Acme posted these photos of the Beach Haven stores on Instagram about a month ago. Problem is, the two photos don't quite qualify for a before and after. The vintage shot is not a picture of a store that ever existed at 9600 Long Beach Boulevard. That location was on South Bay Avenue, about 3 miles south of the current Acme, and currently serves as a portion of Murphy's Marketplace. Google Street view image is below. According to Bill Haines, this location opened in 1946 and remained open through the summer of 1958 which is the year the current Beach Haven location opened.
Location: 9 South Bay Ave, Beach Haven, NJ
This is the first time the former South Bay Avenue Acme is appearing on the blog. Definitely an oversight on my part. While it has been pointed out to me a few times over the years, coverage of the location has fallen through the cracks. Honestly, buildings that no longer retain any clues of their Acme origins usually don't stick in my brain. Not a great excuse but that is what happens. You can see below how the building evolved from its Acme days to it's current form.
2007
1956
Last summer I walked around Murphy’s and went inside to see whether there were any Acme vestiges left, and to determine whether it must have been the original Downtown Beach Haven Acme. Bill Haines gave me the idea. Other than the fact that it is still operating as a grocery store—and a very nice one, I must add—there were regrettably no hints of any Acme goodness either inside or out. The Acme Style Blogger indicates this with the side-by-side pictures since it was expanded and remodeled so many times since the 50’s. I wasn’t even sure that Murphy’s is where Acme once stood, although my gut tells me so.
ReplyDeleteThe vintage photograph shows a very small Acme in what was formerly King's Garage. It appears to be a twin to the original Acme in Tuckerton, which was also formerly a garage. The Acme that I remember in Beach Haven was exactly the size of Murphy's! They must have expanded around 1952, when the adjacent building became available. They did a big business during the summer, but they did not have any off-street parking. Acme still held the lease for several years, and the store became Luria's Discount. About 1965, it reopened as a Shop 'n Bag, and has been a supermarket ever since. In the vintage photograph, you can see "Central Super Market," a very small store in the former American Store location.
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