One Last Visit to Westtown, Among Other Things

 Wegmans Ornament
I found this Wegmans-shaped Christmas ornament at the Malvern store shortly after Christmas. I thought it was cool, in hindsight I should have bought it. It'll probably be back next year.
 Construction Begins at Texacizon
I'm guessing these dumpsters were for gutting out the interior. They hadn't stripped down the outside yet. Verizon didn't keep much aside from the basic structure and roof shape.
 Last Time to the Old Westtown Giant
At this point, the store had already closed down for good. I missed the auction itself on account of having midterms that day, but I was able to talk to somebody that let me buy another register light off of them.
 I wasn't allowed to get photos of the inside, but I did sneak a couple.
 In the restroom, the hand washing procedure sign still had the Tops logo on it.
 Produce department's getting cleared out. People were working on taking out the cases while I was there.
 Either whoever bought these cases didn't want the signage that was mounted up top, or the person who bought the island cases did.
 Part of the "Mother Nature's Garden" sign was sitting in this case.
 The roadside pylon still had the Giant logo up. It was later blacked over, but then put back up only a couple months later when the pylon itself was replaced, which was still about 4 months before the new store opened.
 Looking at part of the Futurestore façade left over from the A&P/SuperFresh days. I always thought this store was an interesting mashup of designs.
 Returning to the store a few days later, the sign's down. Demolition began within the following week. :(
Advance Auto Parts, Lionville, PA
They had a t-shirt for Downingtown East High School up on display, and a message on the chalkboard for Downingtown West. I liked the idea, but would have liked it even better if it was just for East.
 Gulf, Ridley Park, PA
This station opened in the 60's, and hasn't seen much change since then. I really like the fact that they still have the old style pumps.
 I think the roadside sign was replaced in the 80's. The parking lot light behind it appears to be original.
 CVS, Ridley Park, PA
This opened in 1984, making it one of the oldest CVS's in the area that they didn't buy off of somebody else. I'm surprised it hasn't been relocated yet.
 Topp Auto, Ridley Park, PA
This building probably dates back to the 60's. There's no indication this was ever a gas station, so it was most likely built as a service center. I liked the brickwork on it.
Davis' Trading Post II, Ridley Park, PA
This was the second location for Davis' Trading post, which closed sometime around 2010 (the original one, in Chester, is still open). It sat vacant until 2017, when it was turned into a sandwich shop.
 Amoco/BP, Newtown Square, PA
I've posted a few photos of that before, but here's another one.
It's an interesting building.
 Howard Johnson's Weathervane
This popped up at an antique auction alongside an A&P one. It probably dates back to the 40's or 50's.
Staples, Glen Mills, PA
This opened in 2008, it's a fairly large store. The shopping center was built with a fancier design, which worked in Staples' favor here.
Marshall's & Homegoods, Glen Mills, PA
The building holding these stores is a little more than half the size of the Target in the shopping center. Like most Marshall's/Homegoods, they're separate stores that connect. What makes this one different is that they both share a main entrance.
Outback, Glen Mills, PA
This was added onto the shopping center in 2013. I have to say I really like their newer design of stores.

Comments

  1. Retail RetellFebruary 22, 2019 at 2:18 AM

    Even though you weren't allowed to take (many) pictures, it's still awesome that you were able to get permission to go inside and walk around the store!! I didn't get but a couple of photos from my local Kroger post-closure either, but I thoroughly enjoyed walking around and exploring the place for the brief time I was inside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PlazaACMEFebruary 22, 2019 at 1:03 PM

      Thank you! I was able to use the fact that the bathrooms were in the back corner of the building as an excuse to at least get some pictures from that side of the store. I would have gotten some more photos had I made it while the auction was still going on, but I had a calc midterm I really couldn't skip that morning.

      Delete
    2. Retail RetellFebruary 22, 2019 at 8:29 PM

      You're welcome! Totally understand, regarding the class. I try my best to never miss class, it's just so easy to get behind. I think I've only missed one so far, through all of college!

      Delete
  2. Albertsons Florida BlogFebruary 23, 2019 at 8:03 AM

    I like that Wegmans ornament!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

The Stuff You Like:

Toys R Gone... But the Food's Still Whole

Image
 It should be an easy guess what two stores we'll feature today, but as usual we've got some stuff to go through before we get there. Let's get started! Colonial Theater, Phoenixville, PA If there's one building in Phoenixville you might recognize from something other than my photos, it would be this one. And that would mean you've seen 1958's The Blob . It opened as a playhouse in 1903, and switched to film in 1928. Occasionally a new movie makes it in here, but for the most part they show classics and have concerts here now. Rec Room, Phoenixville, PA Across the street from the theater, in what I am almost certain was an old 5-and-dime (From the 80's until a couple years ago it was a variety store), Conshohocken Brewing has opened up the Rec Room. It's about what you would expect, primarily restaurant/bar space, but with a few shuffleboard and ping-pong tables in back. Rapps Dam Bridge, Phoenixville, PA This old covered bridge was originally built in 1...
Read more

Indoor Tour

Image
A lot of my posts lately have been outside looks at stores, but today I'll make it up to you. Like 75% of what I'm covering this post are store interiors. Without further ado, let's get started! Malvern Federal, Exton, PA Here's one of the more interesting bank buildings in the area. Its early history is a little complicated but I can tell you what stands today dates back at least to 1810 and was originally a farmhouse. The 1810 portion, made of stone, was added onto a log house constructed in 1771. This part may still be here, but nothing standing today obviously jumps out as a log structure so if it does still stand, it has been covered in stucco. It maintained its original use for close to 200 years, before Malvern Federal Savings bank bought the structure in 1964 and converted it to a bank. That lasted over fifty years, but then rumors began swirling that something bad was going to happen. Malvern sold the building to PREIT, who then announced plans to demolish the...
Read more

2020 Halloween Post: The American Cyanamid Labs of Princeton, NJ

Image
 The story of how I wound up here goes all the way back to the beginning of Quarantine. Like the very beginning, where we literally weren't allowed to to be out in public on nonessential business. I, like most people, was stuck at home and bored out of my mind. To pass the time, I would find urbex sites (most of which are very stubborn about not giving out locations) and track down the buildings they featured. It was a fun challenge, almost like detective work. One site, Abandoned NJ , had a neat page on an unnamed Agricultural Research Facility. I became instantly obsessed- it was so modern but so decayed at the same time. It also had practically no clues on how to find it. It took me a few days, but ultimately I was able to track it down using a product name that appeared in one of the photos, finding the company that made that, then ultimately discovering that they still had a helipad registered at this address. After a few months when things had settled down virus-wise, I calle...
Read more