K-Mart

[XISMZERO]

SPRINGFIELD, MA -- Taken today Jan. 12, 2008 (and before a very large snowstorm that's forecast for tomorrow!)

The plaza was OVERRUN by seagull masses.

[XISMZERO]

SPRINGFIELD, MA -- Taken today Jan. 12, 2008 (and before a very large snowstorm that's forecast for tomorrow!)

[dmx10101]

Links to a couple of different vacant Kmarts in New York I found=
Super Kmart
Big Kmart
The Galleries are toward the bottom of the page.
It's a shame vandals destroyed them other wise they would've looked nice.

[XISMZERO]

Originally posted by dmx10101
Links to a couple of different vacant Kmarts in New York I found=
Super Kmart
Big Kmart
The Galleries are toward the bottom of the page.
It's a shame vandals destroyed them other wise they would've looked nice.

I was at the one in LAKE GROVE / STONY BROOK, NY. Here's what it looked like in August 2006. We went inside this store to get something in 2001 when my brother had his first day of college.

[XISMZERO]

LAKE GROVE, NY, August 2006.

[NJxxJon]

Graffiti I see.............the old school k-mart logo was better.

[XISMZERO]

Here's an article from the Hartford Courant detailing the opening of the former Kmart in WETHERSFIELD, CT. It opened on March 3, 1977.

[XISMZERO]

Here's the site today of the former WETHERSFIELD, CT Kmart.

D fife says the store closed in 1997. It appears as if it's been subdivided into a bunch of store spaces. I'm not sure where the entrance was. Notice the brown paneling below the newer facade!

I took this on 1-6-2008.

[XISMZERO]

Here's an ad for the VERNON, CT Kmart from/run in The Hartford Courant. This must have been what it looked like at opening. The garden center is on the left end and the auto center is blocked by the rest of the plaza's stores today.

Store opened on February 27, 1975.

[dmx10101]

Well today I'm going on a mini road trip to see a couple of Kmarts. The first one is in Rome, Ga and it's the last remaining Super Kmart Center in GA (I've never,ever been to a Super K before), the second which by chance I came across the below article yesterday, is a remodeled Big Kmart in Marietta, GA into a Sears with a pharmacy, greeting cards, etc. (maybe it's a Sears Grand?) anyways it's on the way to the Rome store so I'm going to stop at it too. I'm going to get as my pictures as I can and will post them when I return.


"Kmart Store Becomes a New Sears

Atlanta residents can experience a new shopping experience in time for the holidays

MARIETTA, Ga., Nov. 17, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- The former Kmart at 4269 Roswell Rd is now a brand new Sears. Local Atlanta residents can expect a one-of-a-kind shopping experience that offers an expanded selection of merchandise including more national brands than ever before and a 23,000 sq. ft. Lands' End shop featuring the largest selection of Lands' End merchandise ever at Sears.

The new Sears will come to life by offering customers a "store-of-shops," and a fresh design layout with different flooring, fixtures, and displays. Marquee brand names now found in the new Sears include Sony, Hanes, Workwear - by Craftsman, Carhartt, Timberland and Diehard apparel, Levi's, and Nordic Track. The store will also feature expanded Home Electronics and Home Appliance showrooms, organized around favorite manufacturers, that will also help customers choose the right look, feel and function with other brands Sears carries.

A newly remodeled hardware department will feature innovative and interactive Garage Organization, Mechanics and Carpentry shops to help customers find the right item quickly and efficiently.

Five central internet workstations located throughout the sales floor will provide free high-speed Web access to enable both the customers and associates to quickly access the internet, verify prices, shop online and contact store personnel if help is needed.

The store will also carry a wide range of convenience items previously available at the former Kmart location including full pharmacy services, health and beauty, cosmetics and greeting cards.

This new format will help customers create the look they want and find the gifts they need all in one convenient location. Shoppers will find the quality brands they have come to know and love like Diehard, Craftsman, Ty Pennington, and Kenmore plus extended assortments of national brands from Nordic Track, Schwinn, Reebok and more. Customers can also shop for great fashions with the first 23,000 sq. foot mega Lands' End shop that brings the legendary brand to life with items for women, men, kids, baby and home. Now families can touch and feel the quality and see the details of Lands' End products. A special monogramming service is also available to easily personalize just about any Lands' End item that will take a stitch. There's even free shipping on any catalog or landsend.com order placed from the store.

