
LandscapeLooking down a mountain.
McDonald's, Salzburg, AT
Golden arches, sans eyebrow.
ACME/Fresh Grocer/Shoprite, Springfield, PA
Built in the 50's, closed in the 80's. It was a couple other supermarkets afterwards, eventually becoming a Fresh Grocer around 2010. They were recently bought out by Shoprite.
Sign above the side door still says Fresh Grocer.
This is still Fresh Grocer décor, it's probably not going to change as long as Shoprite's in the building.
Shoprite really cluttered this store up.
Produce. Cluttered, as usual.
Aisles.
Street Corner, Rothenburg, Germany
This is a pretty famous view. In fact, I am not the first retail photographer to come here! DBlackwood has a photo of the same place!
Hechinger/Wegman's, Downingtown, PA
Built around 1999 on the site of a massive motel. It closed with the chain. Shortly thereafter, Wegmans pretty much tore down everything except the roof and built their store here. It has been remodeled twice, but both times retained its paint scheme. It's insane how busy it gets.
Citizens Bank at Exton Giant
About a month after the remodel was finished, they decided to bust out the front wall and add a Bank. I have a feeling that since the ACME had one of these that closed during Giant's remodel, CB decided to move over here.
I know I have probably burned all of you out on this store, but I found a couple extra photos I didn't post. This is an update to my very first photo. Citizen's Bank has a real sign now.
Westtown
We happened to go by while they were cleaning out the former Westtown ACME. It was pretty interesting.
I may or may not have seen that the doors were open and walked in to take a picture.
Exton
The former ACME surrounded by trees. I'm actually pretty proud of this picture.
There's a funky area separating the ACME from the rest of the center. The garden center was located in the back of this.
Does anyone know if this sign is left over from Hechinger? It doesn't look like something ACME would have put up. The font matches Checkerboard Arch décor, but this store never had it.
Looking inside the ACME Garden Center. This has been closed for probably about 10-15 years. This was originally used by Hechinger as their lumber yard or something.
Back to Westtown
Looking through the loading docks. This was a week after Yesterday's set was taken, and work had begun gutting the place out.
One last view of the interior before it's torn apart.
Weis, Pottstown, PAOpened 1995, closed 2013. A Halloween store opened up last year, so naturally, I decided to check it out.
90's Weis décor is still intact for the most part. Most of the signage had been removed. I hope that cloud logo neon pharmacy sign found a new home.
The deli area was being used as a storage room. They stole a bunch of carts from the adjacent Walmart.
The vestibule.
ACME, West Chester, PA
Nick Foles cutout. Remember, this picture was taken in 2014. This man has since won us a Super Bowl.
(Also the Pats better lose tomorrow).
Giant/TSC, Dillsburg, PA
I know nothing about this store, I got the picture from the window of a school bus when I was in 8th grade... From the architecture, I can deduce that it was built in the '80's, and at some point had relocated to the other end of the shopping center. Update: It's in Dillsburg, and has since been turned into a Tractor Supply.
An Arco Station from the '60's, sat abandoned for awhile, and was later converted into Vinny's, which sells awesome ribs. Update: As of late 2018, has been turned into Stickman Brews.
Looks like a 2000's store that Rite-Aid didn't take or was unsuccessful with.
This is an older Weis store, probably from the 80's. It was remodeled from this look in 2013.
Opened in 1996 as a SuperFresh, which closed in 2011. Redner's opened Nov. 2 the same year, and closed 12/31/2014
Opened in 1992 as a Sunoco with a Country Cupboard convenience store, which was later rebranded to A Plus. The station has been entirely renovated in the last couple years. Signs and lights have been replaced, store redone, pumps replaced, decals refreshed with others just like the old ones.
This was an old barn that was converted into offices and a P&F Plumbing Fittings in the 1980's, was abandoned by the early 2000's. At the time this photo had been taken, the roof had been rebuilt and work had started converting it to Pinnacle Integrated Systems.
This was an earlier '90's store, had closed shortly before Giant bought out most of the chain. Since Genuardi's still had the lease, Giant reopened this store. The picture was taken shortly before Giant began work. Update: The Staples next door has closed.
Sunoco/Texaco, Westtown, PA
Looks like a 60's Arco, which at some point had been taken over by Texaco. Has been abandoned for a while.
Built in the 1970's as a poorly laid-out center, as half the stores were on the back. As a result, they did not do well, only a couple stores remain, and the rest has been subdivided into offices, as seen here. Plans have been made to demolish this and build a better one, but no progress has been made.
Looks like a power plant or factory that was part of the Pennhurst Insane Asylum, Which was open from the late 1800's to 1988. Some of the buildings have been repurposed, but the majority lie in ruins. CONFIRMED: it was the power plant.
Opened in 1986. It was redone in 2010. It shares a shopping center with a couple other stores, one of which is vacant. Update: Closed August, 2016 without replacement.
