Woolco

patk · October 27, 2009, 01:45:36 PM

shore72 · October 27, 2009, 09:10:19 PM

Yep, patk, and it sure hasn't changed much, has it? Lots of vacancies in that center now, though it is not dead.

nims57 · October 27, 2009, 09:54:35 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
Yep, patk, and it sure hasn't changed much, has it? Lots of vacancies in that center now, though it is not dead.

That store is right near a former 60's Acme that has been Save-a-Lot for a long time. I wonder if the Thriftway was another grocery store too.

shore72 · October 27, 2009, 10:15:09 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by nims57
QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
Yep, patk, and it sure hasn't changed much, has it? Lots of vacancies in that center now, though it is not dead.

That store is right near a former 60's Acme that has been Save-a-Lot for a long time. I wonder if the Thriftway was another grocery store too.

The Acme was a peaked-roof store that later became a Meatland. (local chain) There is another strip of stores behind where the Woolworth was, built maybe in 70s or early 80s? I believe the original supermarket in there was an A&P, not sure if was there long enough to become a Super Fresh. (I don't remember it) Thriftway was in there for awhile and then Meatland/Food City moved there. The new store used the Food City name (unrelated, at least for the most part, to the southern Food City) Later it became a Fresh Pride. Everything back there is vacant now.

I liked shopping at the Meatland because of that open, airy feel thanks to the cathedral ceiling. You could still see the back of the Acme sign (just colors/patterns). It was extensively remodeled before Sav-a-Lot opened, and now has a "low" ceiling. There is also an old Safeway which has been subdivided, in the that same stretch of road.

I need to scan/post some more pics. I have some McCrorys (but not sure where to post them?) and will also get up a few Acmes.

nims57 · October 27, 2009, 10:36:18 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
QuoteOriginally posted by nims57
QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
Yep, patk, and it sure hasn't changed much, has it? Lots of vacancies in that center now, though it is not dead.

That store is right near a former 60's Acme that has been Save-a-Lot for a long time. I wonder if the Thriftway was another grocery store too.

The Acme was a peaked-roof store that later became a Meatland. (local chain) There is another strip of stores behind where the Woolworth was, built maybe in 70s or early 80s? I believe the original supermarket in there was an A&P, not sure if was there long enough to become a Super Fresh. (I don't remember it) Thriftway was in there for awhile and then Meatland/Food City moved there. The new store used the Food City name (unrelated, at least for the most part, to the southern Food City) Later it became a Fresh Pride. Everything back there is vacant now.

I liked shopping at the Meatland because of that open, airy feel thanks to the cathedral ceiling. You could still see the back of the Acme sign (just colors/patterns). It was extensively remodeled before Sav-a-Lot opened, and now has a "low" ceiling. There is also an old Safeway which has been subdivided, in the that same stretch of road.

I need to scan/post some more pics. I have some McCrorys (but not sure where to post them?) and will also get up a few Acmes.

You might want to check these out:

Lansdowne, PA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/2862195334/in/set-72157607316516768/

Woodlyn, PA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/2977299908/in/set-72157607316516768/

And Salisbury, MD. That one is next to a Roses that I think was a Woolco.

patk · October 28, 2009, 10:30:05 AM

shore72 · October 28, 2009, 11:52:49 AM

Salisbury...hmmm. I thought I knew that town well, but that google streetview proves otherwise! I never knew about that shopping center. Off the beaten path. Next time I'm in town I'll have to ride down there. (edit: see my correction a few posts down)

Across town is the Twilley Center, a block off US 50 @ Civic (edited) Avenue as I recall. This is right in front of the now gone Salisbury Mall. (there is a story for you!) That was anchored by an Acme & a Woolco; built in the 70s from what I have gathered. I don't remember the Woolco, but knew someone whose parents worked there. It was a Toys-R-Us for many years; I forget what is in there now. The Acme closed a few years ago. I don't know of there being a Roses anywhere in Salisbury, though. Unless it was in that streetview shopping center, too? Still can't believe I missed that!

Thinking about it, Dover, DE might have been the location, at the old Blue Hen Mall? I believe they did have a Roses at one end, and I do recall as a kid going to a Woolco around Dover but I could never remember where it was. Just north of the mall was a "peak roof" Acme, long closed now. To stay on topic, there was a Woolworths in the mall, which was a novelty to me because I was used to them being stand-alone. The sign on the front dated from the 60s, when that mall opened.

nims57 · October 28, 2009, 03:34:21 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
Salisbury...hmmm. I thought I knew that town well, but that google streetview proves otherwise! I never knew about that shopping center. Off the beaten path. Next time I'm in town I'll have to ride down there.