"A lot of work has gone into this new format to try to bring the best of Sears to our customers and to really focus on the types of products the Atlanta community has told us they want. This is a wonderful city and this updated store model demonstrates Sears' commitment to the community," stated Jim Hash, Sears Store Coach."

[dmx10101]

WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST!! lol :roll:

Well I am back from my road trip, it was about 120 miles round trip to go the Super K and Sears stores and was well worth it. I took several pics of both stores (see below) and have some good summaries of them.

First off I head to the recently converted Big Kmart to a Sears store in Marietta, GA. This store was odd because it wasn't a Sears Grand store but it still had items not normally sold at Sears. Anyways to I pull in and can obviously tell that this was a Kmart because it still retained the Kmart building style. It had a outside Pharmacy pickup window and a Garden Center like Kmart would have. So I walk in and immediately recognize the Kmart style low ceilings and florescent rows of lights..But most everything else had been remodeled and changed. About a 1/4 of the store was the Lands End shop. They had a surprisingly small regular clothing section too. This store had alot of departments that Kmart had- They had a greeting card dept, a small gourmet only food section, full service Pharmacy, large health and beauty section, make up section, large garden center, sporting goods dept, small toys dept, baby dept complete with baby food and baby wipes, domestics/ home goods dept, electronics dept (no music cds though and all of the DVDs were in locked cases), of course a large hardware dept., shoes dept, exercise dept, section of appliances, I don't recall seeing a jewelry dept..if there was it was small. They had internet kiosks all over the store. No food section, no household products section (toilet paper, paper towels). That's all of the sections I can remember. No cafe or restaurant. There were centralized checkouts by the entrance/exit, regular kmart style shopping carts. The store looked nice and you could tell they put some money into it and didn't just slap a Sears name on a Kmart store, but there were still elements that made you feel like you were at a kmart, which I liked. It definetly didn't feel like a mall Sears. I didn't get any interior pics because the store is very open with wide aisles and there were associates everywhere, the store was also completely dead with maybe a dozen people in it.

Next I was off to the last remaining Super Kmart Center in Georgia, located in Rome, GA. Upon arriving I was impressed with the very well kept up exterior of the store. At the end of the parking lot was the Kmart Express gas station, complete with a small convienance store. I found it funny that in a small shopping center building in the parking lot there was a Little Caesar's pizza place. There store was fairly busy, alot more so than a regular Kmart, but a fraction of the business a Super Walmart would have. Anyways into the store I went, into the food entrance side. The store inside was very well kept up too and well stocked also. The signage in the store looked nice and updated too. At the front of the store, across from the checkouts was customer service, next to customer service there was a ICEE/Soda fountain bar, (with cups purchasable at the register), a Olan Mills portrait studio, a impressively big Floral dept., and a fairly large Game Room. The store had 16 registers, but oddly they were dismantling the first 4 registers, I guess they were getting rid of them. I walked through the regular part of the store first. They had a large section of Craftsman tools in the hardware dept. Layaway was in the back of the store. Electronics was on the far right side of the store and probably the most disappointing department to me because it didn't have that great of a selection and was the most dated looking dept. in the store. Surprisingly this store didn't have any of the DVD's locked up. The last dept. on the back wall before you get to the food section was a good size Appliance department with refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, etc. including Kennmore of course. Then I grabbed a shopping cart (which btw some were blue and some were grey with the previously used Kmart logo on them) and headed to the part that made it a Super Kmart- the food section. I started at the back of the store where they had the produce dept, dairy/frozen foods and the meat/seafood dept. I could tell they used to have a fresh seafood section but they took the sign down and was now using the area for more packaged meat. They still had frozen seafood though. The produce dept. was nice and neat, well kept. The side wall had the deli/bakery and in the front corner the deli cafe restaurant. The bakery was excellent and had tons of goodies, they also had a Krispy Kreme case with individual donuts for 50 cents, a Vortman cookie case where you could pick 10 cookies for $1.00. The bakery put Wal-Marts to shame with selection. Next was the deli which was attached to the cafe. The deli was large with meat, cheeses, specialty dishes- cole slaw, etc., a hot bar with fried chicken, and lots of hot side dishes. You could get the hot food from the deli, or get a deli sub made and buy it and eat it at the cafe. And then the cafe had its own large menu with snacks like popcorn and nachos, menu items like chicken sandwiches, and a good sized breakfast menu and a drink bar with sodas and coffee. It had a huge seating area. After I picked out my groceries then I got some food at the cafe and sat and ate it there. After finishing at the cafe I headed to the checkouts. unfortunately it was like most Kmarts and only had two registers open with long lines..at a Supercenter!! and no self checkouts. So I checked out and then went in the arcade which was full of old games and played Area 51. I then headed out to my car, and went and got gas at the Kmart Express gas station. Upon leaving I noticed on the side of the store the empty Auto center..it was big, it had like 5 or 6 garage bays.
I took as many pics as I could of the store. Outside shots were hard because of the sunshine blocking my shots. I got some interiors pics, they're not the best, but I was trying to take the pics quick and not be obvious, as to not draw attention. Overall I was impressed with this Kmart, it was my first visit to a Super K and I was pleased with the look of the store, and the selection. If I had one closer to me I'd never step foot into a Wal-Mart again. I don't really know why the concept hasn't been that successful, I guess its just hard to lure people away from Wal-Mart no matter what. Enjoy the pics below.