The service center has been converted to the A Plus Convenience store, the station itself is a Sunoco.
Opened in the early 60's as a Weis, which moved in 1995, and closed in 2013. Ollie's took over at some point, keeping the Weis façade intact.
Looks like a 60's Arco, which at some point became a Citgo, which surprisingly still open!
Looks like a 2000's Eckerd which Rite Aid took over in 2007.
Closed in 2012-ish and was gutted shortly after. It sat like this for a while, and was turned into a mini strip mall early 2015.
A 60's Sinclair gas station, at some point became Oceanic. UPDATE: In mid-2015 has been converted to a gulf.
Sunoco, Malvern, PA
Looks like a 60's Sunoco, which closed around 2012, reopened again as a Sunoco in 2014. No clue what that was about.
Was Hallman's General store originally, then the owner bought a Gulf Franchise. Still has was I assume are the original pumps.
Built in the 70's, moved in the early 2000's, demolished in 2013 to make room for additional parking. Porch had been removed in this picture to in early stages of demolition.
Probably built in the 1960's, heavily remodeled in 2011-12, when the rooms on the right were built. Converted to Ruchi Indian Cuisine in 2014.
Sports bar, probably opened in the 90's, the shopping center was built in the mid-80's. Recently converted to Doc Watson's pub. Like with China King, there was no in between period. The old owners sold it. Update: Demolished 2017 for a CVS.
Ames cart, Lionville, PA
There is a small Asian grocery in the Marchwood shopping center. I noticed that one of the carts was missing their decal, exposing the previous owner. I wonder if they had a store in this center originally.
Built in the '70's as a deli (which they have a picture of inside), more recently became Montesano Bros, suffered a massive fire in 2013 (which they also have a picture of inside). Rebuilding is seen in this picture. They have since reopened.
Opened in 2003, has Albertson's Marketplace décor. I actually know a lot of the employees here, so this is my preferred shopping destination.
Built around 2004 with the center, closed in 2011, Liberty Union opened shortly after.
roadside sign. The empty space used to have one of those panels where you could switch out the letters, the other side still had one as of last time I saw it. A bar/grille near us actually has a photo of this sign on the wall. I just found out that it was renamed Pizza World in the 70's, but I could find nothing on its original name. It was probably something with five letters. UPDATE: December 2015: Sign is gone. :(
Looks cool. Really has nothing else to do with the rest of this besides that it was in the same folder. My camera groups the pictures by the month they were taken, so there is a lot of diversity there.
70's décor still completely intact! In this picture, there is flooring, its just dirty enough to pass for concrete. Both the flooring and the ceiling were taken out recently, probably for asbestos issues.
Opened as Hechinger Hardware in the 80's, relocated to Downingtown in the 90's where it closed in 2004, to become a Wegman's immediately thereafter. Acme opened in 1997 and closed in 2014. It had Albertson's Marketplace décor. ACME has yet to remove the furnishings from this store, one year, 2 months, and 16 days after the fact. Update: Now a Hobby Lobby as of 2016.
Appears to have opened in the 50's, when they were doing a bunch of upgrades here. Has some really sexy architecture.
An 80's store, had been remodeled in the early 2000's, where the slanted sides of the awning were covered. Correction: Opened 1996.
Blue ceiling brackets. Probably an Eckerd standard.
Opened in 1964, has been completely redone, or perhaps rebuilt even, in the 90's. Has Industrial Circus décor. Update: This was divested to an independent grocer as part of the Safeway merger. Interestingly, there are only 9 Safeway's in Montana so I'm surprised they kept them instead of this one.
note: this image was taken in 2013. At that point, ACME had to use SuperChill store brand, while Albertsons had their own.
Side note: there is an apostrophe in Albertsons here. Wonder if that's a typo
A view of the sign up top. The building would probably sell faster if they gave the realtor's number. Just Saying. UPDATE: Has been demolished. Another neon parking lot sign remains.
Very classy exterior. I would assume that it was built around 2007. Correction: It actually opened in 2003, so the décor pictured isn't original. Update: Remodeled to Quality Built in 2017.
Pictures of the Lionville SuperFresh shortly after closure. This store was open from 1996 to April 15, 2011.
This picture was taken exactly one year after closing, the inside remains entirely furnished.
Small produce section, takes up half what SF's did, though had much better quality.
Inside Redner's- Now open!
Frozen aisles in back, meats on the right.
Clemens/Homegoods, Exton, PA
This was built in 1991 with the shopping center, which was originally anchored by Sears Hardware, on the opposite end. I know Clemens occupied at least this half of the building, but it still seems a little small for a 90's store, so I think the Marshall's next door may also have been part of it. This was still open in 2001, but closed by 2004. I have some old ads from those dates.
The area used to look like this. They managed to pull the mall up to 94% occupancy with the addition of a health clinic, which takes up about half a hallway. The JCPenney closed in 2014, and a brewery opened under the tower early 2015.
Railroad bridge up front, small tunnel carved through a rock behind it.