Across town is the Twilley Center, a block off US 50 @ Glen Avenue as I recall. This is right in front of the now gone Salisbury Mall. (there is a story for you!) That was anchored by an Acme & a Woolco; built in the 70s from what I have gathered. I don't remember the Woolco, but knew someone whose parents worked there. It was a Toys-R-Us for many years; I forget what is in there now. The Acme closed a few years ago. I don't know of there being a Roses anywhere in Salisbury, though. Unless it was in that streetview shopping center, too? Still can't believe I missed that!

Thinking about it, Dover, DE might have been the location, at the old Blue Hen Mall? I believe they did have a Roses at one end, and I do recall as a kid going to a Woolco around Dover but I could never remember where it was. Just north of the mall was a "peak roof" Acme, long closed now. To stay on topic, there was a Woolworths in the mall, which was a novelty to me because I was used to them being stand-alone. The sign on the front dated from the 60s, when that mall opened.

There is another mall in the area that is thriving, the "Centre at Salisbury". When I went to Salisbury on vacation, I noticed an abandoned Giant (Super G) that had also been a Super Fresh. Today on Google Maps I noticed a centennial A&P in downtown that is now a Hostess outlet.

In Dover, on the same trip, I noticed a peaked-roof Acme that is now a daycare center or something. There was also one in Smyrna. It relocated across the street into what looked like a former Food Fair/Pantry Pride. I think it might have also been a Super Saver for a short time. The Acme moved again to a store in the same plaza. Really close to the new store is a Roses that looks like a former 70's A&P/Super Fresh.

By the way, the Acme in Woodlyn was a peaked-roof store. It was a late one built in 1972, but relocated to the former Penn Fruit nearby. That store is now closed too. The store was subdivided into Save-a-Lot and "Dollarland", and was remodeled hiding the peaked roof. It got another new front when "Amelia's" opened in both halves.

patk: Yep, that's it!

patk · October 28, 2009, 04:55:23 PM

yay that store is @ us50&Cypress St!!
hmmm

nims57 · October 28, 2009, 05:18:38 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by patk
yay that store is @ us50&Cypress St!!
hmmm

So was it a Woolco?

shore72 · October 29, 2009, 10:48:03 PM

Okay, with my decent net connection at home I figured out the deal with the Salisbury thing. The map at work made it look like it was off business 13 south but, yeah, I knew where Cypress was but forgot. Bad neighborhood. Correct, this is off of US 50 on the west side of town. I am really not sure what was in that now vacant end building. All through the 80s I only recall that place being one long line of empty stores. Every once in a while something would move in. Look to your left on that streetview and you will come to the Sav-a-lot. That is a pretty old supermarket that sat vacant for a l-o-n-g time. I first recall there being a flea market in there in the 80s; I think Meatland had a store there for a little while. I'd really like to know who was there first. It does kinda look like an Acme. I somehow missed that the Roses was in there. The store posted here is kinda hard to see from the highway, I really can't remember anything being there.

nims57 · November 02, 2009, 10:09:44 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by shore72
Okay, with my decent net connection at home I figured out the deal with the Salisbury thing. The map at work made it look like it was off business 13 south but, yeah, I knew where Cypress was but forgot. Bad neighborhood. Correct, this is off of US 50 on the west side of town. I am really not sure what was in that now vacant end building. All through the 80s I only recall that place being one long line of empty stores. Every once in a while something would move in. Look to your left on that streetview and you will come to the Sav-a-lot. That is a pretty old supermarket that sat vacant for a l-o-n-g time. I first recall there being a flea market in there in the 80s; I think Meatland had a store there for a little while. I'd really like to know who was there first. It does kinda look like an Acme. I somehow missed that the Roses was in there. The store posted here is kinda hard to see from the highway, I really can't remember anything being there.

That was definitely a smaller peaked-roof Acme, likely older too. It could have relocated in the 70's. Have you ever been inside?

shore72 · November 04, 2009, 01:09:55 PM

No, never have. I've never stepped foot anywhere in that shopping center that I recall. It's traditionally been a high-crime area and I think that kept the center from ever really taking off. The city built its new police station next door which has got to help. The Sav-a-lot is in the prime location, right next to the highway (though access is limited.) The guy who owns that store also owns 2 others, the peaked-roof Seaford location & a former IGA in Greensboro, MD.