You can see the Kmart building style..They didn't remodel the outside much, except some paint and signage changes.



Closer shot of entrance



This is the inside Garden Center entrance and the odd outside Pharmacy pickup/dropoff



This is the outside Garden Center part..obviously not being used.. since its winter?



Right side of the store and their shopping carts..which they have hundreds of..All of these outside and a ton more inside. I don't think I saw a single customer with a shopping cart when I was inside.



The road sign..




Thats all of the Sears conversion..on to the Super Kmart Center...


This is the sign that was on the back of the building..you see it as you're coming up the road.



The road sign..ah open 24 hrs something you don't see much with Kmarts



The Kmart Express gas station in the parking lot



Left entrance to the store, the food side.



Middle of the store and main building sign



Right entrance to the store, the retail side. sun messed up the shot..you can't make out because of the sun what the light up signs say to the right..They say- Kennmore, Diehard, and Craftsman. Also to the left of those signs is a large flag pole with the American flag..USA pride!



This is in the produce section looking towards the meat/seafood dept.



Produce case



Looking at part of the Bakery dept.



Looking up one of the Grocery dept. Aisles



Looking towards the Cafe on the left and the Deli just to the right of it



Sitting in the cafe..closer shot of menu board



The drink station in the cafe

[NJxxJon]

NICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCE PICS

[GothicPrincess]

does it SMELL like the old K-marts though??

[Marc82]

Wow. That's the first time I had ever seen a Super KMART. And gas prices below $3.00/gallon? Drool.

[Zayre88]

Originally posted by dmx10101
WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST!! lol :roll:

Well I am back from my road trip, it was about 120 miles round trip to go the Super K and Sears stores and was well worth it. I took several pics of both stores (see below) and have some good summaries of them.

Nice pictures by the way.  My post should be in 'Kmart bashing' but here's my opinion.  Those Kmart stores turned into Sears look cheap.  It looks like an old Kmart with new logos.  They should invest more to make it look better.

I'm dissapointed to see the interior of a Super Kmart center.  It looks '1992", old signage, colors, logos, displays, cafe...

[dmx10101]

Originally posted by GothicPrincess
does it SMELL like the old K-marts though??

I didn't notice a smell..

[dmx10101]

Originally posted by Zayre88

Originally posted by dmx10101
WARNING: EXTREMELY LONG POST!! lol :roll:

Well I am back from my road trip, it was about 120 miles round trip to go the Super K and Sears stores and was well worth it. I took several pics of both stores (see below) and have some good summaries of them.

Nice pictures by the way.  My post should be in 'Kmart bashing' but here's my opinion.  Those Kmart stores turned into Sears look cheap.  It looks like an old Kmart with new logos.  They should invest more to make it look better.

I'm dissapointed to see the interior of a Super Kmart center.  It looks '1992", old signage, colors, logos, displays, cafe...

I agree they should have fixed up the Sears exterior more. The interior looked a lot better though.

The Super Kmart Center wasn't that bad really..It was no Super Target, but it was well kept and neat.

[XISMZERO]

Here's a vacant Kmart in NORWALK, CT on Connecticut Ave/US-1. Actually, only the frontage still exists.

I found this one while browsing through old advertisements and I wondered what it became today only to find it's still there! It's been vacant for a while I think, sandwiched inbetween TJ Maxx and Best Buy; who took most of its former store's space.

This store probably opened in 1980.

I've covered all the vacant Kmarts in Connecticut which includes Orange, Derby (which is now demolished), Manchester and Norwalk.

[XISMZERO]

Vacant former Kmart in NORWALK, CT. Taken today (1-16-2008).

[XISMZERO]

Vacant former Kmart in NORWALK, CT. Taken today (1-16-2008).

[XISMZERO]

Vacant former Kmart in NORWALK, CT. Taken today (1-16-2008).

[XISMZERO]

Vacant former Kmart in NORWALK, CT. Taken today (1-16-2008).

[dmx10101]

Thats weird how that parts left in the middle. Kind of odd looking.

Are there any Super K's in Connecticut?

[d_fife]

Originally posted by dmx10101
Thats weird how that parts left in the middle. Kind of odd looking.

Are there any Super K's in Connecticut?

they had 2: in wallingford and NEW haven and they closed in 2003 and they are now Super Wal-marts.

[Loki]

I had forgotten about that Norwalk Kmart, it closed ages ago and since had been a Nobody Beats The Wiz and a Pergament Home Store for a while. It had the distinction of being the only Kmart in Fairfield county (wonder why the never tried to expand further in that part of the state). I haven't been down to Norwalk in a long time so it's nice to see at least part of the original building is still there.

I've been away from these boards for too long (almost a year now), so it's nice to be back.

[Loki]

Here's one of the last pictures of the Derby Kmart store right before demolition. They had ripped open where the sign used to be to pull out all the wiring.

[Loki]

Derby Kmart after demolition

[Loki]

A closer view:

[scottw73]

I think they closed Norwalk because of the high-crime rate in that area. I vaguely remember shopping there with my family when I was a little kid.  Derby Kmart used to be a Reads department store, and the former Marshalls space was a local supermarket chain called Klarides.

[XISMZERO]

Loki: It's good to see you back. Dan: You too! dmx10101: Interesting to see a Sears in a Kmart mold... good pictures there.

NORWALK a high-crime area? I don't know about that, certainly there are areas that are spotty and rundown (like East Norwalk) but overall, I've always had the impression that Norwalk is affluent (especially right next to DARIEN and STAMFORD).

My guess on why Norwalk didn't survive is because it looked like it was out of place and no doubt the traffic on US-1 helped but also crippled it at the same time. I'd like to know how long Norwalk was vacant because even in SITERIDE's picture, it's there and vacant (and this was probably taken 10-15 years ago).

Here's the SITERIDE pictures: http://siteride.com/srpl/p_snapshot.pl?lm=listing&resbox=1200589332&subNum=10209000890

It shows Nobody Beats the Wiz in that picture before and after iit remodeled!

The Milford store was built the same year (1980) and the one later built in Orange looks exactly like this one. The one in Farmington probably looked like these two though I only remember Farmington as a Builder's Square, which it became sometime in the mid or late 1980s (my friend's parents remember shopping at the short-lived Kmart).

The one in Farmington today is a Sports Authority and you can tell it was a Kmart by the ridged walls on the outsides of the building.

ALSO NOTICE how Best Buy removed one ply of the former Kmart facade for its store space but did not take it down! How odd!

Picture: Siteride (A wonderful website!)