Visiting KOP, Dorlan Mill, and Plymouth Meeting

If anybody has a better idea for how I should title these posts, please let me know.

 Circuit City/hhgregg, Devon, PA
Over the summer, I broke the news that this was going to be demolished to make way for apartments. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good picture of it when it was still open. Well maybe good is stretching it, but at least here's a picture of it prior to closing.

 Sears/Primark & Dick's, KOP
A look at Primark's ground-level entrance. They opened here shortly before Sears decided to close entirely. Even though the mall is run by Simon, Seritage retains the old Sears building and leases it out through a third-party realtor.

 I thought it was funny how Primark squared off the corner but Dick's kept the curve. They look like two unrelated buildings stacked on top of each other.

 Looking towards the old Auto Center, which was still completely vacant up until early 2017. Outback took about 1/3 closest to Dick's, and Yard House took the third on the other end. A little space in between is still available.

 On the upper level, Dick's and Primark both have entrances. Primark has escalators going down to their level.

 Former CHOP Clinic, KOP
The Children's Hospital moved to a new facility across the turnpike from here in 2015. This building sat empty for a few years before being turned into a surgery center in early 2018.

 Mobil/Lukoil/Mobil, Wayne, PA
This was divested by Mobil when they merged with Exxon, then operated as a Lukoil for several years. Strangely, it changed back to Mobil in 2012. This is one of very few locations in the area. The canopy was added when Mobil returned. Strangely, they replaced the price boards too but didn't put in a digital display.

TruMark, Wayne, PA
I believe this location was originally built in the 90's. In 2016, it was heavily remodeled to their current prototype. Basically everything except the walls (yeah, not even the roof was spared) was ripped out. They redid the Downingtown location not long afterwards, which on the other hand was a total rebuild.

 Outback/First Watch, Wayne, PA
When the shopping center's façade was redone in 2016, I was surprised they didn't touch the Outback, whose façade was also pretty dated. It all made sense a few months later, when Outback relocated to the former KOP Sears Auto Center. The space sat vacant for a little while, but as of early 2019 work is underway turning this into a First Watch.

 Dorlan Mill, Downingtown, PA
This house was built in 1848 by the owner of the mill. I would assume the family continued to live there until the mill closed down. Afterwards, the house was rented out. In 2009, the tenants were evicted due to the deteriorating condition of the building. It still sits abandoned and falling into increasingly worse shape. I tried to explore it a few weeks ago- accessibility was no issue, there were many easy ways inside. The problem was with the rot in the floor. There was no way I'd be getting out of there without a ladder if I went in any further.

 The mill itself, which has seen some change since our last visit. About 1/3 still sits abandoned. The middle section was demolished, and the back half was restored into a sorta mini industrial park.

 When I first covered this, I mentioned not being able to find photos I once saw of the interior. We're in luck now, as I've come across them again.

 Some of the demolished part. I'm guessing they didn't have a new tenant lined up for this part yet and couldn't save the roof, so they just left it semi-standing.

 Old water tower on my left, restored portion on my right.

 Just Mom's, Honey Brook, PA
I feel like this was built as an ice cream stand, judging by the shape of the original building. It became a second location for Just Mom's (their first is in Morgantown) several years back. More recently, they enclosed the former patio off to the side to create an indoor dining area. I'm surprised a pizza place like this went so long without one.

 Strawbridge's/Macy's, Plymouth Meeting Mall
If you thought the Neshaminy Macy's featured a little while back was cool, wait till you see this one! Overall, the stores were very similar, but this one had some more unusual architectural features.

 I got here pretty late in the sale. At this point, the bottom floor was almost all fixtures (and a few rugs), and just a small portion of the main floor had merchandise left. The top level was empty iirc.

 I wish I'd gotten a better picture of that wooden portal thing off to the side.

 I thought this light fixture was awesome. Unfortunately, I don't think there was any way they could have saved it. It looks pretty build-in to the structure. This building's been totally gutted out and had its exterior walls peeled off in preparation for subdividing it. The one-story portions of the building were torn down so the taller part could be expanded. I believe Dick's and Burlington are the two main tenants, with a handful of smaller ones fitting in with them.

 The main level of the store, which didn't have much left. I got a couple ties, but that was about the extent of the menswear left. I dragged my sister along too, she had better luck finding stuff.

 There was a sign directing the customers to the other Macy's stores in the area, which there are no shortage of. The exit doors have those neat 60's backlit signs above them, which weren't working here.

 Totally empty third floor. I think this level had been remodeled more recently, it didn't look nearly as old as the levels below it. That being said, it's still probably close to 20 years since Strawbridge's would have redone it.

 There wasn't too much left to see up here.

 A look at the store's awesome chandelier. I'm holding out hope this is being kept, since it doesn't look like they removed the skylights this was hanging from (yet?).

 I'd assume the first two levels of the store were last redone in the 80's. I think Strawbridge's tried to get all of their stores to have this décor. As a result, Macy's wound up closing with it in several locations.

 A blurry look at jewelry, which has been taken over by plates.

 Plymouth Meeting Mall
Stuck my head out into the mall for a quick look around, since they were about to close for the night. It should be an easy guess what Milano used to be. (Hint: Starts with "A", ends with "eropostale").

Plymouth Meeting's a pretty good looking mall. Bonus points for having a working fountain.

 They sacrificed the mall's old food court for the Legoland Discovery Center, which is why the stairs were being relocated.

 Legoland is being pieced together behind the yellow wall. I think as part of the construction, they wound up replacing the railings here with the glass ones seen here. I thought I remembered them being metal bars like you see by Auntie Anne's before.

 Strawbridge's logo hiding out in the stonework. I have a feeling this will probably get covered up when the new tenants open.

 Back on the beautifully-lit ground level. I really like those cases, which I think Strawbridge's would have put in either in the late 80's or early 90's.

 Furniture department's sold out, with the exception of two display beds. The stone wall by the door was another nice touch.

 The shorter walls were probably added at a later date for staging furniture. There's another awesome wooden partition here.

 The 60-80% off sign would indicate I made it here just in time. I think this store had about a week left when I stopped by.

 So. Much. Plexiglas. Shelving.

 Over in the one-story part of the ground level, a whole bunch of stuff is piled up in what I think used to be the appliance section. I could be wrong, since the red carpeting across the aisle indicates either Children's or Lingerie, neither of which really fit with appliances.

 I loved the ceiling on the left. I feel like it was also installed in the 80's. The molding atop the shelves on the other side looks very 60's, so those might also be original.

 These old TV's were sorta neat. I entertained the thought of buying one until I checked the price. I don't know who they would expect to pay $30-50 for a 30-50 year old TV set.

A look at the entrance before we leave. Goodbye, Strawbridge's!