To connect this to the thread topic, the Salisbury Woolworths was very close to here, less than a mile I guess. The building was demolished in recent years. (typical downtown, mult-story location)

nims57 · November 04, 2009, 05:37:51 PM

AWESOME story of an early Woolco. Check out the old school Burlington and Drug Emporium signs: http://www.tallgeorge.com/graceland2.php?selection=Woolco

gu4ever · November 05, 2009, 12:51:54 AM

QuoteOriginally posted by nims57
AWESOME story of an early Woolco. Check out the old school Burlington and Drug Emporium signs: http://www.tallgeorge.com/graceland2.php?selection=Woolco

Thanks for sharing that link nim57, it's cool to see architecture from the 50's and how the property has evolved.

gu4ever · February 11, 2010, 07:11:43 AM

Woolworth/Woolco branding...

jmcnamara96 · April 03, 2010, 04:09:03 PM

Heres a cool Woolwrth Cart! on Ebay i want i wish i had that much cash
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Retail-Woolworth-Shopping-Cart-Antique_W0QQitemZ260289749485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3c9a7a61ed

TRJ_22487 · August 05, 2011, 12:11:35 AM

Wow...I thought I'd never see this again...
This was the Woolworth in Lebanon, NH at the outdoor Lebanon Mall.
This area always kept a more "historic" feel than the downtown shopping district of West Lebanon.
The picture is from sometime in the 70s or 80s...but this is how it looked to the end...
I have no idea when it opened, but it definitely was open to the last day of the chain in the late 1990's.
This was the Woolworth I remember more than any of them, I used to get my haircut across the path every month with my Dad by a woman obsessed with the movie Forrest Gump. She was lively and animated and talked with everybody while she cut hair, and worked alone
We probably came here every weekend back in the 90's though, the best basketball court in the area was behind the Woolworth's
This entire "mall" was fully outdoors, you had to travel to the stores by foot with a parking lot at the start of the walkway.
This Woolworth had a front and back entrance, I can still picture the layout of the store..
This store was incredibly tiny, no bigger than a medium sized dollar store
They sold hamsters in the far left corner up to the end, there were books, clothes, but it was a really tight knit packed store
I have no idea what this mall looks like now, I haven't been to this area in a full decade now
Damn the time just flies....

Kmart4life · November 22, 2011, 05:09:54 PM

Woolco GOB ad from January 1983

TRJ_22487 · March 07, 2012, 09:42:18 PM

San Francisco Woolworth in 1958

TRJ_22487 · March 16, 2012, 11:54:27 AM

Found various photos of several locations across the US when Woolworth's closing was announced in July 1997

Buffalo, NY

Columbus, OH

McAllen, TX

Media, PA

Santa Fe, NM

shore72 · July 19, 2012, 10:29:46 PM

On page 11 of this thread you can see photos of the Seaford, DE Woolworths that I posted. Today we were over there and while I was waiting for my wife I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos; I was very happy how they turned out. As I mentioned previously, they keep plastering the windows with paper but then the paper eventually falls down and they start again. No covering on there today. This has been vacant since the chain closed. Here is a wide view; the Harvest House restaurant was on the left:

The restaurant section, only accessible from inside the store. I remember eating here a couple times when I was pretty young, probably a hot roast beef sandwich. This closed a few years before the store did and was just used as storage, if anything:

A good view of the interior of the Harvest House:

Still has one piece of "artwork" on the wall:

shore72 · July 19, 2012, 10:31:59 PM

Some detail shots of the outside:

shore72 · July 19, 2012, 10:34:35 PM

And some general shots of the interior; this place seemed huge as a kid, not so much now! Those checkout counters sure look small and cheap:

Zayre88 · November 23, 2012, 07:38:24 PM

Nice pictures shore72!

MikeRa · December 04, 2012, 05:07:30 PM

It has been 50 years this year that the first Woolco store opened. It also has been 30 years from when they closed.

Ameskid · February 18, 2015, 02:30:11 AM

Here's an active Woolworth in Newport, KY, shown in October 1993. Photo courtesy of the Kenton County Public Library. Fairly sure I know where this is, but I'll have to do a bit of "retail scouting" to make sure...

Ameskid · June 28, 2015, 10:29:08 PM

At a local library's used book sale, I happened to find a book published to commemorate Woolworth's 100th anniversary in 1979. Here are most of the photos from that time that were in the book.

Woolco

Woolco, Unknown Date by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Woolco, 1979 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Ameskid · June 28, 2015, 10:34:30 PM

Woolworth (US)

Woolworth, Park City Shopping Center, Philadelphia, 1979 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Woolworth Interior, 1979 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Woolworth, Downtown Houston, TX by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

Ameskid · June 28, 2015, 10:48:23 PM

Harvest House restaurants, initiated in 1964.

Harvest House Restaurant, 1979 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr