U-Turn

We may have just made it back to PA last post, but I just couldn't stay away. Today we're headed back to AC for a much shorter trip; which unlike last time, this was actually for the beach. We're only looking at one casino too, but it will be much more in depth. But first, let's check out what's happening on the home front.

Hampton Inn, Lionville, PA
They were finishing up the stucco last we saw, which was only a few days prior (granted, it's been like 2 weeks since I posted it).

Wawa, Downingtown, PA
Wawa's finished up their remodel since we last saw, too. I never noticed it until now, but that's a Wawa trash can next to the bus stop in the foreground. They must have made some kind of agreement with SEPTA.

Linens N Things/Hhgregg/Best Buy, Downingtown, PA
This opened as an LNT in the mid-90's, and closed with the chain right as Hhgregg was starting to expand into Pennsylvania. While most of Gregg's locations here opened in former Circuit Cities, they passed over Exton's old CC in favor of this space. They too closed with the chain in 2017, and sat vacant for a little over a year before Best Buy relocated from their store across the street. This has to be no more than half the size of the old one, but overall is a much cleaner and nicer store.

It's been a few months since they closed, but there are still several boxes and unsold fixtures left behind. Despite Best Buy's similarity to Hhgregg, the interior was still totally gutted out and done from scratch.

DSW, Downingtown, PA
This store's an original tenant to the center. This is the only one I've ever been in, but I think they're all a similar size. It feels like triple the size of any shoe store I've ever been to.
More recently, the lighting here's been swapped out for LED fixtures.

Old Sears Skates
Ah the wonders Goodwill provides. I'm inclined to guess these are from the 60's.

Logan Square Shopping Center Update
Demolition's almost complete in Norristown! Just a small portion of the Penn Fruit Building's 2-story wing remains.

This corner here was the space I thought was originally a restaurant or bar.

I thought it was strange they got rid of the whole exterior before tearing into the remaining chunk of building. There must have been a fire escape inside or something that would be overbuilt and difficult to remove.

A beam on the other side of that wall would support my theory (pun not intended).

Over on the side that used to be Penn Fruit's front, nothing remains except the base of what would have been their tower sign. In the years since Penn Fruit closed, it had been cut down to roof height.

Looking into the front of the restaurant space, we get a nice cross-section of the building.

Columbia Sportswear, Tanger Outlets, Atlantic City, NJ
Pictures of the outlet mall come out much nicer when it's not raining. :)

Beef Jerky Outlet, Tanger Outlets, ACNJ

This side of the mall's not an ideal business location. It's on a busy road, but doesn't have any convenient parking of its own. The intent was for them to share Bass Pro Shops' lot, but that also involves crossing what's practically half a divided highway. There were two somewhat short-lived stores here originally. They both closed sometime between 2009 and 2013. Beef jerky Outlet opened in the right space in 2016, and the left remains vacant.

St. Michael's, ACNJ

This church opened its doors in 1912. Judging by the architecture and the fact that the attached theater has "Centro Ricreativo" carved into it, I'm assuming it was originally intended to serve the Italian population. Like many churches have in recent years, it merged with two other parishes nearby due to the priest shortage. Thankfully, all three were kept open and seem to be doing well. This one in particular underwent a major restoration project in 2004.

Trump Plaza, ACNJ
We parked in a small lot next to the decaying Plaza for the beach trip. While it's the only casino I photographed this time, I covered the outside pretty thoroughly.

Regardless of your opinions on the president, if you like 80's late-modern architecture you have to like his buildings.

This tower actually predates the casino. It was built in the 70's as a Holiday Inn, which was then annexed by the casino as it expanded. Original demolition plans called for saving this tower, as it was in better shape, but ultimately the decision was made to tear the entire complex down except for the parking garages. Latest news is saying it will come down early next year. Given the property's track record, there's at best a 50% chance of that actually happening.
Update: As of earlier this week, demolition plans have finally been submitted. These photos were originally supposed to go up today anyway, so that's a funny coincidence.

There's a huge labelscar on the side of the casino where its main entrance used to be.

While the buildings were in noticeably rough shape, they didn't look bad enough that demolition would be the only option. I have a theory the city doesn't think anyone's going to buy it soon, and their main motivation for getting rid of it is their image. Having an abandoned building this large in this prominent of a location doesn't speak well for them.

Rainforest Cafe's the only sign of life in the building. Despite the impending  doom of the building it occupies, they are still open- and have actually just reopened sit-down dining from the lockdown! There's a chance they could tear down the casino around this, but the more likely scenario is they're trying to squeeze in one last beach season out of this location before it comes down. I don't know how many locations they had at their peak, but my understanding is that several of them have closed in recent years (they have 23 currently). Given the chain's struggles, I've got a feeling they won't be relocating this one if it comes down.

Former Nathan's Famous/Arthur Treachers next door. Nathan's seems to be doing alright as a company, but they've closed quite a few locations. Arthur Treacher's, on the other hand, barely exists anymore. They have 7 independent locations, alongside a handful of restaurants co-branded with Nathan's.

The casino's attached to Boardwalk Hall, a large arena that was home to the AC Convention Center until 1997. It's still used primarily for concerts, but is most famous for holding the Miss America pageant every year. It has also been used for sporting events in the past, but since the AFL folded nothing has been played here.

Some of the very large bridges connecting the main casino with the Holiday Inn tower. The light pole over the trash cans is the style that used to line the entire boardwalk. All but a couple were replaced by sleek new LED fixtures in 2016.

The black-and-red façade was added on when they annexed the Holiday Inn tower. Originally, the it looked much plainer.

This was the main boardwalk entrance. It looks pretty dingy now, but back when it lit up it looked stellar.

Some more large bridges, connecting the casino to Boardwalk Hall. It will be interesting to see what they do about these, since taking them down is going to leave some gaping holes in the side of the hall.

The garages, which are supposed to stay. I hope they leave those funky glass parts up too.

The mainland side of the parking garage, which bears a massive labelscar. I'm surprised Trump didn't make them paint over that.

There's a huge carport in between Boardwalk Hall and the casino.  I loved the architecture under here. Mirrored paneling and marquee lights are a great combination.

The more prestigious clientele would drive through here, get out at the casino entrance, and a valet would park in the garage for them.

This really would have been something to see in its heyday.

I thought this bridge in particular was really interesting. It's three floors tall and mostly sloped.

Seeing how the restaurant's signs are still up, I'm guessing they tried to stay open after the casino closed. In theory, a high-end restaurant fronting the boardwalk should be able to survive on its own, but in practice business just isn't the same without a steady stream of casino-goers passing by.

Arthur Treachers' logo is still up! Since this one didn't connect to the casino on the inside, nor was it even near an entrance, the casino's closing probably didn't impact it too much. Its closure was more likely just a result of Nathans' scaling back.

Trump sold 90% of the casino's shares to Carl Icahn  in the 2000's, retaining 10% for the naming rights. He had closed out of those shares by the time it closed, but they must have made some kind of agreement to keep his name on it. After it closed, he removed every trace of his name from the building, going so far as to bust out the plastic on this sign to do so. This was visible through a glass walkway above the sidewalk leading from the boardwalk to the parking lot.

One last look at the Holiday Inn tower's entrance before we head out. At the top of the window, you can see a little of one of the building's famous chandeliers, which I'm praying get salvaged before they implode this.

Caesar's, ACNJ
I know I said the Plaza was the only casino we'd be looking at today. I lied.  I got a picture of the horse statues outside of Caesar's.

Sun National Bank, Tanger Outlets, ACNJ
While Sun was a 30-branch local bank, this building began life as a local bank other than them. They were established in 1985 and I've got a hunch this building is much older than that. It coexisted with a newer, larger location a block away for a while, but ultimately closed in the early 2010's.  It's been vacant since then, which is surprising given its location in the middle of Tanger Outlets (this is the one pre-Tanger building left on site, indicating it's probably on some kind of historic register).  It's in a row of restaurants, so when something moves in I think it's a safe bet to say it will become one too.
Sun Bank was bought out by OceanFirst in 2018, long after this closed.

Electric Factory/Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia (Callowhill)
As far as "underground" music venues go, this place has a pretty interesting history. The building was originally a General Electric switchboard factory, built in 1916. The Electric Factory venue opened here in 1995, but was actually not named for the building's history. The original Electric Factory operated from 1968 to 1973 in an old tire warehouse in the Logan Square neighborhood. While it was short lived as a venue, it stayed in operation as a concert promoter and producer. They are credited with creating the concert business and perhaps best known for producing the American half of Live Aid. By the 90's, they were finally ready for a venue of their own again, and settled on this building. Live Nation bought the company, and in 2018 decided to divest the hall. It was bought by another venue operator, who was forced to change the name (a very unpopular decision among those who frequent the Factory). To honor the Electric Factory's Ben Franklin logo, they selected Franklin Music Hall to be its new name.

While we're down the shore, how about some beach music?