An older KFC location, which closed sometime around 2005, is being prepared to become Jerry's Chicken.
A view inside, has the latest décor. I don't know why I took this picture, and why I took it here of all places.
Vitamins and such seem to be moving pretty slowly, I don't think 10% really has much of an effect on sales here.
Only 10% off, and they seem to have cleared out of everything except yogurt.
Produce had been pretty much emptied out. I think they kept stocking the lettuce, as that seems to sell fast and they never ran out. To see this place in more fruitful (pun intended) times, click here. Side note: something about that tomato sculpture thing looks pretty suggestive...Its starting to bother me.
The Beginning of an Ending
First of all, I tried something new by trying to come up with clever titles for all of my pictures. I don't know how any of you can do it, I spent 10 minutes looking at the picture of the pharmacy sale signs trying to come up with something.
Anyway, today we will get a brief look inside the Exton ACME in its first week of liquidation in January, 2014.
Catnapped1972 did a pretty good job photographing this place, it can be found here. It opened in the 70's, and is set to close in 2016 when the Exton Mall expands.
Center aisle stocked with "Great Deals!"
Nuts and various ingredients, the sales are up to 30% this week.
Tomorrow and Saturday: more Exton, Friday, we will be looking at the Lionville Giant, and Sunday the Chester Springs ACME.
I know this has the old logo on it, but believe it or not, this was brand-new! It seems wherever they make signs like this tends to mess up a lot, I would assume they just googled "ACME logo" and found this.
This is the store I go to most often, so it is a little surprising it took me until February of 2014 to get it photographed. (As you will see eventually, I have made several different photographing trips to it.)
Anyway, this opened in 1987 according to reports, but it felt a lot older inside before Giant remodeled. Giant took it over from Clemens in 2006.
The night it closed. I just narrowly missed being able to get there again. Some of these pictures were featured on ACME Style
Originally a Starbucks, which was converted to a Seattle's best, and then a Bucks County Coffee (Fun Fact: Bucks County is north of Philadelphia, and borders New Jersey). Now, it had been removed. I think they are planning on adding a Frosted Mug department here.
This was about as cleared out as the store was going to get until over a year later.
seen inside the closed Exton ACME
Outside. Recently, the Walmart at the other end of the center was expanded into a supercenter and a Sears Appliance OPENED next to it.
Opened in early 2010 among the last pre-Ahold style stores, replacing an older store. It is huge, you could fit 3 Lionville stores in here. Easily.
1989-2014
A coupe days ago, I posted a picture of the shopping center, unaware that I had these scheduled for today. Here we get a much closer view.
It is really hard to get a good picture of these. What's interesting here is that when they redid the sign, they kept the old Giant Food sign. They dropped the Food from their name probably almost 20 years ago. However, they did replace the orange plastic with red.
Old & New lighting.
"There was already a chain in Europe called TJ Hughes, so TJX Companies decided to change the J in TJ Maxx to a K to avoid confusion between the two unrelated chains for their European division." -AFB
Hofer is Aldi's Austrian division. It is also the only place they aren't called Aldi. I have a better picture coming, so don't worry.
I think these houses were built as a subdivision or something in the 80's. I don't see why they needed to tear this down. All houses here look the same, so if they build something different than what was originally here, it is going to stick out.
Golden arches, sans eyebrow.
Built in the 50's, closed in the 80's. It was a couple other supermarkets afterwards, eventually becoming a Fresh Grocer around 2010. They were recently bought out by Shoprite.
This is a pretty famous view. In fact, I am not the first retail photographer to come here! DBlackwood has a photo of the same place!
Built around 1999 on the site of a massive motel. It closed with the chain. Shortly thereafter, Wegmans pretty much tore down everything except the roof and built their store here. It has been remodeled twice, but both times retained its paint scheme. It's insane how busy it gets.
About a month after the remodel was finished, they decided to bust out the front wall and add a Bank. I have a feeling that since the ACME had one of these that closed during Giant's remodel, CB decided to move over here.
We happened to go by while they were cleaning out the former Westtown ACME. It was pretty interesting.
The former ACME surrounded by trees. I'm actually pretty proud of this picture.
Looking through the loading docks. This was a week after Yesterday's set was taken, and work had begun gutting the place out.
Built 2002, this was among the first stores to get the new logo (In 2007, I think). It has a barn themed design, similar to their Kennett Square location before it was expanded.
Nick Foles cutout. Remember, this picture was taken in 2014. This man has since won us a Super Bowl.
(Also the Pats better lose tomorrow).
Unfortunately, I lost most of my pictures of this place when my memory card crashed, but I was at least able to save 3. :P Update: I've since returned to this store a few times to better photograph it.
Anyway, This store opened in the 50's, and was expanded in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. At this point, it looks like just a newly built 90's store. It has their Eagles promotional signage everywhere. Notice some of the 80's lighting remains, though not in use.
Comments
Post a Comment